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Global Geopolitical Series: Key updates from across the world

Here are some key events to keep a tab on,

  • Russia-U.S. - Syria: The United States announced that it won’t be spending dollars to rebuild Syria as President Trump pursues America First strategy and prefers to spend the money home than abroad. President Trump has blocked millions of dollars’ worth of rebuilding aid. Russia said that West’s refusal to rebuild Syria would delay the return of refugees.       
     
  • Iraq: Violence has somewhat abated and vote recount has found no major changes from the earlier count and it was clear that Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's alliance won Iraq's legislative election but not an outright majority. A government formation can be on the way. The United States has announced that its troops would remain in Iraq as long as needed.
     
  • Korean Peninsula: The effect of the peace prospect continues. In the latest move, South Korean visitors to North Korea announced that reform and the opening are progressing rather rapidly.  War-separated families of two Korea met for the first time in over six decades. The next meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae in and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un has been scheduled for September.
     
  • Palestine - Israel: The President of Palestinian Authority (PA) rejected the possibility of Israel-Hamas truce and announced if PA is not handed over the control of Gaza, Hamas will have to take full control of the territory. In recent past, the fighting has intensified along the Gaza border with Hamas firing hundreds of rockets towards Israel and Israel responding in kind using its airforce.  
     
  • Turkey-United States: The relations have taken a turn for the worse, as President Trump has imposed sanctions against Turkey's justice and interior ministers due to the detention of an American pastor. In response to the U.S. sanctions, Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan ordered the authorities to freeze assets of America’s justice and interior minister. However, It is unclear who that would affect, due to differing Cabinet roles in the United States than in Turkey, or if the U.S. officials even have any holdings in Turkey. In the latest move, President Trump has doubled the tariffs on Turkey citing sharp currency declines. And Erdogan responded by increasing tariffs on several U.S. goods including iPhones.
     
  • Trade war: Chinese delegation will visit Washington this month to try and talk out of the trade war. However, Washington and Beijing are expected to announce 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of goods this week.
     
  • Saudi Arabia- Canada: Saudi Arabia has severed economic and diplomatic ties with Canada in response to Canada’s criticism of Saudi Arabia’s handling and capture of activists. Saudi Arabia ordered the expulsion of the Canadian ambassador and the halting of all new trade and investment deals between the two countries after Canada said it was gravely concerned about the recent arrests of Saudi civil society and women’s rights activists. It has also called back its diplomats from Canada. Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to Toronto as the escalation is showing no signs of abating.
     
  • Cyprus: New natural gas discoveries have left a divided Cyprus in the middle of a worsening geopolitical storm in the Eastern Mediterranean.
     

 

 

 

 

 

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