Headlines

Tel Aviv, May 19.– Israel fired artillery at targets in Lebanon on Wednesday after four rockets were launched toward Israel from Lebanese territory, the Israeli military said.

Israel’s missile defenses intercepted one of the projectiles and “the rest most likely fell in open areas,” the military said. The rockets caused air raid sirens to blare in the northern Israeli city of Haifa and areas to the east.

Security sources in Lebanon confirmed that four rockets had been launched towards Israel from Seddiqine, a village in the region of Lebanon’s southern coastal city of Tyre.

It was not immediately clear who had fired the rockets, and there were no reports of damage on either side.

 An Israeli soldier inspects damage to an apartment in a residential building after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip."

[ Full text ] 

Authoritarian tendencies have been strikingly on the rise in many countries, says leading economist Amartya Sen, who painted a grim picture of tyranny and the impact of pandemics on participatory democracy.

Cornell, May 6.– Sen was the speaker at the 37th annual Bartels World Affairs Fellowship lecture at Cornell University on Wednesday, 5 May. Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1988 for his work in welfare economics and the causes of famine, the 87-year-old is currently Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University.

In opening the live web discussion, Cornell Vice-Provost for International Affairs Wendy Wolford made the point: “Famine and poverty are generally not due to scarcity or to lack of ability, but rather to a lack of entitlements. Entitlements that flow from a range of tangible and intangible goods, such as education, political power and racial or ethnic status.”

• Pakistan, Saudi Arabia form council to boost collaboration.

• Army chief discusses regional security with Prince Salman.

Islamabad, May 8.– Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Friday renewed pledge to enhance cooperation between the two countries in different fields.

The reaffirmation to boost the bilateral ties came during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Canberra’s had enough of trade embargoes and Chinese grievances—and is ready to draw a line. 

Canberra, May 4.– Australian defense officials and politicians alike are striking an increasingly hawkish tone on China. This week, it was revealed that a former top general warned his troops last year of the “high likelihood” of war with China. This comes just days after Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton raised eyebrows with his assessment that Chinese bullying of Taiwan could lead to a regional conflict.

Canberra’s more muscular posture, coupled with an increase in defense spending even amid the pandemic, spells an unusually confrontational approach toward China for a country that once tried to balance its economic relations with its largest trading partner against its decades-old defense commitments to the United States. Washington is repaying Canberra’s efforts, redoubling diplomatic and military engagement with Australian counterparts to jointly plan any response to Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.