ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Supporters of Muharrem Ince, presidential candidate of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), attend an election rally in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 23, 2018. Osman Orsal / Reuters Polling has started in Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections. There are 56,322,632 registered voters and 180,065 ballot boxes across the country. About 1.49 million expats already voted in a 13-day period between June 7-19 at 123 Turkish missions abroad. Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs more than 50% of the presidential vote to secure his post in the first round of the presidential election. If no candidate gets more than 50%, there will be a second round.  MORE HERE: “ Another Political Crisis May Erupt In Turkey “ Erdogan’s main challenger is Muharrem Ince of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). According to pre-election surveys, Erdogan will get about 47-48% in the first round while Ince will get up to 30%. Thus, many experts predict a two-round challenge. At the sa

Two days ago, when we laid out the components of Merkel and  Macron’s blueprint to reform the EU , we said that while “Macron suggested the proposal will be presented to other countries, with specifics to be worked out later this year and the plans to take effect from 2021, i t was unclear how he plans to get “other countries” to vote for a proposal which has already led to the alienation of Central and Eastern Europe, Brexit and an openly populist government in Italy .” We did not have to wait long for confirmation, because just two days later, Europe’s two self-proclaimed leaders were facing an unexpected backlash from most other European governments against the German and French plans for a common eurozone budget,  dealing a blow to the two countries’ ambitions for a big overhaul of the single currency area. As the  FT reports , the rest of Europe’s “core”, including  the Netherlands, Austria and Finland are among 12 governments questioning the need for any joint eurozone “fi

Ruslan Shamukov/TASS Russia is going to launch construction of a new nuclear-powered guided missile destroyer in 2020, Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief for Armament Viktor Bursuk says. “A preliminary design [of the destroyer] has been made. Following its results, we are now making the necessary decision and work on its technical design will begin shortly and the construction will start after 2020,” Bursuk said in a statement on June 20, according to the state-run news agency TASS. According to the statement, the destroyey will be of the Lider-class, also known as Project 23560. The project is being worked out at the Severnoye Design Bureau in St. Petersburg. The destroyed will have the displacement of 10,000-15,000 tonnes.

Written by Manlio Dinucci; Submited via Global Research The politico-media projectors, focussed as they are on the migratory flow from South to North across the Mediterranean, are leaving other Mediterranean flows in the dark – those moving from North to South, comprised of military forces and weapons. Perhaps we should say the “Enlarged Mediterranean”, an area which, in the framework of USA / NATO strategy, stretches from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, and to the South, from the Persian Gulf as far as the Indian Ocean. During his meeting with NATO  Secretary Jens Stoltenberg , in Rome,  Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte  pointed out the “centrality of the Enlarged Mediterranean for European security”, now threatened by the “arc of instability stretching from the Mediterranean to the Middle East”. Which is why it is important for NATO, an alliance under US command, which Conte describes as the “pillar of interior and international security”. This is a complete inversion of reality.

On June 21, the Iranian Navy allegedly dispatched two warships to the Gulf of Aden, where a fierce battle is ongoing between the Ansar Allah movement (also known as the Houthis) and the Saudi-led coalition for the port city of al-Hudaydah. According to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian naval group composed of the Kharg Helicopter Carrier and Sabalan Destroyer. The Iranian side publicy describes its move with a need to secure naval routes and protect merchant vessels and oil tankers against pirates. The deployment of Iranian warships in the area will likely further complicate relations between Riyadh and Teheran. However, two warships will not be enough to lift a naval blockade from al-Hudaydah.

File image On June 20, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies launched a limited military operation against ISIS in the eastern Homs countryside and secured 2,500km2 between the city of Palmyra and the town of Hamimah. A source in the SAA told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the SAA secured the following areas in eastern Homs during the operation: Tell al-Kibd, Irtiwaziyat al-Akfan, Bir al-Akfan, Tulul al-Jabri, Tulul al-Habari, Bir al-Tayariyah, Bir al-Wurud, Bir Zuid, Bir al-Samadiyah, Bir Atshan, Bir Sijar, Bir al-Bathiyah, Saad al-Waer, Bir Makr al-Waer. The SAA also advanced in the southern and southwestern Deir Ezzor countryside securing 1,200km2 between the areas of Faydat ibn Muiny’a, the T-2 station, M’aizliyah and Dahrat Wadi al-Miyah, according to the SANA. A week earlier,  the SAA launched a similar military operation  during which its forces secured 2,000km2 in the western Deir Ezzor countryside, including Faydat ibn Muiny’a. These limited oper

Written by  Tom Luongo ; Originally appeared on  tomluongo.me I’ve told you that once you start down the Trade War path forever will it dominate your destiny. Well here we are.  Trump slaps big tariffs on aluminum and steel in a bid to leverage Gary Cohn’s  ICE Wall plan to control the metals and oils futures markets .   I’m not sure how much of this stuff I believe but it is clear that the futures price for most strategically important commodities are divorced from the real world. Alistair Crooke also noted the importance of Trump’s  ‘energy dominance’ policy recently , which I suggest strongly you read. But today’s edition of “As the Trade War Churns” is about China and their willingness to shift their energy purchases away from U.S. producers.   Irina Slav at Oilprice.com  has the good bits. The latest escalation in the tariff exchange, however, is a little bit different than all the others so far.  It’s different because it came after Beijing said it intends to slap t

A screenshot from the video Egyptian forces have killed at least 32 militants in two separate operations in the province of Northern Sinai, according to a statement released by the country’s military. According to the statement, the Egyptian Air Force alos destroyed two vehicles loaded with weapons and ammunition and 21 hideouts of the terrorists. In February, the Egyptian Army and security forces launched a wide-scale operation against militants, mostly members of ISIS, in Northern Sinai. According to data from the Egyptian military, 318 militants and 37 military personnel have so far been killed. The operation is still ongoing. A total of 272 hideouts of militants were discovered and destroyed, and 250 wanted criminals and suspects were detained.