The latest US and EU sanctions against individuals implicated in pro-settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territories represent a significant escalation in international moves against key far-right extremists in Israel. While previous sanctions announcements have focused on individual settlers implicated in violence – often little known outside Israel – the latest moves mark the targeting of two far more high-profile individuals with connections to senior figures in far-right politics in Israel, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The new sanctions are also significa ..read more

The man who detonated a bomb outside the Kabul airport in August 2021, killing 170 Afghans and 13 American service members, was an Islamic State operative who had been held in a coalition detention facility in Afghanistan but was freed by the Taliban, according to a new U.S. military review that has identified him for the first time. Some service members who were at the airport that day claimed they had spotted the suicide bomber at the site and were ordered not to engage. But the review found that those service members had the wrong man in their sights, and the strike was not preventable. “T ..read more

President Joe Biden suffered humiliation on the global stage again this week as the U.S. is reportedly set to give up its bases in Niger and evacuate the thousand American troops deployed there. The move upends U.S. counterterrorism efforts and security policy in the politically unstable Sahel region of Africa, which stretches across the northern central part of the continent and includes Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Eritrea. The region is one of the most dangerous in the world and is a hotbed ..read more

German police have arrested two men with ties to Russian intelligence, accusing them of spying on U.S. military bases in Bavaria and plotting attacks in retaliation for U.S. support of Ukraine in its war against the Kremlin. The two men, identified only as dual German-Russian nationals Dieter S. and Alexander J., were arrested Wednesday by German special police in the town of Bayreuth, according to a statement Thursday from the German federal prosecutor’s office. The U.S. military facilities that were surveilled included the Army training area in Grafenwoehr, located about 20 miles southeast ..read more

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is facing challenges in its efforts to combat the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and fentanyl, a significant threat to national security. In response, the DoD has established a joint operation area that includes the western U.S. border and parts of Latin America to monitor and intercept drug trafficking. However, an assessment by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed shortcomings in coordination and the evaluation of the effectiveness of these counternarcotics activities. From fiscal year 2018 to 2022, funding for DoD’s coun ..read more

Every year, leaders of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank – as well as key stakeholders from civil society, the private sector and regional financial bodies – gather to assess the landscape of international development finance. This year, they will do so against the backdrop of a complex geopolitical landscape, where one of the most consequential election years in human history, continued conflict in Ukraine and Gaza, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events have divided multilateral bodies and strained the funding landscape. While this year’s agenda will cover every ..read more

In a move to address climate-related challenges, the Department of the Navy has released its comprehensive “Climate Action 2030” strategy in 2022, which outlines robust measures aimed at mitigating climate change impacts and enhancing operational sustainability across the Navy and Marine Corps. The detailed plan sets forth ambitious goals to transform the Navy’s infrastructure, operations, and logistics to be more resilient and sustainable by 2030. Key aspects of the strategy include the transition to non-tactical electric vehicles, the enhancement of alternative energy use such as solar and ..read more

For the past several years, a small group of scientists has warned that sometime early this century, the rate of global warming — which has remained largely steady for decades — might accelerate. Temperatures could rise higher, faster. The drumbeat of weather disasters may become more insistent. And now, after what is poised to be the hottest year in recorded history, the same experts believe that it is already happening. In a paper published last month, climate scientist James E. Hansen and a group of colleagues argued that the pace of global warming is poised to increase by 50 percen ..read more

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