Ankara is contending with aftermath of New Year’s assault in Istanbul
The Wall Street Journal
By EMRE PEKER
Updated Jan. 4, 2017 4:26 a.m. ET
ISTANBUL—Turkey’s parliament voted to extend the government’s state-of-emergency powers following the deadly New Year’s attack claimed by Islamic State, as the country struggles to contain rising terrorist threats and law enforcement contends with depleted ranks in the wake of last year’s failed coup.
The gunman remains at large after the assault that killed at least 39 people, although Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said authorities had identified the man, without providing details, according to the Anadolu state news agency. There is little information about the gunman’s identity beyond photographs of a suspect released by authorities.
"Ό,τι η ψυχή επιθυμεί, αυτό και πιστεύει." Δημοσθένης (Whatever the soul wishes, thats what it believes, Demosthenes)
Showing posts with label Geopolitics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geopolitics. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Tunisian Migrant Investigated for Suspected Terror Ties Is Sought in Berlin Truck Attack
Revelation that authorities sought and failed to deport asylum seeker stokes criticism of Angela Merkel’s refugee policy
The Wall Street Journal
By ANTON TROIANOVSKI and RUTH BENDER
Updated Dec. 21, 2016 7:31 p.m. ET
BERLIN—Anis Amri, a Tunisian migrant whom authorities previously investigated for suspected terror ties and tried to deport, became Germany’s most wanted man as the new prime suspect in the capital’s deadly truck attack.
The revelation that the asylum seeker had been able to remain in Germany despite efforts to expel him stoked a furor over what many politicians called dangerous gaps in the country’s immigration policy and escalated the political crisis facing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.
The Wall Street Journal
By ANTON TROIANOVSKI and RUTH BENDER
Updated Dec. 21, 2016 7:31 p.m. ET
BERLIN—Anis Amri, a Tunisian migrant whom authorities previously investigated for suspected terror ties and tried to deport, became Germany’s most wanted man as the new prime suspect in the capital’s deadly truck attack.
The revelation that the asylum seeker had been able to remain in Germany despite efforts to expel him stoked a furor over what many politicians called dangerous gaps in the country’s immigration policy and escalated the political crisis facing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
U.S. ready to confront Beijing on South China Sea: admiral
Wed Dec 14, 2016 | 3:48am EST
Reuters
By Colin Packham | SYDNEY
The United States is ready to confront China should it continue its overreaching maritime claims in the South China Sea, the head of the U.S. Pacific fleet said on Wednesday, comments that threaten to escalate tensions between the two global rivals.
China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
The United States has called on China to respect the findings of the arbitration court in The Hague earlier this year which invalidated its vast territorial claims in the strategic waterway.
Reuters
By Colin Packham | SYDNEY
The United States is ready to confront China should it continue its overreaching maritime claims in the South China Sea, the head of the U.S. Pacific fleet said on Wednesday, comments that threaten to escalate tensions between the two global rivals.
China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
The United States has called on China to respect the findings of the arbitration court in The Hague earlier this year which invalidated its vast territorial claims in the strategic waterway.
Too big to fail: China maps out its Trump strategy
Wed Dec 14, 2016 | 2:15am EST
Reuters
By Ben Blanchard and Christian Shepherd | BEIJING
When Donald Trump becomes U.S. president next month, one issue above all others could force his new administration to work closely with China and underscore why he and Beijing need each other - North Korea.
A nuclear armed North Korea, developing missiles that could hit the U.S. west coast, is clearly bad news for Washington but also Pyongyang's sometimes-reluctant ally Beijing, which fears one day those missiles could be aimed at them.
Reuters
By Ben Blanchard and Christian Shepherd | BEIJING
When Donald Trump becomes U.S. president next month, one issue above all others could force his new administration to work closely with China and underscore why he and Beijing need each other - North Korea.
A nuclear armed North Korea, developing missiles that could hit the U.S. west coast, is clearly bad news for Washington but also Pyongyang's sometimes-reluctant ally Beijing, which fears one day those missiles could be aimed at them.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Inside China’s Global Spending Spree
By Scott Cendrowski
Photograph by Teru Onishi for Fortune
DECEMBER 12, 2016, 6:30 AM EST
FORTUNE
“One Belt, One Road,” China’s $3 trillion infrastructure-building campaign, could be a windfall for some Western companies and investors.
The high-rise coastal city of Dubai plays host to all kinds of luxury oddities: indoor ski slopes, gold-bar vending machines, vast artificial archipelagoes shaped like palm trees. But six miles inland, something just as unusual, if far less gaudy, is taking shape—the first coal-fired power plant in the Middle East.
Trump draws rebukes after saying U.S. isn’t bound by one-China policy
The Washington Post
By Emily Rauhala December 12 at 9:43 AM
BEIJING — Donald Trump is talking about Taiwan again — and so is China, in angry and mocking comments Monday that questioned whether the president-elect grasps a core element of relations between the world’s top economic powers.
In an interview broadcast Sunday, Trump said the United States would not necessarily be bound by the one-China policy — the diplomatic understanding that underpins ties between Washington and Beijing and that leaves China’s rival Taiwan on the diplomatic sidelines with the United States.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Fearing abandonment by Trump, CIA-backed rebels in Syria mull alternatives
The Washington Post
By Karen DeYoung and Louisa Loveluck December 3 at 6:03 PM
Three years after the CIA began secretly shipping lethal aid to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, battlefield losses and fears that a Donald Trump administration will abandon them have left tens of thousands of opposition fighters weighing their alternatives.
Among the options, say U.S. officials, regional experts and the rebels themselves, are a closer alliance with better-armed al-Qaeda and other extremist groups, receipt of more sophisticated weaponry from Sunni states in the Persian Gulf region opposed to a U.S. pullback, and adoption of more traditional guerrilla tactics, including sniper and other small-scale attacks on both Syrian and Russian targets.
China says Trump clear about Taiwan, in touch with his team
Mon Dec 5, 2016 | 5:20am EST
Reuters
By Ben Blanchard and Roberta Rampton | BEIJING/WASHINGTON
U.S. President-elect Trump is clear about China's position on the Taiwan issue and China has maintained contacts with his team, the foreign ministry said on Monday, as Trump took to Twitter to complain about Chinese economic and military policy.
Trump's unusual call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday prompted a diplomatic protest on Saturday, though U.S. Vice President-elect Mike Pence played down the telephone conversation, saying it was a "courtesy" call, not intended to show a shift in U.S. policy on China.
Reuters
By Ben Blanchard and Roberta Rampton | BEIJING/WASHINGTON
U.S. President-elect Trump is clear about China's position on the Taiwan issue and China has maintained contacts with his team, the foreign ministry said on Monday, as Trump took to Twitter to complain about Chinese economic and military policy.
Trump's unusual call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday prompted a diplomatic protest on Saturday, though U.S. Vice President-elect Mike Pence played down the telephone conversation, saying it was a "courtesy" call, not intended to show a shift in U.S. policy on China.
Labels:
China,
Geopolitics,
Lausanne Peace Treaty,
Taiwan,
Trump
Friday, December 2, 2016
Tired of Syriza, Greece embraces a mainstream party
The centre-right New Democracy party is dull, technocratic and leading the polls
Dec 3rd 2016 | ATHENS
The Economist
THE headquarters of New Democracy, a centre-right political party, is in an unexpected part of Athens. The building, surrounded by warehouses, housed a branch of a Japanese technology firm before standing derelict for years. Few other political types are nearby. The rent, at €9,800 ($10,400) a month, is a tenth of what the party’s old office used to cost. Yet the relocation, which happened in August, is also symbolic. As the opposition party has moved to a cheaper part of town, so too does it hope that it can present itself to the public as a new, improved alternative to the Greek government. With Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister (pictured, on the left), growing less popular, New Democracy may well have a chance.
Labels:
Geopolitics,
Greek Crisis,
Grexit,
New Democracy,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Another Financial Warning Sign Is Flashing in China
Bloomberg
Bloomberg News
November 15, 2016 — 11:00 PM EET
Add another credit indicator to the financial warning signs flashing in China.
The adjusted loan-to-deposit ratio, which includes a range of off-balance sheet items and is an indicator of the banking system’s ability to weather stress, climbed to 80 percent as of June 30, according to S&P Global Ratings. For some smaller lenders, the ratio has already topped 100 percent, S&P estimates.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Trump sees Japan's Abe as ally in push back against China: adviser
Fri Nov 11, 2016 | 2:16am EST
Reuters
By Tim Kelly | TOKYO
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's meeting next week with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may mark the start of talks to garner Japan's support for a push back against China's growing influence in Asia, a security adviser to Trump said.
Trump's campaign comments, including a demand Japan pay more for the upkeep of U.S. forces on its soil, have worried Tokyo about a rift in a security alliance with Washington, in the face of a rising China and a volatile North Korea, that has been the bedrock of its defense since World War Two.
A tougher stance against China, however, and a call for Japan to play a bigger security role through a Trump-Abe axis would however fit with Abe's hawkish policies that include allowing the military to operate more freely overseas.
Reuters
By Tim Kelly | TOKYO
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's meeting next week with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may mark the start of talks to garner Japan's support for a push back against China's growing influence in Asia, a security adviser to Trump said.
Trump's campaign comments, including a demand Japan pay more for the upkeep of U.S. forces on its soil, have worried Tokyo about a rift in a security alliance with Washington, in the face of a rising China and a volatile North Korea, that has been the bedrock of its defense since World War Two.
A tougher stance against China, however, and a call for Japan to play a bigger security role through a Trump-Abe axis would however fit with Abe's hawkish policies that include allowing the military to operate more freely overseas.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Greece's Golden Dawn says Trump win a victory for ethnically 'clean' states
Wed Nov 9, 2016 | 4:18am EST
Reuters
Nov 9 Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party hailed Donald Trump's election as president of the United States, calling it a victory against "illegal immigration" and in favour of ethnically "clean" nations.
Golden Dawn, Greece's third-largest party, took its first seats in parliament in 2012 on a backlash against austerity policies in Greece, which has received three international bailouts since 2010.
Reuters
Nov 9 Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party hailed Donald Trump's election as president of the United States, calling it a victory against "illegal immigration" and in favour of ethnically "clean" nations.
Golden Dawn, Greece's third-largest party, took its first seats in parliament in 2012 on a backlash against austerity policies in Greece, which has received three international bailouts since 2010.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Brexit so complex it could overwhelm politicians, warn senior academics
Independent group says leaving EU will test constitution and legal framework to their limits and ‘possibly beyond’
The Guardian
Managing Britain’s exit from the European Union is such a formidable and complex challenge that it could overwhelm politicians and civil servants for years, senior academics have warned.
Theresa May has announced she will trigger article 50 – the two-year process of negotiating a separation from the EU – by the end of March next year. The government will also publish a great repeal bill, which will transfer all EU-originated laws into British law, so that MPs can decide how much they want to discard.
The Guardian
Managing Britain’s exit from the European Union is such a formidable and complex challenge that it could overwhelm politicians and civil servants for years, senior academics have warned.
Theresa May has announced she will trigger article 50 – the two-year process of negotiating a separation from the EU – by the end of March next year. The government will also publish a great repeal bill, which will transfer all EU-originated laws into British law, so that MPs can decide how much they want to discard.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
UPDATE 1-Greece names Total-led consortium preferred bidder for offshore gas drilling
Wed Oct 26, 2016 | 1:05pm BST
Reuters
Oct 26 Greece named on Wednesday a consortium of France's Total, its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum and Italy's Edison as the preferred bidder for an offshore gas drilling block in the west of the country.
Greece, which signed up to a third bailout last summer, has made several fruitless attempts over the last 50 years to find big oil and gas reserves. Its debt crisis and important findings in neighbouring countries has prompted the country to step up those efforts.
Reuters
Oct 26 Greece named on Wednesday a consortium of France's Total, its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum and Italy's Edison as the preferred bidder for an offshore gas drilling block in the west of the country.
Greece, which signed up to a third bailout last summer, has made several fruitless attempts over the last 50 years to find big oil and gas reserves. Its debt crisis and important findings in neighbouring countries has prompted the country to step up those efforts.
Labels:
Geopolitics,
Greece,
Greek Crisis,
Oil,
Oil Rreserves,
Turkey
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Greece awaits Obama trip amid tough bailout talks
The Washington Post
By Derek Gatopoulos | AP October 25 at 12:08 PM
ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s government says it was facing pressure from the International Monetary Fund to aggressively scale back union powers and employment rights, as the White House confirmed Tuesday that U.S. President Barack Obama will pay a post-election visit to Athens.
Obama’s Nov. 15 trip could boost efforts by the left-wing government in Athens to press for debt relief from European bailout lenders, as the country’s national debt approaches 180 percent of Greece’s stagnant gross domestic product. Obama will travel on to Germany after his Greek visit.
Labels:
Geopolitics,
Greece,
Politics,
SYRIZA,
US Elections,
USA
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Euro Gripes Threaten Economic Recovery as Populism Advances
Alessandro Speciale
October 25, 2016 — 7:00 AM EEST
Bloomberg
Anti-establishment parties are gaining ground in the heart of the European Union, and they may pose a bigger challenge to the region’s economy than any of those that have drawn support in the periphery over the past years.
While populists in Spain or Italy are revolting against restrictive fiscal policies and a weakening of social safety nets, the backlash in France and Germany focuses on monetary union itself. Parties openly advocating a break from the euro are building momentum ahead of a year of election across the region and politicians skeptical about EU integration are already twisting policy decisions. Belgium’s Wallonia region blocked a trade deal with Canada just last week.
October 25, 2016 — 7:00 AM EEST
Bloomberg
Anti-establishment parties are gaining ground in the heart of the European Union, and they may pose a bigger challenge to the region’s economy than any of those that have drawn support in the periphery over the past years.
While populists in Spain or Italy are revolting against restrictive fiscal policies and a weakening of social safety nets, the backlash in France and Germany focuses on monetary union itself. Parties openly advocating a break from the euro are building momentum ahead of a year of election across the region and politicians skeptical about EU integration are already twisting policy decisions. Belgium’s Wallonia region blocked a trade deal with Canada just last week.
Monday, October 24, 2016
The threat from Russia
How to contain Vladimir Putin’s deadly, dysfunctional empire
Oct 22nd 2016
The Economist
FOUR years ago Mitt Romney, then a Republican candidate, said that Russia was America’s “number-one geopolitical foe”. Barack Obama, among others, mocked this hilarious gaffe: “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the cold war’s been over for 20 years,” scoffed the president. How times change. With Russia hacking the American election, presiding over mass slaughter in Syria, annexing Crimea and talking casually about using nuclear weapons, Mr Romney’s view has become conventional wisdom. Almost the only American to dissent from it is today’s Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
Labels:
Corruption,
Economy,
Geopolitics,
Putin,
Russia,
US Elections
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Rodrigo Duterte’s impetuous pivot
Is the Philippines, until now a staunch American ally, falling into the Chinese camp?
Oct 19th 2016 | Asia
The Economist
EVEN in a year of extraordinary reversals, few would have expected it. In July China reacted with fury when an international tribunal upheld a complaint from the Philippines and rubbished China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. This week it is rolling out the red carpet for the mercurial Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte. He is being feted in a four-day state visit, with 400-odd businessmen in tow. Rub your eyes: America’s strongest ally in South-East Asia appears to be plopping like a ripe mango into China’s hands.
Labels:
China,
Geopolitics,
Phillipines,
South China Sea,
USA
Monday, October 17, 2016
Kurdish Troops Advance on ISIS-Held Villages East of Mosul
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and TIM ARANGOOCT. 17, 2016
The New York Times
BADANA PICHWK, Iraq — Kurdish forces on Monday morning began advancing on a string of villages east of Mosul, the start of a long-awaited campaign to reclaim Iraq’s second-largest city from the Islamic State, which seized it more than two years ago, officials said.
About 4,000 Kurdish pesh merga troops are involved in the operation to retake 10 villages, the opening phase of a battle that could take weeks or months and could involve nearly 30,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops, with American warplanes providing air support. Iraqi counterterrorism forces, which work closely with American Special Operations commandos in Iraq, are also expected to join the Kurdish forces in the coming days.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
U.S. says foreign forces in Iraq should be there with Baghdad's approval
Tue Oct 11, 2016 | 4:36pm EDT
Reuters
Foreign military forces in Iraq should be there with the approval of the Baghdad government and under the umbrella of the anti-Islamic State coalition, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Iraq disagree over the presence of about 2,000 Turkish troops at a base in northern Iraq, as the coalition prepares for an attack on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
Reuters
Foreign military forces in Iraq should be there with the approval of the Baghdad government and under the umbrella of the anti-Islamic State coalition, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Iraq disagree over the presence of about 2,000 Turkish troops at a base in northern Iraq, as the coalition prepares for an attack on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
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