Michael Peck, 1945
After years of opposition from those who fear that combat drones will involve Germany in a permanent U.S-style drone war, the German armed forces - known as the Bundeswehr — may get the green light to deploy armed UAVs.
Gideon Rachman, FT
The transformation of Michel Barnier into a nationalist is a warning sign for the EU
Ido Vock, New Statesman
More EU countries may follow Austria in making vaccination mandatory -but possibly not soon enough to avoid restrictions.
Katja Hoyer, Spectator
By the end of winter, Germans will be ‘vaccinated, recovered or dead,' according to the country's health minister Jens Spahn. Yet as Germany battles another wave of Covid outbreaks with renewed restrictions, the outgoing Merkel administration is failing to inspire public confidence in the central government.
Fehim Tastekin, Al Monitor
As controversy over the upcoming Libyan elections threatens to rekindle clashes between warring factions, the strategy Turkey will follow in the run-up to the vote will be of greater significance.
Dore Feith, RealClearWorld
If Lebanon's economy deteriorates further, one silver lining might be the collapse of Hezbollah, which is Arabic for Party of God. That collapse would serve important U.S. interests, but American officials are working to stave it off. They should reconsider.
Sajid Farid Shapoo, IE
While Beijing's pursuit of hypersonic missiles is neither new nor surprising, the recent tests could spur a deadly arms race between nuclear powers
David Yaari, Jerusalem Post
It is now up to us, the citizens, to head to the virtual town square and support our 120 lawmakers who will deliberate this issue in the coming weeks.
Marko Attila Hoare, Atlantic Council
Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently experiencing its worst crisis since the 1992-1995 war. The Biden administration this week sent its highest-ranking envoy, Derek Chollet, to the region to explore paths forward. His trip has not resulted in any breakthroughs.
James Stavridis, Bloomberg
When Russia launched a missile from Earth that destroyed an old Soviet satellite on Nov. 15, the explosion created thousands of pieces of debris — a virtual cloud of bullets — that will spread through near-Earth orbit or fall to the ground.
Faruk Šehić with Paula Erizanu, Calvert Journal
Walking through Sarajevo, one novella takes prime position in the city's bookops: Faruk Šehić's latest work, Greta. Šehić, who won the European Prize for Literature in 2013 for his debut novel, Quiet Flows the Una, is a household name in Bosnia and Herzegovina — both for his poetry, and for his prose. I meet Šehić in a cafe by the river Miljacka in the capital, where he often goes to be close to water. "I love rivers," he tells me. His claim doesn't come as a surprise. Читать дальше...
Richard Haass, Project Syndicate
Many will welcome the resumption late this month of negotiations between the US and Iran over its nuclear program. The talks are unlikely to succeed, however, and it may be time to replace formal diplomacy with something less formal.
Vladislav Inozemtsev, Riddle
Russia is reaching 2022 with mixed economic performance. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the authorities to declare a lockdown, albeit a short-term and partial one. But a lockdown nonetheless, one which could cause a correction in recovery growth and reduce the final indicator to 4.0-4.2%. Currently, the Bank of Russia's GDP growth forecast stands at 4, 5%, and the IMF at 4.7%.
Читать дальше...
Ruchir Sharma, Financial Times
One of the big mysteries in the global economy is why, though inflation is making a strong comeback, long-term interest rates have barely budged in recent months.
Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs
In recent months and weeks, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has displayed a growing sense of urgency. He has launched an unprecedented crackdown on domestic technology giants, stepped up military activities in the Taiwan Strait, and bullied countries that have crossed Beijing's shifting redlines. Some analysts and experts argue that this behavior marks an increasingly desperate leader trying to stave off the country's all-but-inevitable decline, perhaps even the coming collapse of Communist Party rule. Читать дальше...
David Lepeska, The National
Even as Nato dithers, one of its member states is providing critical support to Kiev
