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War With North Korea Not Imminent, Officials Say, but U.S. Would Still Win
A day after President Trump threatened North Korea with “fire and fury,” his top diplomat and defense chief sent a more nuanced message on Wednesday, reinforcing the capacity of the United States to win any war while reassuring Americans that they did not think it would come to that. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson,…
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Few see EU as world’s top economic power despite its relative might
The European Union ranks as the world’s second-largest economy by gross domestic product, but few people globally see it as an economic leader ahead of China or the United States, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Across the 38 nations in the survey, a median of just 9% view the countries of the…
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Trump on collision course with Germany over US bid to dominate energy market
Experts believe the US president’s new measures – signed last week – are targeted at crippling Russia’s oil and gas sector. The sanctions could affect Nord Stream 2, a pipeline connecting Russia’s gas fields with Germany which is due to be completed in 2019. Under the proposed expansion to the existing pipeline, Nord Stream 1,…
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Russia Eyes Europe’s Vulnerable Edges
Editor’s Note: As tension between Russia and the West has mounted in recent years, Moscow has increasingly turned to hybrid warfare to gain and hold ground in their contest for power and clout. This is the third installment of a five-part series exploring the geopolitical context, targets and tools of that strategy, as well as…
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Facing Palestinian criticism, White House says closeness to Israel is an Asset
In the wake of the Temple Mount crisis, can Washington remain an honest broker to peace? Before a shooting on the Temple Mount last month threw the region into a harrowing, if temporary crisis, talk of a US-led peace process between Israelis and Palestinians was light, vague and full of promise, with neither side willing…
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Could Pushing Iran On Nuke Deal Backfire?
We are now two years into the deeply controversial Iran nuclear agreement that roiled our community. And, like everything connected with the deal and the Mideast, it’s complicated, as even Jared Kushner would attest. During the many months leading up to the historic 2015 agreement between Tehran and the U.S. and its P5+1 partners —…
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Holiday season means risk of tropical diseases in Europe
Warmer weather and summer travel put tropical mosquito-borne diseases on the European health authorities’ radar. The warming climate has unpredictable and wide-ranging impacts on the environment. Some climate effects on human health are direct, such as extreme weather and rising sea levels that threaten low-lying areas. Other climate change effects on health are no less…
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North Korea’s nuclear advances raise alarm in Japan
Reports indicating advanced North Korean nuclear capability and a fiery exchange of words between Pyongyang and Washington are causing concern in Japan that US military facilities might be the first targets. Two reports released in the space of a few hours on Tuesday made the alarming claim that North Korea had successfully developed a miniaturized…
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Merkel’s Generous Refugee Policy Puts Germany at Risk
Islamist terror attacks have increased markedly in the country since it opened its doors to migrants fleeing the Syrian Civil War. On July 28, one person was murdered and another five were injured by an Islamist wielding a knife at a supermarket in Hamburg, Germany. The sad tale had an all-too-familiar ring to it for…
