How to get North Koreans off the boat

Newly minted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to reporters on Friday while visiting South Korea, said that the military option was “on the table” if the U.S. felt North Korea’s missile program, specifically their nuclear intentions, required it. Also on Friday, President Trump jumped on his Twitter account to chastise North Korea saying, “North […]

Syrian forces and rebels fight fierce clashes in northeast Damascus

Syrian rebels launched a major offensive on Sunday that brought them close to the heart of the Old City of Damascus, and government forces responded with intense bombardments of rebel-held areas. The escalation, reported by witnesses, state TV, rebel sources, and a monitoring group, marked a bid by the rebels to relieve army pressure on […]

In China debut, Tillerson appears to hand Beijing a diplomatic victory

BEIJING — While his boss was goading China over Twitter, new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been trying to build a constructive and “results-oriented” relationship with the leadership in Beijing. And though his warnings about the possibility of eventual military action over North Korea have raised hackles here, Tillerson received a warm welcome from […]

How China could stop a US strike on North Korea — without starting World War III

While the US openly mulls military action against North Korea and its possibly nuclear consequences, another threat looms largely behind: China. “Broadly speaking, if you asked me a year ago if war between major powers was thinkable, I’d say no. Now I’d say yes,” Ian Bremmer, the head of Eurasia Group told Business Insider. “Not imminent, […]

North Korea condemns South Korea and the US for B-1 Bomber provocation

North Korea is highly upset with the United States and South Korea for “escalating nuclear attack threats” with a “fleet” of B-1 Lancer bombers and the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson participating in military drills in South Korea. Love the fist pumps at the end of the video! North Korea’s official news agency, KCNA, said a […]

Somali pirates disembark hijacked tanker empty handed, are permitted to flee

Four days after hijacking a Comoros-flagged oil tanker, Aris 13, with eight Sri Lankans on board, Somali pirates disembarked the vessel and fled empty-handed, leaving the ship and its crew intact to continue along to Bosaso Port, the region’s commercial hub. Ahmed Mohamed, a security official from the semi autonomous state of Puntland within Somalia, made […]

Syrian government claims to have downed Israeli jet inside Syria

Syria launched surface-to-air missiles at Israeli warplanes earlier today, and have now claimed to have shot one down and damaged another. The exchange was confirmed by both Israel and Syria, but Israel so far denies it has a downed aircraft. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that after attacking Hezbollah targets inside Syria, their aircraft […]

Turkey threatens to cancel immigration deals with EU as relationship falters

Turkey’s relationship with the European Union continues to deteriorate as they threaten to cancel key migration agreements. The comments from Turkey’s foreign minister are another low point in an ongoing quasi-diplomatic crisis between Turkey and a number of EU nations. Earlier this week, Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan accused government officials in the Netherlands and Germany […]

How China could stop a US strike on North Korea — without starting World War III

After North Korea tested a salvo of ballistic missiles designed to defeat US and allied missile defenses in the Pacific, speculation has risen about a possible US “decapitation strike” on North Korea. With the help of Stratfor‘s Sim Tack, Business Insider detailed how such a strike would likely play out, but in the interest of keeping […]