Chatham House: One year of Syria’s transition: Progress, challenges and prospects

PHOTO: The new Syrian Government Today’s Chatham House meeting is chaired by Raya Jalabi, Middle East Correspondent, Financial Times. On the panel are: Dr Haid Haid, MENA Programme, Rime Allaf, Syrian writer, formerly Chatham House and Dr Ibrahim Al-Assil, Belfer Center, Harvard University. It is a year since the rapid…

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Chatham House: Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States, speaks at Chatham House

Mike Pence shared insights on U.S. foreign policy at Chatham House, emphasizing the importance of strong transatlantic ties amid rising global tensions with Russia and China. He highlighted the need for America to lead while addressing issues like public debt and immigration reform. Pence asserted that strong alliances and values are crucial for global stability.

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Chatham House: A foreign policy for the new Syria

Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria’s foreign minister, outlines post-civil war plans to rebuild international relations and internal governance. The new regime aims for inclusivity, economic investment, and transitional justice while addressing community trust. He emphasizes a pragmatic approach towards rebuilding, focusing on diplomatic ties, especially with the UK and Turkey, amidst regional challenges.

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Review: AI, Automation, And War – The Rise Of A Military-Tech Complex – by Anthony King

Artificial Intelligence or AI is a real technology buzz word. It has dominated global news stories and is seen as the great new leap forward in modern technology that will have a transformative effect on all our daily lives. Whereas the advantages to the civilian sector seem positive, good and…

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Review: Before Bletchley Park – The Codebreakers of The First World War – by Paul Gannon

I have previously read a lot of material on World War 2 codebreakers and the likes of Alan Turing and their critical work against Enigma and the invention of modern computing during that period. Of course, codebreaking and cryptography is not a new science and has been a critical part…

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Happy 100th Birthday Henry Kissinger

Henry Kissinger, a prominent figure in U.S. foreign policy, celebrated his 100th birthday on May 27, 2023. Known for his role as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, he is credited with pivotal moments like U.S.-China relations renewal and criticized for human rights issues in Latin America. His insights remain relevant in contemporary geopolitics.

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Review: Defending The Realm – MI5 and The Shayler Affair – by Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding

This is just another one of the many books I’ve read on the security services / spies / intelligence agencies in general. I guess I have a morbid fascination. Non-fiction throws up some pretty weird stuff – Life itself is a lot stranger than fiction. This tale from a turncoat…

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Wez G – Vine Line – Episode 3

This third episode of Wez G’s poptastic mix, Vine Line, is inspired by hits from Eurovision 2023 plus songs by female superstars Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey. :::Tracklist::: # Artist name Track name 1 Taylor Swift & Lana Del Rey Snow on the Beach 2 Kariya Let Me Love…

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Typing Beginner Unit

Learning about #cybersecurity on the Masterschool course, requires us to be able to use computers as effectively as possible and one skill that coders need to be adept at, seems simple and obvious, but can’t really be taken for granted. At Typing.com we were enrolled and signed up to do…

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Review: Cybersecurity: The Beginner’s Guide – by Dr Erdal Ozkaya

I am just about to embark in an online professional cybersecurity course with Masterschool in Tel Aviv, Israel. I am a relative novice in this field and in order to be as prepared as possible for the new academic venture I bought this introductory text to bring me up to…

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Review: The Dragons and the Snakes – How The Rest Learned to Fight The West – by David Kilcullen

This is one of the very best books I have ever read. It is up to date material and full of cutting edge military theory and ideas and I believe is critical essential reading for any politician or military personnel, especially those who conduct their employment in the NATO led…

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Review: Behind The Enigma – The Authorised History of GCHQ – Britain’s Secret Cyber-Intelligence Agency – by John Ferris

This is a weighty tome (800 plus pages) and the authoritative history of perhaps the least glamorous of the U.K.’s principal security services. However, the facts illustrated in this book clearly demonstrates the critical role GCHQ plays in national security and perhaps one could argue is more relevant and more…

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Review: The Near East Since The First World War – by M.E.Yapp

This book was written in 1990 and is thus a bit dated. The postscript announces the start of the first Gulf War after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Post World War 1 saw most of the current political boundaries drawn in the Near East or as we now most predominantly…

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dangerous people, dangerous places

Review: Dangerous People, Dangerous Places – by Norman Parker

Author, Norman Parker served a 24 year jail sentence for murder. On his release, wanting to experience life to the fullest, he took advantage of his writing skills to become a journalist for lads mags and the Daily Express and set about tackling the niche market of visiting dangerous places…

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Wez G – Summer Shiftin’ (DJ Set 22)

Summer is upon us. Festival season, bar-b-q’s, beaches and sunshine. This mix has a lot of remixes of big bands and also showcases some of the talent we are working with at Shuffle. Following the tracklisting are links to buy some of the tracks. Also – this is the first…

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