CDE News

Factbox: What to watch for as the Taliban inch closer to Kabul

Aug 14 (Reuters) - The insurgent Taliban have captured Afghanistan's second- and third-largest cities, and a town just south of Kabul, and now have their sights set on the capital.…

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Caught between China and the U.S., Asian countries stockpile powerful new missiles

Asia is sliding into a dangerous arms race as smaller nations that once stayed on the sidelines build arsenals of advanced long-range missiles, following in the footsteps of powerhouses China and the…

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“Diplomacy remains the best tool for resolving conflicts” – Minister Evarist Bartolo

"A lot of issues today can't be solved by one country alone whoever the country is. So, whether we like it or not, we are condemned to working together." Malta's…

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Israel is set for a change of government. Who? When? Why?

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is on the verge of being toppled from power after more than a decade in office. The 71-year-old right-winger looks set to be ousted…

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What is going on between Israel and the Palestinians?

Weeks of violent clashes in East Jerusalem have ignited the heaviest fighting in years between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. At the core of the violence that…

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Disputes and divisions in the Eastern Mediterranean are not on maps but in the hearts and minds of all of us involved, our histories and traditions – Evarist Bartolo

The following is a speech delivered by Malta's Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo on Friday 14th May, which CDEIU is carrying as it presents a timely invitation to 'dare to dream'…

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Israel’s Netanyahu in court for corruption trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's legal and political troubles will play out simultaneously on Monday, at his corruption trial and in the president's residence. Judges ordered Netanyahu to be in…

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Twenty years on, EU turns cold on Mercosur trade deal

As the European Union looks forward to a fresh start with the United States under a new president, it is riddled with doubts over another transatlantic relationship. A trade pact…

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EU charts third way in ties with US and China

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s first videoconference with European Union foreign ministers last month was so good humoured that some diplomats in Europe described it as a “love fest”.…

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Ten years of Syria conflict, from protest to war to economic decline

Ten years into Syria’s conflict, President Bashar al-Assad has survived the bloody insurgency which started out with peaceful protests in March 2011. He holds sway over many parts of the…

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Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi oil heartland with drones, missiles

Yemen's Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in…

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Love, adultery and betrayal: A look at big British royal TV interviews

Prince Harry and Meghan, Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are due to appear in an in-depth TV interview with U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey on Sunday. Here are…

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ANALYSIS-Biden faces calls to jumpstart North Korea talks with more pragmatic goals

With U.S. policy toward North Korea in limbo as the new administration in Washington conducts a months-long policy review, former officials and experts are sparring over whether to shift focus…

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The month since Myanmar’s military coup

Here is a timeline of events since Myanmar’s military took power in a coup on Monday, Feb. 1. Feb 1: Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other senior…

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What’s the deal? The nuts and bolts of the new post-Brexit agreement

CDE / DPA / Reuters -The post-Brexit trade deal reached by the United Kingdom and the European Union goes beyond the EU's so-called "Canada-style" trade accord, the BBC said on…

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A Brexit trade deal at last – so what?

LONDON/BRUSSELS, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Nearly five years since the Brexit crisis began, the United Kingdom and the European Union have clinched a trade deal that defines their relationship after…

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Insights – Libya’s rival forces have stopped shooting, but they’re not pulling back

SIRTE, Libya/TUNIS (Reuters) - In Libya's frontline city of Sirte, parts of which still lie in ruins, the commission set up to oversee warring rivals' recent ceasefire has put its…

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Western Sahara, an old conflict on the verge of explosion

A dispute over Western Sahara threatens to result in a new round of conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front independence movement. Here are some facts about the territory, the…

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Analysis – OPEC would miss ‘friend Trump’, wary of strains under Biden, sources say

Key members of OPEC are wary that strains in the OPEC+ alliance could reemerge with Joe Biden as U.S. President, sources close to the organisation said, and would miss President…

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Global uncertainty could risk World War Three -UK military chief

Current global uncertainty and anxiety amid the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic could risk another world war, the head of Britain's armed forces has warned. In an interview…

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Analysis – Will Trumpism outlast Trump?

As he closed his campaign with a series of boisterous rallies, President Donald Trump told his cheering crowds they would prove all the experts wrong again - just as they…

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Analysis – A longtime fixture in U.S. politics, Biden finally wins elusive prize

Joe Biden, a fixture in U.S. politics for a half century as a senator and vice president, completed a long climb to the political summit that included two previous failed…

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Analysis – Kamala Harris breaks barriers as America’s next vice president

Kamala Harris made history on Saturday with her election as Joe Biden’s vice president, becoming the first woman, first Black American and first Asian American to win the second highest…

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Analysis – Biden’s winning strategy

Three days before Election Day, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was leaving nothing to chance. Polls showed him with a steady, but small, lead in the battleground state of Michigan,…

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Can Trump call in troops to quell Election Day unrest?

There have been pockets of unrest in battleground states ahead of the showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, in Tuesday's election. On Saturday, peaceful participants…

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Did Donald Trump make America great again?

Saying he knew best what ailed America and often governing by executive order, President Donald Trump dismantled or disrupted multilateral pacts, overhauled tax and immigration systems and, with the help…

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U.S. opinion poll experts say there are good reasons to trust this year’s election polls

Whenever President Donald Trump is confronted with polls he does not like, especially the torrent of national data showing him trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in public support, the president's…

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British companies dreading a Brexit border breakdown

Deal or no deal, British companies will have to confront a wall of bureaucracy that threatens chaos at the border if they want to sell into the world's biggest trading…

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The 10 ‘Organising Principles’ underpinning relaunched UK-EU talks

Britain and the European Union have agreed to resume talks on reaching a trade deal to govern their future relations, setting out a new set of “organising principles” for intensified…

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What’s behind Thailand’s protests?

Thailand’s government banned gatherings of more than five people on Thursday in the face of three months of escalating demonstrations that have targeted King Maha Vajiralongkorn as well as Prime…

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Female vote key but policies lacking in New Zealand election

New Zealand’s upcoming general election has the rare distinction of providing a choice of two female candidates as the country’s next leader in a poll that could be decided by…

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What happens to the U.S. presidential election if a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated?

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 and was taken to hospital. Trump has mild symptoms, according to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. But the…

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How Mike Pence could temporarily assume control if Trump becomes incapacitated

Like two U.S. presidents before him, Donald Trump could temporarily hand over power to his vice president should he become incapacitated, for example while undergoing a medical procedure as treatment…

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UPDATED: Azerbaijan declares partial military mobilisation amid reports of Syrian fighters involvement

Azerbaijan declared a partial military mobilisation on Monday following clashes with Armenian forces over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. See also: Armenia Accuses Turkey Of Direct Military Support For Azerbaijan Azeri President…

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Why Thai protesters are challenging the monarchy

Since a longstanding taboo on criticising Thailand's monarchy was broken by protesters in early August, their rallies in Bangkok have got increasingly bold in criticising King Maha Vajiralongkorn and demanding…

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OPEC turns 60

In 1973, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries brought the U.S. economy to its knees. Now, the cartel created 60 years ago is more likely to do…

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Supporters who helped Trump win presidency lagging in motivation this year

With less than two months to go until the U.S. election, President Donald Trump is having trouble energizing his core supporters, especially white voters without college degrees who were key…

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Brexit back in crisis as UK threatens to undermine divorce pact

. Brexit trade talks plunged into fresh crisis on Monday after Britain warned the European Union that it could undercut the divorce deal it signed unless the bloc agrees to…

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On This Day…

301 - San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, founded by Saint Marinus 1783 - Treaty of Paris signed…

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After port blast, rudderless Lebanon drifts towards the rocks

Three weeks after the catastrophic explosion at Beirut port, Lebanon is drifting towards even more trouble as its politicians fail to agree a new government that can arrest a financial…

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What’s next after Japan PM Abe resigned? Potential successors?

The abrupt news that Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe resign over a worsening health condition, set off a flurry of attention on Friday over the path ahead for the…

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Three years on, Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh camps

August 25 marked the third anniversary of attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents that triggered military retaliation and led to the exodus from Buddhist-majority Myanmar over following days and weeks of…

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Who is Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny?

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is in Germany from Siberia for treatment. He is in a coma after drinking what his supporters suspect was poisoned tea; they accuse the authorities…

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In convention speech, Biden emerges from shadow and into ‘the light’

Joe Biden finally got his moment. After a 2020 presidential campaign dominated by President Donald Trump's words and actions, Biden on Thursday rose to the level of a true adversary…

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What is the purpose of the U.S. presidential nominating conventions?

The United States has held presidential nominating conventions for almost 200 years, and they have served in recent decades as an important televised introduction to each party's candidate in the…

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UAE’s Israel deal met with Arab dismay but quiet welcome in Gulf

From cries of "betrayal" to fears about "falling dominoes", the deal making the United Arab Emirates the third Arab state to forge ties with Israel stirred anger and dismay around…

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Who is Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon arrested in Hong Kong?

Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent democracy activists, was arrested on Monday for suspected collusion with foreign forces under the national security law, in what is the highest…

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Lebanese call for uprising after protests

Some Lebanese called on Sunday for a sustained uprising to topple their leaders amid public fury over this week’s devastating explosion in Beirut, and the country’s top Christian Maronite cleric…

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Analysis: Timeline of bombings in Lebanon

A huge explosion near the centre of Beirut killed at least 10 people, injured hundreds and sent shockwaves across the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, shattering windows and causing apartment balconies…

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Companies worldwide experience lower productivity due effects of rising temperatures as a result of climate change

An associate professor at Greece’s University of Thessaly says that companies worldwide have begun to respond to the effects of rising heat, as a result of climate change, on the…

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Israel’s “Bibi generation” starts to turn on Netanyahu over economy and COVID-19

For two months, many Israeli television viewers watched nightly as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued warnings and updates about the novel coronavirus and imposed lockdowns. When infections fell, he went…

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Scottish support for independence rises as COVID-19 imperils the United Kingdom

James Henderson has spent most of his life fiercely opposed to Scottish independence. Now, reluctantly he is backing it. The 71-year-old former marine engineer voted against Scotland leaving the United…

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Was there a Plan B if EU budget talks failed? – Charles Michel talks to POLITICO

Sitting once again on the Terrace Where It Happened, Charles Michel confessed he had no Plan B if leaders had failed to reach a budget deal, according to POLITICO, It transpires,…

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China can turn the other cheek, for now

by Gina Chon via Reuters Breakingviews Turning the other cheek takes fortitude, but that’s what China could do in response to the U.S. government’s latest actions. It slapped sanctions…

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CiNext – Hacking at the global order

by Tonio Galea A fire that broke out recently at an important Iran nuclear plant is risking spreading into a major hacking conflict. Some Iranian foreign officials were quick to…

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Making sense of Tunisia’s political crisis

Tunisia's government has collapsed less than five months after it was formed, plunging the North African democracy into a political crisis as it wrestles with economic troubles and social friction…

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Down but not out: Berlusconi could hold key to Italian government’s future

He is 83 and has lost most of his former support, but Italy's four-times prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is manoeuvring to put his centre-right Forza Italia party back into government…

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