Tag: Conflict
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Philippines row puts Obama’s legacy under fire
The president of the Philippines has threatened to throw US troops out of his country. It is the latest blow to President Obama in Asia. Was he wrong to place so much focus on the far east?
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Thousands moved as Calais ‘Jungle’ demolished
Police will begin dismantling a notorious camp for migrants in the north of France today. Most of its residents want a better life in Britain — so does the UK have a duty to give it to them?
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Fall of Dabiq is ‘end of the world’ for ISIS
Yesterday ISIS lost control of a small Syrian town which is the battleground that will end the world. Or so it teaches. Is this ‘game over’ for ISIS? Or the trigger for a bloody martyrdom?
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Blow-up weapons reveal Russia’s scare tactics
Yesterday’s news that Russia was developing a fleet of inflatable jets to wage psychological war on the West came at the end of a critical week, in which some began to fear all-out war.
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Shock as Colombian voters reject peace deal
Last weekend, Colombians were asked to approve a controversial peace deal between their government and Marxist rebels. They shocked the world by refusing. Did they make a mistake?
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New York bomb attack exposes Western nerves
Nobody was killed. All the injured were released from hospital. Yet the shock waves from Saturday night’s explosion in Manhattan continue to divide opinion and dominate the news cycle. Why?
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ISIS faces endgame as USA and Russia team up
At sundown this evening a ceasefire is due to begin in Syria. The world’s two great hostile powers will then launch a joint centre to combat jihadists, including ISIS. Should we be celebrating?
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Colombia: ‘proof that world peace is possible’
Last week a deal was agreed in Colombia that could end the western hemisphere’s last remaining war. It is proof, says the country’s president, that world peace is more than just a pipedream.
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USA considers ‘no first use’ nuclear pledge
For over 70 years the USA has been prepared to launch a nuclear first strike. Now President Obama may issue a promise to the contrary. Would this be bold and statesmanlike, or naive and weak?
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The future of war — ‘anything is a weapon’
From jamming GPS to Twitter propaganda: a British Army report warns that Russia is using Ukraine to rehearse ‘hybrid warfare’ against the West. Scaremongering? Or a glimpse into the future?
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Meet the refugees carrying the Olympic flame
As children Yolande Mabika and Popole Misenga fled the deadliest war in Africa’s history. Today they compete for Olympic medals as part of the Games’ first ever Refugee Team.
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Japanese emperor hints at end of peaceful era
The head of the world’s oldest monarchy has revealed his desire to step down. He will be known as the emperor of ‘peace everywhere’ — but could Japan’s age of pacifism be coming to an end?
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Trump support falls after ‘disastrous week’
Last week, Trump got into fights with top Republicans, the parents of a deceased US soldier, and a crying baby. He is ‘woefully’ unfit to be president, says Obama. Do his supporters care?
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Moral nightmare behind the battle of Aleppo
The Assad government continues to cause misery in Syria. But the USA wants to work with Assad’s ally, Russia, to defeat Islamic State. Is this a risky gamble, or a necessary compromise?
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Global freedom in retreat as autocracy spreads
A former UK foreign secretary says global liberty is ‘in retreat’. Some expected liberal values to spread this century. But growing evidence suggests freedom’s enemies are gaining ground.