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☆ 5 things to watch for at the VP debate: From the Politics Desk
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( The Politics Desk | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Programming note: Stay tuned for a special edition of the From the Politics Desk newsletter tonight, where we will be recapping and analyzing the Vance-Walz debate. 5 things to watch for at tonight’s VP debateSen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Walz has the longer debate record, but Minnesota is something of a backwater on the national political scene. How Vance and Walz’s poll numbers stack up to past VP nomineesBy Steve KornackiHeading into tonight’s vice presidential debate, JD Vance has an image problem. With tens of millions expected to watch tonight’s debate, Vance does have an opportunity to improve his standing — just as a shaky performance by Walz could erase the advantage he now enjoys over Vance.

Persons: JD Vance, Tim Walz's, Vance, Walz, Sen, Tim Walz, Garrett Haake, Will Vance, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, hasn’t, Harris, who’ve, Vance —, Henry J, Gomez, Peter Nicholas, Harris ’, Emma Barnett, Gen, Raquel Coronell Uribe, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Steve Kornacki, James Stockdale, Ross Perot’s, Dan Quayle, George H.W, Bush, Lloyd Bentsen, Quayle, Michael Dukakis, Dan De Luce, Carol E, Lee, Courtney Kube, Monica Alba, Abigail Williams, Israel, Read, Rea, arter Organizations: NBC, White House, Capitol, CBS News, Minnesota Gov, Trump, Democratic, GOP, Quayle Republican, Bentsen Democratic, Biden White, Israel —, Washington Locations: Ohio, New York City, Minnesota, American, Israel, Iran, Tehran, United States, Syria —, U.S

☆ After Iran's attack on Israel, the Biden White House is desperately trying to avert a wider war in the Mideast
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( Dan De Luce | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration’s monthslong effort to avert a full-blown war between Israel and Iran is now being put to the most difficult test yet after Tehran on Tuesday launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel. The administration has worked around the clock for the past year trying to avoid a direct clash between its ally Israel and Iran. But now, administration officials are facing a potential worst-case scenario, as the latest attack by Iran will inevitably trigger a retaliation by the Israeli military. This time, regardless of whether the Iranian attack is effective, Israel will be eager to strike back, former U.S. and Israeli officials said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart earlier Tuesday to discuss Iran’s preparations for an attack on Israel, officials said.

Persons: Israel, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Biden, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin Organizations: Biden, Tuesday, Israel —, Washington, Israeli, U.S . Navy, Aegis, Pentagon, Defense Locations: Israel, Iran, Tehran, United States, Syria —, U.S, Lebanon, Gaza, The U.S

☆ Is Gaza your top issue? Here's a guide to each 2024 candidate's stance.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewIsrael's ongoing war in Gaza — and President Joe Biden's continued support for it — has become a major issue in the 2024 election. After Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in its October 7 attack, Israel launched a counteroffensive aimed at eliminating the group. Here's a guide to where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump stand on Israel — and why some are threatening to stay home or cast protest votes in November. I mean, moving shots of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza… it's a very bad picture for the world." For these voters — some of whom may have even had family members killed in Gaza — they argue that the war outweighs all other considerations.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, That's, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Israel —, Biden, he's, Nathan Howard, Israel Trump, Israel, Israel Hayom, Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Doug Mills, Syria —, we're, Biden's, it's, Abdullah Hammoud, Jill Stein, Cornel West Organizations: Service, Business, UN, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, GOP, Israeli, Washington Post, Muslim, Democratic, Biden, Trump, Green Party Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Syria, Biden's Israel, Dearborn, Michigan

☆ Opinion | Iran Just Made a Big Mistake. Israel Shouldn’t Follow.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That would be a dangerous misreading of what just happened and a huge geopolitical mistake by the West and the world at large. There must be a consequence for Iran: When the regime fired all those drones and missiles, it did not know that virtually all of them would be intercepted. A missile could have hit al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest shrines. (You can see pictures online of Iranian rockets being intercepted in the skies right over the mosque.) Another could have hit the Israeli Parliament or a high-rise apartment house, causing massive casualties.

Persons: Syria — Organizations: Israel, West Locations: Iran, Israel, Syria, Jerusalem, Aqsa

☆ The rally in oil cannot be ignored — here's what it means for stock market investors
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. oil prices have climbed to their highest level since late October, as the rally in the key commodity becomes something equity investors cannot afford to look past. In other words, the latest ISM Manufacturing report serves to support the view that the U.S. economy is doing much better than many believed it would just a few months ago. Oil trading at its highest levels since late October has implications for stock market investors. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation may be the core personal consumption expenditures price index, which removes the impact of food and energy prices, but consumers still pay for energy. The rise in energy prices — particularly at the gas pump — can result in a decrease of discretionary dollars left for other purchases.

Persons: Brent, —, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Frederic J, Brown Organizations: West Texas, Coterra Energy, Energy, Organization of Petroleum, PMI, Manufacturing, Reuters, Federal Reserve, Fed, Bank of, CNBC, Afp, Getty Locations: U.S, Russia, OPEC, China, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Iranian, Syria, Iran, Taft, Kern County , California

CNN —The three US soldiers killed in the drone attack on a US military outpost in Jordan were identified Monday as Sgt. US Army Reserve Command, APSingh said more than 40 were injured in the attack, a number that could possibly continue to increase. The enemy drone also flew low, which may have allowed it to evade the base’s air defenses, officials said. A US official told CNN that there have been six attacks since Friday, including Sunday’s drone attack and a multi-rocket attack on Patrol Base Shaddadi in Syria on Monday morning. The consensus is that an Iran-backed militia group is behind the deadly drone attack, though the US is still working to determine which group specifically is responsible.

Persons: William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders, Breonna Moffett, Sabrina Singh, William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, AP Singh, Singh, Syria —, John Kirby, CNN’s Phil Mattingly, White, “, ” Kirby, weren’t, ” Singh, ”, Jens Stoltenberg, Lloyd Austin, ” Austin Organizations: CNN, Defense Department, 718th Engineer Company, US Army Reserve, Pentagon, US Army Reserve Command, Spc, Breonna, AP, Baghdad Diplomatic Support, Regional Medical Center, US, Patrol Base Shaddadi, National Security, Kataib Hezbollah, Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah, NATO Locations: Jordan, Carrollton , Georgia, Waycross , Georgia, Savannah , Georgia, Fort Moore , Georgia, Baghdad, Landstuhl, American, East, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon

The enemy drone followed the American drone as it approached, but it is not clear whether the enemy drone intentionally followed the American one or if it was a coincidence, one of the officials said. US officials are also still assessing the enemy drone’s point of origin. The Wall Street Journal first reported the confusion over the enemy drone. A US official told CNN that there have been six attacks since Friday, including Sunday’s drone attack and a multi-rocket attack on Patrol Base Shaddadi in Syria on Monday morning. The consensus is that an Iran-backed militia group is behind the deadly drone attack, though the US is still working to determine which group specifically is responsible.

Persons: Syria —, John Kirby, CNN’s Phil Mattingly, White, “, ” Kirby, weren’t, ”, Jens Stoltenberg, Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, ” Stoltenberg, Austin’s, Biden, Tehran . Sen, Roger Wicker, Sen, Tom Cotton Organizations: CNN, Army, Sunday, Street Journal, Regional Medical Center, Patrol Base Shaddadi, National Security, Kataib Hezbollah, Revolutionary Guard, Pentagon, NATO, Republicans, Republican, Senate Armed Services Committee Locations: Jordan, American, Germany, East, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Congress, Tehran .

When Iran launched a barrage of airstrikes this week into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, it was not just showing off the reach and sophistication of some of its newest missiles but also staking a claim: This is a new era in which Iran can flex its muscles at will and, as an added benefit, bolster its credentials as an important arms supplier. In at least one of the attacks — a strike that Tehran claimed targeted the Islamic State terrorist group in Idlib, Syria — Iran appeared to make use of one of its longest-range and most advanced missiles, the Kheibar Shekan. Both the range and the apparent accuracy seized the attention of national security officials in Europe and Israel, as well as outside experts who track Iran’s technological advances. The combination of its newest missiles and its fleet of drones, which Russia has been purchasing by the thousands for use in Ukraine, has helped Iran become the producer of some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the Middle East. And Tehran’s willingness to intervene — as a supplier to its proxy forces in the region and to Moscow — may well complicate American calculations as the Pentagon considers the question looming over the widening Middle East conflict: Could it lead to a direct conflict with Iran?

Persons: — Organizations: Islamic State, Pentagon Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Tehran, Idlib, Europe, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ A defiant Netanyahu says no one can halt Israel's war to crush Hamas, including the world court
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step. Netanyahu made clear that Israel would ignore orders to halt the fighting, potentially deepening its isolation. Israel argues that ending the war means victory for Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and is bent on Israel's destruction. In more fallout from the war, the world court this week heard arguments on South Africa's complaint against Israel. In Gaza, where Hamas has put up stiff resistance to Israel's blistering air and ground campaign, the war continued unabated.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Joe Biden's, —, Herzl Halevi, Khan Younis, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Mahmoud Bassal, Abu Youssef al, Jawwal, OCHA Organizations: Ministry of Defence, International Court of Justice, Hague, Dublin, White, Israel, Hamas, Britain, U.S, Gaza Health Ministry, Gaza's Civil Defense, Civil, Associated Press, United Nations Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, Africa, Hague, Iran, Washington , London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, U.S, Red, South Africa, Khan, Egypt, Rafah, Gaza City, Palestinian, Al

☆ USS Carney shoots down drones, responds to ballistic missile attack on commercial vessel
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Haley Britzky | Hamdi Alkhshali | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The USS Carney shot down two Houthi drones headed in the ship’s direction in the southern Red Sea on Sunday and responded to a distress call from a civilian commercial vessel that was fired upon by a ballistic missile, a US defense official said. A US official said other commercial vessels were also “attacked by Houthi missiles today,” though it’s unclear how many or which vessels specifically. The Houthi-run Yemeni Armed Forces claimed on Sunday that its naval forces had carried out attacks against what it called “two Israeli ships” in the Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandab strait. According to Yemeni Armed Forces’ statement, the vessels Unity Explorer and Number Nine were engaged with a naval missile and drone, respectively, after rejecting warning messages. Last month, the USS Thomas Hudner shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Yemen.

Persons: Carney, Burke, Gerald R, “, Bab, Thomas Hudner, Mason, Pat Ryder, “ That’s, ” Organizations: CNN, Arleigh, Ford Carrier Strike, Houthi, US, Yemeni Armed Forces, Unity, ”, Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, Hamas, Pentagon Locations: Sea, Red, vessel’s, “, Gaza, Israel, Iran, Yemen, Gulf, Aden, Somali, Persian, Iraq, Syria

Customers from Iran, Cuba and Syria — all of which face sanctions — were able to access the Binance platform. In addition to the outlawed foreign transactions, Binance did business with firms based in the United States even though it was not supposed to have any U.S. customers on its Binance.com platform. Instead, a different platform, Binance.US, which Mr. Zhao also owned, was required to handle the business and abide by U.S. anti-money laundering laws. But Mr. Zhao and other Binance employees believed it would be better for the main cryptocurrency exchange to handle big U.S. customers, the court filings state. At times, Binance has processed two-thirds of all digital currency trades, making it a vital power broker and intermediary in the crypto world.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, —, ” Locations: Iran, Cuba, Syria, United States

☆ American forces in the Middle East are constantly under attack, but they aren't really retaliating. Here's why the US holds its fire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Iran-backed groups have launched dozens of attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17. Middle East security experts say there are a number of reasons why the US is holding its fire. Attacks on US forces by Iran-backed groups in the region are not a new phenomenon. The Pentagon has only publicly confirmed a single incident of retaliation against the Iran-backed militias. Right now, US officials stress that deterrence — signaled by the massive movement of American combat power into the region — is working, and the Iran-backed attacks on American forces have been unsuccessful.

Persons: there's, —, Jonathan Lord, Joe Biden's, Biden, Thaier, Sabrina Singh, What's, Lloyd Austin, Singh, it's, you've, we'd, Michael Knights, Baderkhan Ahmad, Weirdly, we're, Knights, doesn't, Washington isn't, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia, Al Sudani, Jonathan Ernst, Lord Organizations: Service, Pentagon, US Central Command, Hamas, Israel, US, Washington Institute for Near East, Institute for, REUTERS, Defense, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Militia, Washington Institute, Syrian Democratic Forces, AP, Knights, Middle East Security, Center, New, New American Security, Islamic, ISIS Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Washington, Gaza, Baghdad, East, Deir Ezzor, Yemen, Iranian, New American, Islamic State

Khan’s office has opened an investigation into potential war crimes by Israel in Gaza in the 2014 war. THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN KILLED IN THE CONFLICT SOARSThe number of children killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip since the start of the Hamas-Israel earlier this month has exceeded the number of children killed in armed conflict every year globally since 2019, international charity Save the Children said Sunday. It also mentioned the deaths of 33 children in the occupied West Bank and 29 children killed in Israel. The militant group Hezbollah, Hamas’ allies in Lebanon, has clashed with Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israeli border since the Gaza war erupted on Oct. 7. PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT SAYS ISRAEL ORDERS GAZA HOSPITAL TO EVACUATEJERUSALEM — A spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent says Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City received two calls from Israeli authorities Sunday morning demanding it evacuate.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, “ ‘, ”, Israel, Karim Khan, Khan, “, Jason Lee, ” U.N, António Guterres, Guterres, Hamas ’, ” Guterres, Rishi Sunak’s, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, “ Let’s, ” Francis, Ibrahim Faltas, Jonas Gahr Støre, U.N, Israel’s, ” Tedros Adhanom, Tarik Jasarevic, Nebal Farsakh, ” Thomas White, ” Mahmoud, Abdallah Sayed Organizations: Saturday, Health Ministry, Hamas, West Bank, ICC, Criminal, Gaza, Gaza Health Ministry, Country, MINISTER, LONDON, UN, UNIFIL, VATICAN CITY, ISRAEL HELSINKI — Norway’s, NRK, “, United Nations, MINISTRY, FIRE, WHO, World Health Organization, JERUSALEM, Palestinian, Pentagon, UNITED NATIONS, . Security Council, United Arab Emirates Locations: Gaza, Israel, EGYPT, GAZA, Rafah, Egypt, Cairo, Kathmandu, ISRAEL, ”, LEBANON BEIRUT, Lebanon, Houla, Naqoura, Ukraine, Palestine, St, NORWAY'S, Norwegian, Norway, “, UN, FIRE KATHMANDU, Nepal, GAZA CAIRO, PALESTINIAN, Al, Quds, Gaza City, SYRIA DAMASCUS, Syria, Iranian, Iraq, U.S, Assad, GAZA'S, CAIRO, Gaza’s

☆ US Navy destroyer shoots down rebel missiles as Iran-backed militants stir up trouble and American forces come under fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A US Navy ship shot down missiles and drones launched by Iran-backed rebels on Thursday. AdvertisementAdvertisementA US Navy ship shot down several missiles and drones launched by an Iran-backed militant group on Thursday. AdvertisementAdvertisementEarly Wednesday morning local time, the al-Tanf garrison — a military base in southern Syria — was targeted by two drones, Ryder said. US and coalition troops destroyed one of the drones, while the other "impacted" the base and caused minor injuries to coalition forces. One of the incidents resulted in minor injuries to coalition forces.

Persons: —, Carney, Arleigh Burke, Pat Ryder, Syria —, Ryder, Israel Organizations: US Navy, American, Service, Pentagon Press, Air Force, Washington, United Nations Security, Command, Islamic, United, —, UN, US, Hamas Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Yemen, Tehran, Saudi, harm's, Gaza, United Nations, Israeli

☆ Putin Meets With New Wagner Boss Andrei Troshev
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Friday with the new commander of Wagner, Andrei Troshev. At the meeting, Putin referred to Troshev leading "various combat missions," including in Ukraine. Troshev was the second in command of Wagner before the death of former boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Andre Troshev, a former colonel in the Russian military, took over as head of the Wagner paramilitary organization following the death of previous boss Yevgeny Prigozhin in August. He had been the group's second in command but did not appear to back Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny against Russian military leadership two months earlier.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Andrei Troshev, Putin, Troshev, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Syria —, Andre Troshev, Yunus, Bek, Dmitry Peskov, Bashar al, Assad, Defense Lloyd Austin Organizations: Service, Russian, Kremlin, Financial Times, Moscow Times, Islamic, Wagner Group, Central African, Defense Locations: Ukraine, Syria, Troshev, St . Petersburg, Islamic State, Russia, Moscow, Washington, Bakhmut, Belarus, Ukrainian, Russian, Africa, Mali, Central African Republic

☆ I'm a Topgun-trained fighter pilot for the Navy. I'd make more money as an airline pilot, but it wouldn't be as fulfilling.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Stenfano Montali | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

He was deployed in Iraq and Syria in 2016 aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Tortorich now trains pilots of Strike Fighter Squadron 105, also known as the "Gunslingers." As a professional fighter pilot, you should keep up with what's going on every day, even when you're not flying. In the Navy, you're usually in a specific job for only two to three years. AdvertisementAdvertisementOverall, being a fighter pilot and then a trainer of fighter pilots has been a tough but extremely worthwhile career.

Persons: Cmdr, John Tortorich, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Tortorich, I'd, Ryan Mahon, Nathan Elswick, I've, Alexander Delgado, they're, It's Organizations: Navy, Strike Fighter Squadron, Service, US Navy, Naval, wasn't, Marine Corps, Eisenhower, Mass, ISIS, Eisenhower Media, Navy Strike, Fighter Squadron Locations: Iraq, Syria, Wall, Silicon, Louisiana, Pensacola , Florida, Mississippi, Virginia Beach , Virginia, Key West, Nevada, California, Japan, Virginia Beach

☆ With outlaws for allies, is Russia becoming another 'rogue state'?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Vladimir Smirnov | Afp | Getty ImagesUnder President Vladimir Putin, Russia has occupied an often contradictory and increasingly unsettling position on the global stage in recent years. Some close followers of Russia believe Moscow, operating outside international law, is increasingly acting like a "rogue state" itself, particularly in its desire to challenge and subvert the West's dominance in global affairs. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia November 20, 2017. "Russia is increasingly a rogue state: Its core relations are with countries outside a rules-based global order: Belarus, Iran, Syria, and North Korea," Ian Bremmer, the president and founder of Eurasia Group, told CNBC Monday. Friends, with benefitsRussian political analyst Anton Barbashin rejected the label of "rogue state" for Russia, however, saying Moscow continues to hold power and influence in a more global geopolitical sphere.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Smirnov, —, Bashar al, Assad, Mikhail Klimentyev, South Korea —, Ian Bremmer, Bremmer, Kim, Kim Jong, Putin, Edward Howell, Anton Barbashin, Barbashin, Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Mikhail Svetlov Organizations: North, Vostochny, Afp, Getty, . Security, Sputnik, Kremlin, Eurasia Group, CNBC, NATO, Ukraine, Russian, Oxford University, UN Security Council, UN, Democratic People's, UNSC, Indian Locations: Amur, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Belarus, Syria, Ukraine, Moscow, China, India, Black, Sochi, U.S, South Korea, United States, Pyongyang, Russian, Tsiolkovsky, Korea, Beijing, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North, Turkey, OSAKA, JAPAN, Osaka, Japan

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria Sunday urged donors not to reduce their funding as the war-torn country's economic crisis spirals. Political Cartoons View All 1148 ImagesWith international donor support dwindling, U.N. agencies have been cutting programs due to budget cuts for years. “We cannot accept that funding for Syria is going down while the humanitarian needs are increasing,” Pedersen said. “For Syria without addressing the political consequences of this crisis, the deep economic crisis and humanitarian suffering will also continue,” Pedersen said. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have tried to push Syria and Turkey to rekindle ties, the latter backing opposition groups in northwestern Syria.

Persons: Bashar Assad’s, Assad, Geir Pedersen, Faisal Mekdad, ” Pedersen, —, Pedersen, — Chehayeb Organizations: United Nations, Syria Sunday, Syrian Foreign, Arab League Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Sweida, Daraa, Russia, Iran, Damascus, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Beirut, Lebanon

☆ Russia and Ukraine are fighting the kind of drone war the US military has been worrying about, and it's scrambling to prepare for a future that's already here
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Christopher Woody | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The scale of the drone war in Ukraine is one of the most striking features of the conflict. "ISIS figured out how to arm their drones and attack us either with 'kamikaze' explosive-laden drones or drones that dropped" modified munitions, Townsend said. Soldiers with the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment train on an Avenger air-defense system in in July. In 2018, the Army reactivated the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, returning a short-range-air-defense capability to Europe. AdvertisementAdvertisement"The war is showing how much [drones are] here and are affecting the war every day.

Persons: Ukraine isn't, Mara Karlin, wasn't, Karlin, that's, John Moore, Stephen Townsend, Townsend, Frank McKenzie, MAHMOUD TAHA, I've, Syria —, Richard Clarke, Clarke, Tom Karako, " McKenzie, McKenzie, Maj, Sean Gainey, Gainey, FADEL SENNA, Douglas Bush, Bush, they've, Col, Michael Parent, Narciso Contreras, Parent Organizations: Pentagon, Service, Defense Writers, US Marine, US Army, US Africa Command, ISIS, Getty, Army, US Special, Command, Aspen Security Conference, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Patriot, —, US Air Force, Congressional Research Service, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Spc, Yesenia, Asymmetric Warfare Group, Battalion, Stryker, Washington DC, Marine Corps, US Army Yuma, US, Anadolu Agency, Pacific . The Defense Department Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mosul, Syria, Homs, Europe, Washington, Russian, Kyiv, Russia, Lviv Oblast, China, Pacific

☆ From Ukraine to Sudan Aid Workers Don’t Pick Sides - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Mirjana Spoljaric | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With great-power tensions rising and wars raging, the idea of neutrality these days may seem to many people anachronistic at best and amoral at worst. Today, there are a great many places where neutral humanitarian action is under grave threat. If we did, it wouldn’t be possible to provide humanitarian assistance to people across the world’s most contentious theaters of armed conflict. Here’s the problem: Civilians affected by armed conflict — whether in Ukraine, Sudan or Syria — are not always receiving the assistance they deserve. Worse, they’re being injured and killed in the crossfire or when combatants violate the laws of war.

☆ Will Erdogan’s Victory Soften Turkey’s Opposition to Sweden in NATO?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While Turkish troops have protected some Syrian dissident enclaves, Mr. Erdogan has simultaneously engaged in a rapprochement with Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. Mr. Erdogan wants his help to restrain the Kurds and take back some of the four million Syrian refugees that Turkey has been hosting in the name of Islamic solidarity. Mr. Erdogan may disappoint those who hope for a more emollient, more Western-leaning Turkey, however, and Turkey is not the only ally becoming more authoritarian. Europe will have to find new ways of appealing to the more democratic opposition in these countries and engaging better with society, he said. That drift away from democratic values and the rule of law will mean little progress in long-frozen talks on accession to the European Union.

☆ Turkey votes in runoff election after candidates double down on nationalism and fear
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

People walk past an election campaign poster for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 25, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. The country is holding its first presidential runoff election after neither candidate earned more than 50% of the vote in the May 14 election. Still, no candidate surpassed the 50% threshold required to win; and with Erdogan at 49.5% and Kilicdaroglu at 44.7%, a runoff election was set for two weeks after the first vote on May 14. "Kilicdaroglu has adopted a harder line on immigration and security ahead of the run-off … is unlikely to be enough," Kinnear said. Already, though, his anti-refugee rhetoric has angered many of his supporters and prompted resignations from some of his campaign allies.

☆ The Russian navy's biggest warships are becoming its biggest headaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Ongoing problems with the Russian navy's biggest warships illustrate that trend. This seems most evident with Russia's largest surface warships: its Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruisers, Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr Velikiy, and the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's sole aircraft carrier. Admiral Kuznetsov in a floating dry dock in a shipyard in Murmansk in August 2010. Other Russian navy sources quickly denied the report to another state media outlet. Izvestia has also reported that the Russian navy is reforming the Kuznetsov's crew, which was mostly disbanded when the ship began its refit.

☆ A Journey Into Norway’s Endless Night
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Taymour Soomro | Scott Conarroe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The endless night conceals the passage of time, as though we were remote from time’s effects, too, without Emily Dickinson’s slant of light that heralds death. Where better than this frozen earth, far from the ravages of human conflict and heat, for an international seed vault and the Arctic World Archive, both of which are just outside of Longyearbyen. The former, sometimes described as a doomsday vault, contains 1.2 million seed samples deposited by seed banks around the world for safekeeping. Withdrawals from the Svalbard Global Seed Vault — by a gene bank formerly in Aleppo, Syria — have already been conducted. Climate change is likely to be particularly hazardous to bears — lack of sea ice means less access to seals.

☆ Inflation tops 100% in Argentina as the price of beef spikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Inflation topped 100% in Argentina last month, according to official data published Tuesday. The country logged a three-digit inflation rate for the first time in over 30 years in February. Food prices jumped 10% month-on-month, with beef costs up over 30% in one region. It's the first time since 1991 that Argentina has logged inflation of over 100%, according to Bloomberg data. That surge came despite Argentina's economy ministry's introduction last month of a price control program aimed at slashing the price of popular beef cuts.

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