Dispatch
The view from the ground.
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Demonstrators attend a rally in Paris. Macron Is Courting His Waterloo Over Pension Reform
Like other rich countries, France is trying to go gray and stay solvent—and the French aren’t buying it.
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An Israeli soldier prepares an Elbit Systems Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicle for deployment near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Aug. 21, 2020, as part of a monitoring operation in the area. What the Rise of Drone Warfare Means for Palestinians
Whether armed or not, drones function as a form of psychological terror for those living underneath them.
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A sign at the entrance to Kherson, Ukraine, reads: "Do you know about a collaborator or traitor? Inform us." Russia’s Fifth Column in Ukraine Is Alive and Well
A year after the invasion, Ukraine is riddled with Russian collaborators and sympathizers.
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Abandoned barricades are seen at a local beach on Sept. 24, 2022 in Kinmen, Taiwan. Taiwan’s Outlying Islands Are at Risk
Chinese domestic instability could encourage the CCP to attack the Taiwanese archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu.
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Police officers stand outside the scene of a "buy bust" operation in the Philippines that resulted in the shooting death by police of an alleged drug dealer in 2016. The Philippines Is Losing Its ‘War on Drugs’
New President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has promised a more compassionate approach, but that’s not what it looks like in the slums of Manila.
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Aaron, an undergraduate student at a Sydney university, wears a Winnie-the-Pooh suit as he protests China's zero-COVID measures at a rally in Australia. In Australia, Pro-Democracy Students Aren’t Safe From China’s Reach
To evade surveillance and reporting by nationalist members of the diaspora, anti-CCP protesters get creative.
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War game designer and expert Major Tom Mouat oversees a “One China” game at the U.K. Defence Academy How Would a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Play Out?
War-gamers plan for Taiwan’s D-Day.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a terminal inauguration day. Europe Is Learning to Live Without Russian Energy
Russian President Vladimir Putin played the energy card on Europe to undercut Ukraine. Europe called his bluff.
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A man walks through a relief camp for people displaced by the floods in Keamari, Pakistan. Pakistan’s Climate Migrants Face Tough Odds
People displaced by climate disasters remain vulnerable, as this year’s floods show.
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Supporters of former President Pedro Castillo hold a blockade. Peru’s Failed Presidential Coup Sparks Democratic Crisis
Protesters see the president’s dismissal as a power grab by an unpopular Congress.
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Shaun Tai (right), a laptop salesman, fires an airsoft pistol during firearms training at Camp 66, a firing range and training facility in Taipei, Taiwan, on Dec. 6. Taiwanese Flock to Civil Defense Training Ahead of Potential Chinese Invasion
“We have no right to ask others to help us if we are not prepared to defend ourselves,” Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said.
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A Greenlandic flag flutters on a boat sailing among icebergs floating in Disko Bay, Ilulissat, western Greenland, on June 28. How Greenland’s Mineral Wealth Made It a Geopolitical Battleground
Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory is coveted by China, the United States, and global mining companies.
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as then-Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (C), and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) look on during the second day of an EU leaders summit at the European Council building in Brussels. Brussels Brings Orban to Heel—for Now
A little more carrot and a little less stick got Budapest on board with the EU over a big Ukraine aid package.
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Farmers harvest pineapples in Pingtung county, Taiwan On the Front Lines of the China-Taiwan Food Fight
A Brooklyn start-up hits back against Beijing’s pressure campaign.
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Women sit in candle light in a restaurant on a dark street on Nov. 2, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukraine Is on the Edge of a Complete Blackout
As winter deepens, half of the country’s energy system is already destroyed—and the other half is under threat.