🇳🇱Netherlands to suspend all trade with illegal Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank, Golan Heights
Jewish pogroms across the West Bank have surged significantly since the start of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced on 22 May that his country will suspend all trade in goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights.
The decision was approved in principle by the Council of Ministers.
Jetten said the measure is intended to "prevent Dutch society from contributing, through our economic activities, to illegal occupation and the maintenance of illegal settlements," according to his press conference.
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Jewish pogroms across the West Bank have surged significantly since the start of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced on 22 May that his country will suspend all trade in goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights.
The decision was approved in principle by the Council of Ministers.
Jetten said the measure is intended to "prevent Dutch society from contributing, through our economic activities, to illegal occupation and the maintenance of illegal settlements," according to his press conference.
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🇺🇸The Replacements: How US helps foreign workers take American jobs
Mary, a veteran Silicon Valley marketer who can't find a job, considers herself a victim of an H-1B visa program run amok.
Her story, a U.S. native replaced by a foreign-born employee who is willing to work at a significantly lower wage, has become commonplace, particularly in the tech industry.
Adding insult to injury, she says, her CEO, who hails from India, told her to train the man he selected to replace her before laying her off.
Despite stints at Google and Cisco and two years of job hunting, Mary can no longer compete in a job market saturated with foreign-born H-1B visa holders.
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Mary, a veteran Silicon Valley marketer who can't find a job, considers herself a victim of an H-1B visa program run amok.
Her story, a U.S. native replaced by a foreign-born employee who is willing to work at a significantly lower wage, has become commonplace, particularly in the tech industry.
Adding insult to injury, she says, her CEO, who hails from India, told her to train the man he selected to replace her before laying her off.
Despite stints at Google and Cisco and two years of job hunting, Mary can no longer compete in a job market saturated with foreign-born H-1B visa holders.
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🇮🇷Netanyahu's 'hair was on fire' after Trump call on Iran - Axios
Israel wants to resume the war, while Washington and regional mediators push Tehran to accept a peace deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was furious after a tense call with US President Donald Trump over a new proposal to end the war with Iran, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
One US source briefed on the conversation said Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" after the call, which took place after Trump delayed a "very major attack" on Iran, saying Gulf leaders asked the US to give diplomacy more time.
The US president has since said the US and Iran are "right on the borderline" between a deal and renewed war.
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Israel wants to resume the war, while Washington and regional mediators push Tehran to accept a peace deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was furious after a tense call with US President Donald Trump over a new proposal to end the war with Iran, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
One US source briefed on the conversation said Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" after the call, which took place after Trump delayed a "very major attack" on Iran, saying Gulf leaders asked the US to give diplomacy more time.
The US president has since said the US and Iran are "right on the borderline" between a deal and renewed war.
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🇮🇷🇷🇺Caspian lifeline redraws the Iran - Russia war map
The war pressure on Iran has always been mapped from the south.
US bases ring the Persian Gulf, Israeli intelligence probes the region from Azerbaijan and beyond, and Washington's naval power has long treated the narrow waterways around Iran as a pressure point.
The more the US-Israel axis leans on the Gulf, the more Tehran's strategic depth shifts northward, across a closed body of water that western planners cannot easily dominate.
The Caspian Sea now matters because it gives Iran and Russia something both states urgently need, a direct, politically controlled route outside the reach of hostile land corridors.
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The war pressure on Iran has always been mapped from the south.
US bases ring the Persian Gulf, Israeli intelligence probes the region from Azerbaijan and beyond, and Washington's naval power has long treated the narrow waterways around Iran as a pressure point.
The more the US-Israel axis leans on the Gulf, the more Tehran's strategic depth shifts northward, across a closed body of water that western planners cannot easily dominate.
The Caspian Sea now matters because it gives Iran and Russia something both states urgently need, a direct, politically controlled route outside the reach of hostile land corridors.
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🇲🇦Morocco launches mass deportations to block Europe migration route
As the EU rolls out its new, stricter migration pact, Morocco intensifies crackdown and interceptions of sub-Saharan Africans at Europe's behest Since 14 April, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe, reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye.
According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe.
The operation is still ongoing, with authorities then moving their focus to operations in and around Tangier.
Witnesses have described mass arrests, beatings, racist abuse and forced transfers toward the Algerian border.
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As the EU rolls out its new, stricter migration pact, Morocco intensifies crackdown and interceptions of sub-Saharan Africans at Europe's behest Since 14 April, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe, reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye.
According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe.
The operation is still ongoing, with authorities then moving their focus to operations in and around Tangier.
Witnesses have described mass arrests, beatings, racist abuse and forced transfers toward the Algerian border.
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German taxpayers on the hook for mass migration costs of €40 billion in 2025
German taxpayers not only paid over €40 billion, but also face higher housing costs, more road traffic, crowded hospitals, growing insecurity, higher insurance premiums, and a host of other ills not officially tracked in this figure.
Migrants cost German taxpayers — just at the federal level — €24.8 billion in 2025, according to new data in the "refugee costs report" from the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
However, the true sum is much higher.
The €24.8 billion is strictly the federal bill.
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German taxpayers not only paid over €40 billion, but also face higher housing costs, more road traffic, crowded hospitals, growing insecurity, higher insurance premiums, and a host of other ills not officially tracked in this figure.
Migrants cost German taxpayers — just at the federal level — €24.8 billion in 2025, according to new data in the "refugee costs report" from the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
However, the true sum is much higher.
The €24.8 billion is strictly the federal bill.
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🇺🇸🇮🇷SOTT FOCUS: NewsReal: Trump Says Iran Deal 'Close', But Can He 'Surrender' US Hegemony?
Another 'TACO Tuesday' came and went... by Thursday the US military was again 'locked and loaded' for another go at Iran... and by Saturday evening Trump was dangling another peace deal - 'for realz this time'. As American diplomacy erratically yo-yo's, in the real world, some oil tankers are once more sailing the Strait of Hormuz, but now on Iran's terms.
War is a cynical business, a 'racket', as US General Smedley Butler said a century ago.
Wars begin because they're profitable, and only end with the promise of more profit.
Is it a 'win' for the US if it makes more money selling more oil, even if that means Iran is also doing so?
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Another 'TACO Tuesday' came and went... by Thursday the US military was again 'locked and loaded' for another go at Iran... and by Saturday evening Trump was dangling another peace deal - 'for realz this time'. As American diplomacy erratically yo-yo's, in the real world, some oil tankers are once more sailing the Strait of Hormuz, but now on Iran's terms.
War is a cynical business, a 'racket', as US General Smedley Butler said a century ago.
Wars begin because they're profitable, and only end with the promise of more profit.
Is it a 'win' for the US if it makes more money selling more oil, even if that means Iran is also doing so?
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The Marxist in the machine
Should we be worried that AI becomes more left-wing if it doesn't like you?
Our fears for the future of robot intelligence almost inevitably end in spectacular fashion, with nuclear explosions and slaughter on a planetary scale.
An abiding memory of my childhood is going over to the neighbors' house and watching Terminator 2 on VHS with my friends Ethan and Nathan, who were both older than me.
I must have been about five years old — about 13 years too young to watch the film.
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Should we be worried that AI becomes more left-wing if it doesn't like you?
Our fears for the future of robot intelligence almost inevitably end in spectacular fashion, with nuclear explosions and slaughter on a planetary scale.
An abiding memory of my childhood is going over to the neighbors' house and watching Terminator 2 on VHS with my friends Ethan and Nathan, who were both older than me.
I must have been about five years old — about 13 years too young to watch the film.
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🇺🇸🇮🇷Iran has wiped out one-fifth of the US Reaper drone fleet
30 UAVs worth nearly $1 billion have reportedly been destroyed or damaged since start of the war, with the model no longer being produced The US military has lost up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the start of the conflict with Iran, which accounts for nearly a fifth of Washington's entire pre-war fleet and is valued at close to $1 billion, Bloomberg has reported.
The bulk of them were destroyed or seriously damaged by Iranian fire, according to the outlet.
The MQ-9 Reaper is capable of conducting both reconnaissance and strike missions.
A single drone is estimated to cost more than $30 million.
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30 UAVs worth nearly $1 billion have reportedly been destroyed or damaged since start of the war, with the model no longer being produced The US military has lost up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the start of the conflict with Iran, which accounts for nearly a fifth of Washington's entire pre-war fleet and is valued at close to $1 billion, Bloomberg has reported.
The bulk of them were destroyed or seriously damaged by Iranian fire, according to the outlet.
The MQ-9 Reaper is capable of conducting both reconnaissance and strike missions.
A single drone is estimated to cost more than $30 million.
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🇦🇺Shark attack kills man at Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2nd fatality in 8 days
A man has died after a shark attack off the north-east coast of Australia, the second fatal incident in the country in as many weeks, with beaches in the area closed as authorities assess safety conditions.
Emergency services were called to Hull River Heads boat ramp near Tully on the Cassowary Coast, in Queensland, just before noon on Sunday after reports that a 39-year-old had been attacked while swimming at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef used for recreational fishing and diving lying about 45 kilometres off the coast.
The man was retrieved from the water in a critical condition but died shortly after being met by an ambulance.
The type of shark involved has not been confirmed, though bull sharks and tiger sharks are known to be prevalent along the Great Barrier Reef.
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A man has died after a shark attack off the north-east coast of Australia, the second fatal incident in the country in as many weeks, with beaches in the area closed as authorities assess safety conditions.
Emergency services were called to Hull River Heads boat ramp near Tully on the Cassowary Coast, in Queensland, just before noon on Sunday after reports that a 39-year-old had been attacked while swimming at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef used for recreational fishing and diving lying about 45 kilometres off the coast.
The man was retrieved from the water in a critical condition but died shortly after being met by an ambulance.
The type of shark involved has not been confirmed, though bull sharks and tiger sharks are known to be prevalent along the Great Barrier Reef.
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🇿🇦Freak hailstorm casts white blanket over Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
An agrometeorologist says climate change may be contributing to increasingly unpredictable and severe weather patterns after an unprecedented hailstorm battered Pietermaritzburg on Saturday night, leaving parts of the city blanketed in thick ice and residents and motorists "snowed in". Pelham Residents were left stunned after the storm dumped thick layers of hail over roads, homes and vehicles for more than 30 minutes, leaving motorists stranded and residents spending hours shovelling hail from driveways and roads well into Sunday morning.
Large parts of the city resembled snow-covered landscapes, with some residents describing the buildup as "calf-deep" in certain areas.
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An agrometeorologist says climate change may be contributing to increasingly unpredictable and severe weather patterns after an unprecedented hailstorm battered Pietermaritzburg on Saturday night, leaving parts of the city blanketed in thick ice and residents and motorists "snowed in". Pelham Residents were left stunned after the storm dumped thick layers of hail over roads, homes and vehicles for more than 30 minutes, leaving motorists stranded and residents spending hours shovelling hail from driveways and roads well into Sunday morning.
Large parts of the city resembled snow-covered landscapes, with some residents describing the buildup as "calf-deep" in certain areas.
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🇧🇬Several days of heavy rain in northern Bulgaria causes severe flooding
Tragedy in Bulgaria just now! Large-scale water drowned houses, emergency in Sevlievo Several days of heavy rain in northern Bulgaria have caused rivers to overflow, flooding settlements and forcing evacuations in several regions, including Veliko Tarnovo, Sevlievo, Apriltsi, and parts of Gabrovo.
Authorities warn that the situation remains unstable as water levels continue to rise.
Emergency services are operating throughout the region, and officials describe the situation as one of the most severe in recent years.
Meanwhile, in Veliko Tarnovo, the Yantra River has reached a height of approximately 7.56 meters and remains at a dangerously high level.
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Tragedy in Bulgaria just now! Large-scale water drowned houses, emergency in Sevlievo Several days of heavy rain in northern Bulgaria have caused rivers to overflow, flooding settlements and forcing evacuations in several regions, including Veliko Tarnovo, Sevlievo, Apriltsi, and parts of Gabrovo.
Authorities warn that the situation remains unstable as water levels continue to rise.
Emergency services are operating throughout the region, and officials describe the situation as one of the most severe in recent years.
Meanwhile, in Veliko Tarnovo, the Yantra River has reached a height of approximately 7.56 meters and remains at a dangerously high level.
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🇮🇳Fresh May snowfall in Kashmir, India
Fresh snowfall was reported from Minamarg and the Drass sector near Zoji La on Monday, bringing down temperatures sharply and covering higher reaches under a fresh layer of snow.
Reports said heavy snowfall lashed the upper reaches of Minamarg and areas around Drass near the strategic Zoji La axis, turning vast mountain stretches white.
The fresh spell of snow was accompanied by a noticeable drop in temperature, reviving cold conditions across the region.
Locals and travelers said snow accumulation was visible across higher elevations, while chilly winds and overcast skies added to the wintry conditions.
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Fresh snowfall was reported from Minamarg and the Drass sector near Zoji La on Monday, bringing down temperatures sharply and covering higher reaches under a fresh layer of snow.
Reports said heavy snowfall lashed the upper reaches of Minamarg and areas around Drass near the strategic Zoji La axis, turning vast mountain stretches white.
The fresh spell of snow was accompanied by a noticeable drop in temperature, reviving cold conditions across the region.
Locals and travelers said snow accumulation was visible across higher elevations, while chilly winds and overcast skies added to the wintry conditions.
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Paradoxically fear is the foundation of stability: deterrence works
Professor Sergei Karaganov has written a paper - How to Win a World War - that advocates a limited nuclear strike on an adversary by Russia, as the means of preventing a World War.
On the face of it, this may seem to be an oxymoron - a nuclear strike precisely done to prevent World War.
A number of western commentators have reacted with unalloyed hostility, with Professor Karaganov being presented as a political outlier, advocating fringe policies that could open Pandora's box to wider nuclear conflict.
Is it bluff or a revolutionary re-think of Russia's defence strategy?
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Professor Sergei Karaganov has written a paper - How to Win a World War - that advocates a limited nuclear strike on an adversary by Russia, as the means of preventing a World War.
On the face of it, this may seem to be an oxymoron - a nuclear strike precisely done to prevent World War.
A number of western commentators have reacted with unalloyed hostility, with Professor Karaganov being presented as a political outlier, advocating fringe policies that could open Pandora's box to wider nuclear conflict.
Is it bluff or a revolutionary re-think of Russia's defence strategy?
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🇵🇭☄️Meteor fireball seen over erupting Mayon Volcano in the Philippines on May 25
A meteor was recorded passing over the slopes of Mayon Volcano on Monday evening, May 25, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). Phivolcs said its Ligñon Hill IP Camera in Legazpi City captured the meteor at around 10:33 p.m., but noted that it disintegrated while still in the atmosphere and did not reach the slopes of Mayon.
At the time of the sighting, the active volcano in Albay was on its 140th consecutive day of effusive eruption, marked by the slow outflow of lava and intermittent pyroclastic density currents.
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A meteor was recorded passing over the slopes of Mayon Volcano on Monday evening, May 25, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). Phivolcs said its Ligñon Hill IP Camera in Legazpi City captured the meteor at around 10:33 p.m., but noted that it disintegrated while still in the atmosphere and did not reach the slopes of Mayon.
At the time of the sighting, the active volcano in Albay was on its 140th consecutive day of effusive eruption, marked by the slow outflow of lava and intermittent pyroclastic density currents.
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The importance of inexpert opinion
I was out with a friend for lunch the other day (yeah, I still have a few of those left). This friend leans more to the liberal side of things.
He certainly doesn't care for Trump, is a vax advocate, etc.
A very nice guy, I have to say — a superb artist, an excellent father, and just a good all-around person.
I won't go off on a tangent here, but sheep types are typically not bad people.
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I was out with a friend for lunch the other day (yeah, I still have a few of those left). This friend leans more to the liberal side of things.
He certainly doesn't care for Trump, is a vax advocate, etc.
A very nice guy, I have to say — a superb artist, an excellent father, and just a good all-around person.
I won't go off on a tangent here, but sheep types are typically not bad people.
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Acceptable till it wasn't: Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Global Sumud Flotilla
It has been a sorry though predictable exercise.
When he lived up (or down) to expectations of atrocious conduct befitting the proud bigot that he is, Israel's Minister for National Security had to be seen as aberrant, the man who strayed, if only slightly.
The conduct in question involved Itamar Ben-Gvir's posting of footage on social media mocking the fate of activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla who had made a failed humanitarian effort to break the blockade of Gaza.
The activists, seized in international waters by Israeli forces off the coast of Cyprus, had been blindfolded, their hands bound, and forced to kneel on the floor at the Port of Ashdod.
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It has been a sorry though predictable exercise.
When he lived up (or down) to expectations of atrocious conduct befitting the proud bigot that he is, Israel's Minister for National Security had to be seen as aberrant, the man who strayed, if only slightly.
The conduct in question involved Itamar Ben-Gvir's posting of footage on social media mocking the fate of activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla who had made a failed humanitarian effort to break the blockade of Gaza.
The activists, seized in international waters by Israeli forces off the coast of Cyprus, had been blindfolded, their hands bound, and forced to kneel on the floor at the Port of Ashdod.
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The DNC finally releases its 2024 autopsy, and it's a total whitewash
The Democratic National Committee has released its long-awaited "autopsy" of the 2024 presidential election, and it is getting panned from all sides for being evasive, poorly constructed, and conspicuously silent on the two most consequential decisions the party made in 2024.
DNC Chair Ken Martin had been sitting on this report since late last year.
He pledged transparency, then reversed course in December, saying he would not release it.
The reversal created a slow-motion credibility crisis.
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The Democratic National Committee has released its long-awaited "autopsy" of the 2024 presidential election, and it is getting panned from all sides for being evasive, poorly constructed, and conspicuously silent on the two most consequential decisions the party made in 2024.
DNC Chair Ken Martin had been sitting on this report since late last year.
He pledged transparency, then reversed course in December, saying he would not release it.
The reversal created a slow-motion credibility crisis.
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EU leaders silent on deadly Ukrainian attack on college dorm
Western officials have condemned Russian retaliatory strikes on Kiev, while omitting to mention the Friday drone attack that killed 21 people.
The European Union's top brass and the leaders of several member states have issued statements on the latest exchange of strikes between Kiev and Moscow that ignore the recent deadly Ukrainian attack on a college dormitory that preceded Russian retaliatory strikes.
According to the Russian authorities, 21 people, mostly teenage girls, lost their lives and 60 more sustained injuries after three waves of Ukrainian drones targeted the main academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College in the Lugansk People's Republic overnight from Thursday to Friday.
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Western officials have condemned Russian retaliatory strikes on Kiev, while omitting to mention the Friday drone attack that killed 21 people.
The European Union's top brass and the leaders of several member states have issued statements on the latest exchange of strikes between Kiev and Moscow that ignore the recent deadly Ukrainian attack on a college dormitory that preceded Russian retaliatory strikes.
According to the Russian authorities, 21 people, mostly teenage girls, lost their lives and 60 more sustained injuries after three waves of Ukrainian drones targeted the main academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College in the Lugansk People's Republic overnight from Thursday to Friday.
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🇦🇿Americanization of Azerbaijan's foreign policy
Azerbaijan is rapidly moving closer to the United States and NATO as Washington redirects its geopolitical focus from the Russo-Ukrainian War toward the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan's expanding military, political, and strategic cooperation with the West risks turning the region into a new center of geopolitical confrontation involving Russia, Iran, and Western powers.
The US is finding another shoulder to shoot fire at its rivals, and this time it's none other than Azerbaijan.
It's often said in geopolitics, "Once you enter the realm of realpolitik, there is no way out." No matter what the current Trump administration thinks of Russia, the US strategic circles are determined to create instability near the Russian borders.
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Azerbaijan is rapidly moving closer to the United States and NATO as Washington redirects its geopolitical focus from the Russo-Ukrainian War toward the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan's expanding military, political, and strategic cooperation with the West risks turning the region into a new center of geopolitical confrontation involving Russia, Iran, and Western powers.
The US is finding another shoulder to shoot fire at its rivals, and this time it's none other than Azerbaijan.
It's often said in geopolitics, "Once you enter the realm of realpolitik, there is no way out." No matter what the current Trump administration thinks of Russia, the US strategic circles are determined to create instability near the Russian borders.
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