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Can Ukraine survive Trump’s input?
We are getting very close to the point where Donald Trump realises that his dear friend Vladimir Putin has been playing him for a fool.
World View
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How many Nato bottles left sitting on the wall?
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How many Nato bottles left sitting on the wall?
General The Right Honourable The Lord Ismay, KG GCB etc, the first secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, was probably holding a glass of port after an excellent dinner when he growled his famous remark.
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Afrikaner ‘refugees’ just pure theatre
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Afrikaner ‘refugees’ just pure theatre
As my flight landed in South Africa on Sunday, I looked in vain for the plane that was due to take off with the first 49 white, Afrikaans-speaking "refugees".
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Sky’s the limit with Trump’s support
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Sky’s the limit with Trump’s support
Israel may or may not have God on its side (opinions vary), but it certainly has the United States government on its side, and that seems to be enough.
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The puzzle of a revered pope’s history
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The puzzle of a revered pope’s history
Not being a believer myself, I take only a limited interest in the doings of priests, imams and rabbis, but I did stumble into a situation involving the late Pope Francis at a crucial point in his...
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Galloping away from The Donald
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Galloping away from The Donald
The dictionary defines a horse whisperer as "someone who is skilled at training horses using gentle, non-violent methods based on understanding horse behaviour and psychology."
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Trump tariff window of opportunity
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Trump tariff window of opportunity
Not only did Trump blink first, but he blinked at exactly the right time.
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Trump’s smashed system and the workarounds
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Trump’s smashed system and the workarounds
In 10 whirlwind weeks Donald Trump had already smashed the international system of rules and alliances that more or less kept the peace for the past 80 years.
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The third wave looms, with no deterrence in sight
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The third wave looms, with no deterrence in sight
The "third wave" of nuclear weapons countries is beginning, and it will be at least as dangerous as the previous waves.
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A vainglorious,19th-century land-grab
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A vainglorious,19th-century land-grab
‘‘We need to wake up from a failed, 40-year consensus that said we could ignore the encroachment of powerful countries as they expand their ambitions,” US Vice-President JD Vance said.
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Trump lit a long fuse by scrapping treaty
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Trump lit a long fuse by scrapping treaty
Maybe it was the fact that we were coming up to the 10th anniversary of the treaty Donald Trump destroyed that prompted him to start issuing threats to Iran again.
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Congo: the tail still wags the dog
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Congo: the tail still wags the dog
"Joseph Kabila boycotted the election and is preparing an insurrection because he is the AFC," President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo said last October.
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Sustaining the rule of law thanks to German vote
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Sustaining the rule of law thanks to German vote
Last Tuesday there was a vote in the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, that may have changed the course of history.
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Unexpected triumph for justice but a long way from paradise
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Unexpected triumph for justice but a long way from paradise
Most crimes everywhere have always gone unpunished.
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Perennially impatient Trump only party seeking speedy end to war
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Perennially impatient Trump only party seeking speedy end to war
What is hard to keep in mind, with all the hype that is flying around, is that there is no particular reason for either side in the Ukraine war to want a ceasefire right now, let alone a full peace...
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Syria’s tragedy: who is to blame?
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Syria’s tragedy: who is to blame?
"They kidnapped; they killed; they humiliated; they kicked people out of jobs," explained an Alawite writer living in coastal Syria.
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Nato — the late, great alliance
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Nato — the late, great alliance
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) retired to its sickbed as soon as Donald Trump won the presidential election last November.
Who needs an army? Not Myanmar
Who needs an army? Not Myanmar
If the people of Myanmar drive General Min Aung Hlaing and his brutal military regime from power, the first thing they should do afterwards is take a leaf from Costa Rica’s book and abolish the army.
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The two different kinds of thieves
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The two different kinds of thieves
What is the difference between smash-and-grab raids and protection rackets?
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Two steps forward, two steps back
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Two steps forward, two steps back
In classical civilisations, there was a continuing, unresolved debate about whether history moved forward or just went around in circles: was it linear or was it cyclical?