Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin meeting in 2001: the Russian president finally congratulated the US president-elect on his election victory on December 15.
EPA-EFE/Maxim Shipenkov
Calls to keep talking are getting louder out of fear of escalation and ultimately war – but why are diplomatic relations so difficult for Nato and Russia?
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting in Osaka, Japan, June, 28, 2019.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has exposed the fragility of democratic institutions, mirroring a global trend in authoritarianism, and that will have a lasting effect on the United States.
Several countries are developing microwave weapons, like this U.S. Air Force system designed to knock down drones by frying their electronics.
AFRL Directed Energy Directorate
High-power microwave weapons are useful for disabling electronics. A new report says they ‘plausibly explain’ some ailments suffered by US diplomats and CIA agents in Cuba, China and other countries.
Unlawful killing: the UN condemned the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
EPA-EFE/ Abedin Taherkenareh
States are increasingly using assassination to guard against the twin threats of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
Hungarian protesters hold glowing cellphones aloft at a 2017 protest against tough laws targeting foreign-backed nonprofit organizations and universities.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Many countries, ranging from Hungary to Brazil, are using violence and legal measures to control, intimidate and shut down independent organizations – including foreign ones.
Workmen dissecting a whale carcass in Antarctica, circa 1935.
Hulton Archive via Getty Images
Russia may not be a foreign policy priority for the incoming Biden administration. But its promise to foreground democracy will put the Kremlin on edge.
Donald Trump’s foreign policy often angered traditional US allies.
Jeff J Mitchell/EPA
Chinese outlets that once relayed cautious optimism over Donald Trump’s deal-making abilities now express exasperation over his chaotic style.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
In 2016, America’s adversaries seemed to cheer electoral chaos and a withering faith in democracy. Now they seem to be hoping democracy can topple a leader they’ve grown loathe to deal with.
Extreme shrinkage of summer sea ice is just the latest evidence of rapid Arctic warming – and what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay there.
In June 2017, demonstrators (here in New York) demanded that light be shed on possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP
Sophie Marineau, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
Russian interference deeply marked the 2016 American presidential election. Four years later, let’s analyze the form and impact of disinformation coming from Russia.
Still from an Azerbaijan Defence Ministry video allegedly shows Azerbaijan’s artillery fire towards Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan Defence Ministry/Handout/EPA
Russian agents reportedly placed malware in U.S. voter registration systems in 2016 and are actively interfering in the 2020 election. Here’s the state of election cybersecurity.
Alexei Navalny remains in hospital in Germany after he was poisoned in Siberia.
Anatoly Maltsev/EPA
Michael S Goodman, King's College London; David Frey, United States Military Academy West Point e David Gioe, United States Military Academy West Point
Vladimir Putin is a standard-bearer, rather than a pioneer in the history of Soviet and Russian political assassination.