Briefing

Myanmar military aircraft accident forces the closure of country’s biggest airport

Handout photos made available by Myanmar Department of Civil Aviation shows people during a removal operation of a damaged Myanmar military transport aircraft after it skidded off the runway at…

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Photo Story: Apache AH-64E attack helicopters introduced into Indian Air Force fleet

Apache AH-64E attack helicopters displayed during an induction ceremony at Indian Air Force Station Pathankot in Punjab. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has introduced Apache AH-64E helicopters into IAF fleet…

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Photo Story: Highlights of the MAKS 2019 outside Moscow

A series of photos of the highlights of the MAKS 2019 International Aviation and Space Salon in Zhukovsky outside Moscow, Russia. The airshow runs from 27 August to 01 September.…

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Von der Leyen is considering plans to revamp the European Commission

Ursula von der Leyen is considering plans to revamp the structure of the next European Commission. The biggest change in a draft plan being mulled by the incoming Commission president,…

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The economic and geopolitics of the Arctic Challenge – Lawrence Zammit

Recently people in Iceland met to mourn the death of a glacier, called Okjokull. The glacier was estimated to be 700 years old. It is estimated that over the next…

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Understanding Bolsonaro’s reaction to foreign aid offer to fight Amazon’s fire

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s furious reaction to foreign criticism of his handling of Amazon fires reflects the sacred place the vast region occupies in the minds of Brazil’s military, for…

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Salvini sidelined…for now

Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) have agreed to try to form a new government in a move that could avert snap elections and…

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Spanish Air Force’s fighter jet crashes into Mediterranean

A CASA C-101 training plane of the Spanish Air Force on Monday crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, off La Manga coast, Murcia, south-eastern Spain. The pilot managed to eject from…

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The UK sends another warship to Gulf

A third British warship is heading to the Gulf, the Royal Navy announced, amid heightened tensions in the region. Britain has already sent the HMS Kent to cover for frigate…

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Will Germany ditch the Balanced-Budget pledge? – FT

Any other country that had run a budget surplus for the last five years and was now facing a recession would have a clear response. Indeed, the pressure on policymakers…

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Photo Story: Red Arrows over New York

Handout pictures provided by the British Ministry of Defence showing aircraft from the British Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows streaming the Red, White and Blue joined by…

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Photo Story: Military drills in Japan

Japanese tanks and armoured vehicles fire munitions during a fire drill conducted by elements from Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) at the Higashi-Fuji training field in Gotemba, central Japan, 22…

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Has Salvini isolated himself? – Analysis (MaltaToday)

On 8 August Salvini triggered a political crisis in the middle of the summer lull by calling for fresh elections but now he risks being sent back to the opposition benches.…

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Photo Story: The 2019 Sioux Falls Airshow

A handout photo made available by the US Air National Guard shows a US Army helicopter (C, back) with USAF (United States Air Force) Air Demonstration Squadron Thunderbirds amid pyrotechnics…

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Photo Story: Red Arrows over Boston

The RAF Red Arrows perform over Boston Harbour in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The ten-minute performance over Boston was one of over twenty stops on the Red Arrows largest North American…

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Analysis – The Iranian Flagged Tanker’s saga geopolitical implications on post Brexit Britain

The Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, set course for Kalamata, Greece, with an estimated arrival on Aug. 25, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic. It wasn't immediately…

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Moroccan army to choose first batch for conscription today

On Monday, the Moroccan army will begin selecting 15,000 recruits, the first batch since the resumption to compulsory military service. Eleven years after its suspension, the military service law came…

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Trump’s foreign policy failures, analysed

Donald Trump is heading into the 2020 elections with no clearcut foreign policy successes and a string of looming crises around the world that could undermine his bid for re-election.…

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Nancy Pelosi – The other American Leader

There’s an American leader whose words resonate on the global stage. Who draws attention in foreign capitals. Who carries a message from the United States by simply arriving. It’s not…

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Monaco: One of Europe’s smallest nations is going green

The Principality of Monaco is one of Europe's smallest nations, and indeed 20% of the country has been reclaimed from the sea. A new reclamation project is under way at…

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Russian nuclear-capable TU-160 bombers deployed near US border

Russia announced it had flown two nuclear-capable TU-160 bombers to a far eastern Russian region opposite Alaska as part of a training exercise that state media said showed Moscow's ability…

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Air war in Libya intensifies – Risk of Civilian casualties increase

An air war in Libya is intensifying as rival forces in the divided country try to break a military stalemate, heightening significantly the risk of civilian casualties. At least 45…

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Understanding the implications of Modi’s move on Kashmir

When New Delhi announced this week that it would revoke Article 370, the constitutional provision that gave some autonomous powers to India-administered Kashmir, the declaration was unilateral. There were there…

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Johnson is Theresa May 2.0

The Economist writes "Historical parallels with Boris Johnson, Britain’s new prime minister, abound. Mr Johnson’s acolytes compare their leader to Winston Churchill, who also once helped Britain out of a…

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20 years of Putin

On August 9, 1999, Russian history changed forever. Then-President Boris Yeltsin named Vladimir Putin, his former head of domestic intelligence, as acting prime minister. It seemed likely to be a…

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10 football players, 14 teams, €891 million – The most expensive transfers for 2019-2020 season, so far

With the first major football league underway (the Premier League kicked off on Friday), and the first continental 'transfer window' closed (UK), these are the most expensive transfers to date.…

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US troops stationed in Germany could go to Poland

Georgette Mosbacher, US Ambassador to Poland in a social media post says that Poland, unlike Germany spends two percent of its GDP on NATO and that it would gladly welcome…

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First test flight of ‘Okhotnik’ Russian combat drone

Handout photos made available from a Russian Defense Ministry video showing the first test flight of the new Russian combat drone 'Okhotnik' (Hunter), 07 August 2019. The first flight, which…

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Looking For Motives After US Mass Shootings

Ken Bredemeier and Fern Robinson from the Voice of America analyse the aftermath and causes of the weekend’s double shooting in Texas and Ohio. The latest shootings came a week…

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Boris Johnson’s first week in power

Boris Johnson’s first full week as prime minister included a slump in the pound, the Bank of England warning of a possible recession, claims that his Brexit policy could break…

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The woman driving Russia’s opposition protests

Sarah Rainsford BBC News Moscow correspondent writes about Lyubov Sobol, the main force behind Russia’s recent opposition protests. The young lawyer and popular video blogger is one of a group…

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Landmark INF nuclear arms treaty is history: What now?

As the US withdrew from the landmark nuclear treaty known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Seda Serdar Deutsche Welle correspondent ask what’s next and gives a German perspective…

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British Army restructures to confront evolving threats

The British Army has outlined its plans to rebalance the Field Army to ensure that it can compete with and defeat adversaries both above and below the threshold of conventional…

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Migrant’s death exposes UN failures in Libya

As tragedy and controversy continues to move hand in hand with the migrant voyages from the shores of Libya across the Mediterranean, Rana Jawad, the BBCs North Africa correspondent gives…

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Photo Story: Navy Day celebration in St. Petersburg

Despite the long history of the Russian Navy, its own holiday appeared in the Russian fleet only in the USSR, on June 22, 1939. The tradition to celebrate the Navy Day on the last…

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Think the heatwave was bad? Climate already hitting key tipping points

As Europe just went through one of the worst heatwaves on record and other parts of the world are suffering adverse effects of the climate, Reuters correspondent Matthew Green writes…

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Spain left wondering how a bid to form a government failed so badly

Carlos E. Cué from the Spanish newspaper El Pais analyses the current political crisis in Spain after negotiations to form a new Government crumbled. Negotiations in which in those…

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The new European Commission – What we know so far…

POLITICO presents how the new European Commission is shaping up. Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvia, European People's Party (EPP) Current role: The European Commission's vice president for the euro and social dialogue Expected role in…

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China reiterates it is ‘ready to go to war’ if Taiwan tries to gain independence

China says it is “ready to go to war” over the issue of Taiwan’s independence, according to a defence ministry report that provides a rare insight into the country’s military…

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For the next 100 days, Johnson’s government will be on a war footing

Sky News' Sam Coates gives an in-depth look at what to expect from Boris Johnson as the new prime Minister in London. Coates writes that there is no doubting the…

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Suddenly we are half a million – Michael Falzon

On the occasion of World Population Day on July 11, the National Statistics Office (NSO) published the latest Maltese population figures. Many were shocked to learn that in 2018 our…

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Emanuela Orlandi’s brother’s regrets and the right to know the truth about his sister’s disappearance

A missing teenager, an empty tomb, a swirl of dark theories, and the closed doors and habitual secrecy of the Vatican. It sounds like fiction, but it is a real-life…

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Will Boeing win confidence again?

When have you ever been bothered about the type of aircraft you’re flying on? The airline will happily tell you which model it is, and furnish you with all sorts…

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Role of new media in the development and rise of populism is complex but indisputable – Tanja Tatomirovic

Distinct growth of populism which expands on the global scene in the last ten years can primarily be explained by economic and political considerations, but special attention should be paid…

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When America landed on the moon, the whole world did

As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first landing of man on the moon, an American endeavor that went down in the annals of history. But DW takes…

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The Holy See’s desire for clarity in the Emanuela Orlandi mystery

On Saturday, experts will examine two ossuaries - small chambers where dead are buried - in the latest attempt to unravel the mystery of the disappearance of a teenage Italian…

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Turkey removed from US F-35 fighter jet programme

The US says it is removing Turkey from its F-35 fighter jets programme, after Ankara received the first parts of a Russian missile defence system. The US says the "F-35…

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Do the right-wing victories mean that Pope Francis has lost the battle against the alt-right Christians? – Fr Joe Borg

St Pope John Paul II seems to have had more electoral successes than Pope Francis. This opening sentence will probably surprise many given that popes do not lead political parties…

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Brussels shake-up

The European Parliamentary elections are an interesting exercise in the democratic expression of more than half a billion people across Europe. From the chilly Nordic nations in the north to…

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471,000 citizens from outside the EU were refused entry into the EU in 2018

In 2018, the EU refused entry to more non-EU citizens than in 2017, but fewer were found to be illegally staying within EU borders or asked to leave the territory,…

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Washington Post on Malta’s role in the Mediterranean migrants’ rescue operations

With Italy firmly blocking its seaports, the tiny island country of Malta has emerged as an unlikely and reluctant lifeline for migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.…

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Who is Alan Kurdi?

In February 2019 the rescue ship Professor Albrecht Penck of the German sea rescue organization Sea-Eye was renamed to Alan Kurdi . Following a serious confrontation, similar to the one in early July…

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Italy: The Sea-Watch saga exposes the societal changes, polarisation at the detriment of analysis and reason

Italy’s tussle with the Sea-Watch migrant rescue ship is a textbook case of politics in the age of Matteo Salvini. For weeks the hardline minister railed at the boat’s captain;…

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Is Europe’s system to combat Russian elections’ interference working?

The European Union launched an ambitious effort earlier this year to combat election interference: an early-warning system that would sound alarms about Russian propaganda. Despite high expectations, however, records show…

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What is the Visegrad Group?

In 1991, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia – as it still was then – joined forces to work together more closely and prepare their planned EU accession. The Visegrad Group (also…

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Who killed the SpitzenKandidat?

Accusations are flying over the death of the "lead candidate" system for choosing the president of the European Commission, the EU's most powerful job. It's a crime story that's also…

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People’s lives matter more than any political game – Carola Rackete

Carola Rackete, the ship’s captain facing jail after defying Italian law to bring 42 migrants into port has said she would do it all over again and hit out at…

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