China’s Xi says reunification with Taiwan ‘inevitable,’ ahead of crucial vote on island

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country’s reunification with Taiwan was “inevitable” in his New Year’s address on Sunday, just weeks before the self-ruled island holds elections that could reshape relations between the two. “The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability,” Xi said; “China will surely be reunified,” according to the official translation of his speech. …

One year of Trump’s praise for authoritarians

Donald Trump’s affinity for authoritarian figures is well established. When he was in the White House, he boasted of his relationships with people like North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. But Trump’s latest praise for some of the world’s biggest strongmen and his comment that he wouldn’t be a dictator …

We are likely to see a significant shift in the conflict in Ukraine, says Petr Pavel

EXCLUSIVELY. "There will be a new situation that we will have to deal with," the president explains in an interview for Seznam Zprávy what he expects from 2024. "According to the indications so far, the shift will not be in the best sense of the word, as we would have imagined." Russian aggressor and President …

Putin has ‘no interest’ in attacking NATO, calls Biden’s warning ‘nonsense’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow has “no interest” in attacking a NATO member and called U.S. President Joe Biden's warning that Russia would do so if it wins the war in Ukraine “complete nonsense.” Biden earlier this month warned that “if Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” and will attack NATO countries resulting in “American …

Germany puts its troops in the line of fire if Putin attacks NATO

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is prompting Germany to do something unprecedented — to permanently base thousands of troops only about 100 kilometers from the border with Russia and right in the line of fire if the Kremlin ever launches an attack on NATO territory. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was in Vilnius on Monday to …

A War is Coming

This is a part from an article which I read today from Foreign Affairs. Among others Philip Zelikow wrote "The default assumption of most Western policymakers is that these rivals are led by fundamentally rational regimes that will not court the risks of seeking violent change. That was the default assumption a year before Russia …

Something is wrong in Universities

Universities have never been a quiet place, nor should they be. It must be a ferment of ideas and knowledge centered on critical thinking and analysis. Beyond any doubt the work they provide is invaluable, but now there are many reasons to worry about. Universities were also victims of propaganda, manipulation and obscurantism like Hitler's …

Alarm Grows Over Weakened Militaries and Empty Arsenals in Europe

By Max Colchester, David Luhnow and Bojan Pancevski The British military—the leading U.S. military ally and Europe’s biggest defense spender—has only around 150 deployable tanks and perhaps a dozen serviceable long-range artillery pieces. So bare was the cupboard that last year the British military considered sourcing multiple rocket launchers from museums to upgrade and donate to Ukraine, an idea …

The first Signs

It is widely acknowledged that in 2014, Russia quietly annexed the Crimea peninsula, and eight years later, in February 2022, attempted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, we have been on high alert, anticipating various scenarios. We have witnessed a food and energy crisis and observed countries like Iran, Turkey, China, and others either …

Armenia Under the Gun

Azerbaijan’s Territorial Ambitions Extend Beyond Nagorno-Karabakh By Olesya Vartanyan December 8, 2023 The fall of Nagorno-Karabakh did not resolve all the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan. These two neighbors have never established diplomatic ties and do not engage in trade, and their citizens cannot freely visit one another. Both countries have now raised three generations of people who …