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Geopolitics

US Helicopter Crashes Near North Korea Border Amid Rising Tensions

BBC NEWS (UK), UNITED STATES FORCES KOREA, YONHAP (South Korea), REUTERS Worldcrunch SEOUL – As tensions mount on the Korean peninsula, a U.S. helicopter crashed Tuesday near South Korea’s border with the North while conducting routine flight operations. All 21 people aboard the helicopter survived. The exact cause of the crash is not yet known, […]

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Geopolitics

Why PKK Ceasefire Could Spark True Peace Between Kurds And Turkey

After jailed rebel leader Ocalan’s call for Kurds to lay down their arms, a closer inspection of his words show real signs of hope to end three decades of bloodshed.

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Geopolitics

Quick Read – Making Sense Of Bradley Manning-Wikileaks Case

AP, CNN, REUTERS, NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch FORT MEADE– Wikileaks whistleblower, Bradley Manning pleaded guilty on Thursday to 10 of the 22 charges he is accused of in what the U.S. government calls the largest leak of classified documents in the nation’s history, writes CNN. There are many moving parts to […]

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Society

In Putin’s Russia, A Modern Return Of The Ultra-Patriotic Cossacks

Once mercenaries for Ivan the Terrible, the Cossacks were known as great fighters before being wiped out by the Bolsheviks. Now, they are on the frontline of a nationalistic revival.

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Geopolitics

Russia, Hezbollah Condemn Israeli Airstrike In Syria

BBC, JERUSALEM POST (Israel), THE NEW YORK TIMES, VOA (U.S.), REUTERS Worldcrunch DAMASCUS– Russia has expressed its concern at an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria that left four dead and two injured says the BBC. Various reports about the airstrike differ in details, while Israel remains silent about its action. Sources told Reuters on Wednesday […]

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Future

Report: German Military Set To Purchase Armed Drones

SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, DER SPIEGEL (Germany) Worldcrunch BERLIN – The German military looks eager to get in the drone business. According to Der Spiegel Germany’s coalition government is planning to rapidly equip the country’s defense forces with armed combat drones, saying they would provide a “credible deterrent” to enemies and thus offer greater security. The government […]

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Geopolitics

Historic New Combat Roles For Women In U.S. Military To Create 230,000 Jobs

AP, CNN, REUTERS, WASHINGTON POST (U.S.) Worldcrunch WASHINGTON- The Pentagon plans to outline details Thursday of a groundbreaking decision to lift a ban on women in front line combat service. This is the second historic reversal of longstanding military bans by outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, following the 2011 repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell […]

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Geopolitics

Report: Syria Crossed Chemical Weapons “Red Line,” But West Got Cold Feet

Sources tell Le Monde that the Syria regime fired rockets with a non-lethal chemical agent during a deadly Dec. 23 attack in Homs. So why didn’t Western leaders follow through on their threats?

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Geopolitics

France’s Intervention In Mali, And The Continental Spillover

The terrorist attack and hostage-taking in neighboring Algeria is just one of the ways that France’s intervention in Mali could spread across Africa, and beyond.

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Geopolitics

US Aided France In Failed Somalia Hostage Rescue, Second Death Reported

CNN (USA), LE FIGARO (France), REUTERS Worldcrunch U.S. troops lent “limited technical support” in France’s bloody and failed bid in Somalia to rescue Dennis Allex, a French intelligence agent who’d been held hostage by al-Qaeda linked terrorists since 2009. President Barack Obama detailed the U.S. military involvement in the Friday night mission in a letter […]

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Geopolitics

Another ‘Coalition Of The Willing’? Why The West Would Bypass UN On Syria War

PARIS – Syria appears to be moving closer by the day toward the end of Assad’s regime. In Western countries, the debate on a military intervention to secure the country’s “hot zones” is gaining momentum. Until now, Western leaders have said that they would only support a military intervention if Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons. […]

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Geopolitics

New Turmoil In Mali As Prime Minister Is Arrested, Forced To Resign

REUTERS, BBC NEWS (UK), WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA) Worldcrunch BAMAKO – Mali“s Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra announced his resignation on Tuesday, hours after being arrested by soldiers while trying to leave for France, reports Reuters. Diarra addressed the nation on national television saying: “Our country is living through a period of crisis. Men and […]

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Geopolitics

Exclusive: NATO Chief Urges Readiness For Military Intervention In Syria

BRUSSELS – Over good food and drink, the dinner Tuesday of all of NATO’s foreign ministers was meant to be an informal exchange of the different points of view on the Middle East. But before the main course had been served most of the ministers had lost their appetite: The alliance’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

New Twist To Petraeus Scandal: Emails From Another Top US General To Florida Woman

THE WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES (U.S.) Worldcrunch The Pentagon announced early Tuesday that the scandal surrounding departed CIA chief David Petraeus has apparently ensnared General John R. Allen, Petraeus’s successor as commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. According to the Washington Post, an anonymous senior defense official announced Tuesday that the FBI […]

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Geopolitics

Putin Sacks Defense Minister Over Corruption Charges

BBC NEWS (UK), BFM.RU (Russia), REUTERS Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and replaced him with a loyal political ally after his ministry was involved in a corruption scandal. Putin’s decision appears to be connected to a probe announced by the Russia’s top investigative agency two weeks ago. […]

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Geopolitics

Pakistan And Russia – Another Tricky ‘Reset’ With Global Consequences

MOSCOW – While much has been made of a “reset” in the relationship between the United States and Russia, Pakistan is also trying to find a new starting point in its relationship with Russia, which has yet to recover from Pakistan’s cold-war alliance with the United States. This would-be reset has had both setbacks and […]

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Economy

Protectionism, Sewn In To The Fabric Of Russia. Literally

MOSCOW – The Russian government has made quite clear its desire to protect the national light manufacturing and textile industry. A thick packet of documents from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) lays out how the government intends to change the law regarding procurement of materials for federal agencies, including the military. MED essentially wants […]

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Geopolitics

Okinawa: The U.S. Bases Caught Between Feuding China and Japan

NAHA – In mid-September, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Ginowan, a town on the main island of the Japanese Okinawa archipelago. But these were not protests against the Chinese navy presence near the Senkaku Islands, (called Diaoyu by the Chinese), whose sovereignty is disputed between Japan and China. The Okinawans were protesting the […]

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Economy

Threats Of Layoffs, National Security Fears Could Scuttle Biggest Ever Defense Merger

LES ECHOS (France), FINANCIAL TIMES, TELEGRAPH (UK), WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA), REUTERS Worldcrunch Europe’s two largest defense companies have until October 10 to decide whether to pursue a merger that would create the world’s largest defense conglomerate, with annual revenue of 78 billion euros and more than 225,000 employees worldwide. According to the French business […]

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Geopolitics

Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile

GEO NEWS (Pakistan), DAINIK BHASKAR (India), AP Worldcrunch Pakistan’s military successfully test fired a missile Monday that is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and has a range of 700km, reports Geo News. A statement from the Inter Services Public Relations announced: “The test consolidates and strengthens Pakistan’s deterrence capability and national security.” The statement described […]

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Society

Will Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Finally Be Forced Into Military Service?

JERUSALEM – It is almost prayer time in Ramot, the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in north Jerusalem, and men in black suits, white ties and black hats with wide brims are hurrying to the synagogue. On July 31, the 10-year-old “Tal Law” exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military duty expired, sparking a nationwide debate in Israel over the […]

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Geopolitics

New US Military Bases In Central Asia? Guess Who Isn’t Happy

TASHKENT – Fundamental changes are afoot in the relations between the United States and Uzbekistan — and Russia isn’t happy. Until recently, the central Asian country was on the U.S.’s black list of human rights offenders to whom it was forbidden to provide any sort of military technology. But with a special decree, Secretary of […]

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