BRUSSELS (Reuters) - After decades of punching above its weight in Europe, Britain's influence in the European Union is waning, even before we know whether a promised referendum on "Brexit" will go ahead.
Tunisian forces kill nine militants in south before solidarity march
TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian forces killed nine militants during a raid in a southern region as part of crackdown following the attack on the Tunis Bardo museum that targeted foreign tourists, an interior ministry official said on Sunday.
Diplomats and U.N. staff flee Yemen as Houthis target Aden
ADEN (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's navy evacuated dozens of diplomats from Yemen on Saturday and the United Nations pulled out international staff after a third night of Saudi-led air strikes trying to stem advances by Iranian-allied Houthi fighters.
Water Is Being Used As A Weapon In The Wars of The Middle East
There’s a lack of respect among warring sides for the protected status of water, according to the Red Cross. Osman Orsal/Reuters
Lucy Westcott, Newsweek: Water Being Used as a Weapon in the Middle East, Red Cross Warns
Water supplies are being targeted by fighters in Syria and Iraq and water systems in the Middle East are approaching breaking point due to conflicts there, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) warned in a report released on Wednesday.
Aging water systems, rising demand for food and growing populations were already putting Middle Eastern and Gulf water supplies at great risk. Add to that the fighting in Syria and the violence being wrought by ISIS militants, which has caused millions to uproot, and the region faces a critical situation.
“Using access to water as a tactic or weapon during conflict, or targeting water or energy facilities, not only violates the laws of armed conflict, it has very harmful effects on the lives of people whose health is already extremely vulnerable,” Robert Mardini, ICRC’s head of operations for the Middle East, said in a statement on Wednesday.
WNU Editor: Predictions on the use of water as a weapon (or being the cause of wars) has been around for a very long time. As for the Middle East .... many have been predicting a breaking point was just around the corner .... Can The Middle East Avoid Future Water Wars? .... and it now looks like that point has not only been reached, but to be used as a weapon against those on the other side.
Singaporeans bid final farewell to founding father Lee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people braved heavy rain and lined the streets of Singapore on Sunday to catch a last glimpse of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew as his funeral procession wound through the country he helped build.
Modi's popularity in rural India punctured by discontent, suicides
VAIDI, India (Reuters) - Over a dozen debt-laden farmers have committed suicide in recent weeks in India, and discontent in many rural areas against government policies is turning into anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi less than a year after he swept into office.
Famous Deserters In US Military History
Eddie Slovik
We Are The Mighty: 4 Of The Most Famous Deserters In US Military History
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl now faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, and if he’s found guilty, he’ll join a list of U.S. military deserters throughout history that includes famous names such as Steve McQueen and Mark Twain.
We looked back and found some of the more infamous cases of soldiers deserting or going AWOL from their military service. Here’s what we found:
WNU Editor: I know of Eddie Slovik .... but the other three .... I am shocked.
Mercenaries Are Making A Comeback
YouTube
Kathy Gilsinan, The Atlantic: The Return of the Mercenary
How private armies, and the technology they use, are changing warfare.
The use of mercenaries in warfare has a very long history—much longer, in fact, than the almost-exclusive deployment of national militaries to wage wars. Before the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended Europe's Thirty Years' War and marked the rise of the modern state system, medieval powers from kings to popes routinely hired private fighters to do battle for them. As state governments sought a monopoly on the use of force within their territories in the 17th century, however, they moved to stamp out violence by non-state actors, including mercenaries, driving the industry underground.
WNU Editor: Mercenaries have been with us since the beginning of time .... I guess some things just do not change.
The End Of America's Blue-Water Navy?
The amphibious assault ships of Commander, Task Force Fifty One (CTF-51) come together in an unprecedented formation during operations in the North Arabian Gulf. This marked the first time that six large deck amphibious ships from the East and West coasts have deployed together in one area of operation. Led by the flag ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1), the ships are (from left to right): USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), USS Bataan (LHD 5), USS Saipan (LHA 2), and USS Boxer (LHD 4). CTF-51 led Navy amphibious forces in the Arabian Gulf region during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 32 ships of CTF-51 composed the largest amphibious force assembled since the Inchon landing, during the Korean War. Wikipedia
Peter Dombrowski, National Interest: Is America's Blue-Water Navy Doomed?
It has been nearly eight years since the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard announced their first tri-service vision, A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower (CS21) on October 17, 2007. On Friday March 13, the current service chiefs, Admiral Greenert, General Dunford and Admiral Zukunft, revealed an updated version A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower: Forward, Engaged, Ready (CS21-2015) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. As I write, analysts and maritime enthusiasts are already slinging arrows and darts at the document. The criticisms are predictable: CS21-2015 does not conform to one of the classic war college definitions of strategy; it does not pay sufficient attention to the latest headlines, some region or warfighting specialty is inadequately emphasized by the strategy, and on and on and on.
WNU Editor: The proliferation of A2/AD capabilities coupled with the rise of other navies (notably China's) has changed U.S. naval doctrine significantly .... and will continue to do so as the U.S. Navy decreases in size and the navies of other countries continue to expand and dominate their maritime spheres of influence.
Brazil minister Levy privately criticized Rousseff: report
SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy mildly criticized President Dilma Rousseff, saying she does not always act in "the most effective way," in remarks at a time when investors are watching for signs of tension between the two philosophically different leaders.
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