Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Navalny poisoning sparks Angela Merkel to eye ending Nord Stream 2 deal
The furor sparked by the apparent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexander Navalny could hand President Trump an unexpected foreign policy win, as Germany weighs whether to pull out of the controversial oil pipeline project with Moscow that Washington has long sought to kill. Published September 3, 2020
Russia, Turkey, Israel vie for Mediterranean resources
Moscow is eyeing a possible military base along the oil-rich shores of Libya. China is seeking investment deals across the region. Turkey is clashing with NATO partner Greece over drilling rights and militarized islands. Newly discovered offshore natural gas deposits have nations scrambling to stake their claims. Published September 2, 2020
Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida, Shigeru Ishiba emerge as potential Shinzo Abe successors
The surprise resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- the longest-serving prime minister in modern Japanese history and one of Asia's most influential leaders -- has triggered unease in a region where Tokyo has stood firmly against North Korean provocations and Chinese muscle-flexing designed to intimidate American allies. Published August 31, 2020
Vladimir Putin denies Alexei Navalny poisoning
The Kremlin may be brushing off allegations that it poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but U.S. sources say the case fits a pattern of targeted killings and assassination attempts against figures who challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule. Published August 26, 2020
Kim Jong-un coma reports ‘even more tenuous than previous iterations,’ ex-CIA official says
A former high-level CIA official and other North Korea analysts downplayed reports Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in a coma, asserting the elusive young dictator is likely keeping a low profile amid the COVID-19 pandemic or simply staying mysteriously out of the spotlight at a moment of uncertainty in denuclearization talks. Published August 24, 2020
Latin American policy, immigration loom as Trump-Biden flash point
U.S. policy toward Latin America is having an outsized impact on the election, as Democrat Joseph R. Biden woos Hispanic voters in key swings states by vowing to reverse President Trump's hardline immigration policies and offer refuge for some 200,000 Venezuelans who have fled to the U.S. Published August 20, 2020
Trump pressed on Belarus protests against Lukashenko
Demands for the ouster of longtime Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko grew louder Tuesday as President Trump for the first time questioned whether the man known as "Europe's last dictator" is blocking a key chance for democracy in the former Soviet republic. Published August 18, 2020
Robert O’Brien says Mideast deal due to Trump unorthodox approach
The normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates grew from persistent backroom diplomacy by President Trump, according to National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, who said Sunday that Mr. Trump personally and repeatedly engaged the two sides to clinch the agreement. Published August 16, 2020
North Korea ‘Christmas gift’ may become ‘October surprise,’ experts fear
North Korea last year threatened to shock the world with an unpleasant "Christmas gift" after nuclear talks broke down with the Trump administration over the North's covert nuclear programs. Published July 27, 2020
China says US orders it to close its consulate in Houston
The Chinese Consulate in Houston that the Trump administration ordered closed Wednesday has been at the center of a major spying operation run by Beijing, U.S. officials say, an operation that has accelerated over the past six months as U.S. firms have geared up in search of a vaccine against the coronavirus. Published July 22, 2020
DOJ: Chinese hackers targeted COVID-19 research firms
The Justice Department has accused the Chinese government of running an elaborate cyberhacking operation aimed at stealing secrets from Western companies, including U.S. businesses, racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic that began in China six months ago. Published July 21, 2020
Azerbaijan-Armenia fighting sparks fear of oil and gas disruption
Azerbaijani officials warned over the weekend that an escalating military clash between with rival neighbor Armenia could disrupt oil and gas flows from the Caucasus region to Western European markets. Published July 19, 2020
Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un sister, rise marks increase in North Korea cyberattacks
A cyber "spear phishing" campaign believed to be run by North Korean intelligence operatives who impersonate American journalists and South Korean diplomats on email with the goal of hacking U.S.-based North Korea analysts and human rights advocates has grown increasingly brazen in recent months, according to sources familiar with the campaign. Published July 12, 2020
Park Won-soon, Seoul mayor found dead, faced sexual harassment scandal, reports say
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who was widely regarded as one of South Korea's most powerful political figures and a contender for the nation's presidency in 2022, was found dead in a wooded area in his home city hours after his daughter had reported him missing on Thursday. Published July 9, 2020
North Korea talks tough as U.S. negotiator Stephen E. Biegun lands in Seoul
The Trump administration's top nuclear negotiator arrived in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss ways to break the months-long stalemate in diplomacy with North Korea, even as Pyongyang was ridiculing the idea of restarting denuclearization talks with Washington. Published July 7, 2020
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador-Donald Trump unlikely alliance culminates in White House visit
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was supposed to be his country's leftist savior -- a seasoned grassroots nationalist, an economic populist and a fiery anti-Trump climate change warrior who would solve the country's bloody, long-running drug war through the decriminalization of illegal narcotics. Published July 6, 2020
Trump G-7 expansion push reignites Japan-South Korea flap
President Trump's push to include South Korea in an upcoming Group of Seven summit is triggering backlash from Japan and threatening to reignite tensions that soared between Tokyo and Seoul last year. Published June 29, 2020
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz says annexation may get delayed: Reports
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's July 1 target date for a major annexation of West Bank territory faced a new uncertainty Monday after Defense Minister Benny Gantz suggested the controversial move be delayed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Published June 29, 2020
Benjamin Netanyahu vow to annex West Bank land moves forward
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is showing no sign of backing off his vow to annex of vast stretches of the West Bank by July 1. Published June 28, 2020
Hassan Rouhani, Iran president, expresses solidarity with North Korea against ‘common enemy’ U.S.
Iran is seizing the current moment of increased U.S.-North Korea tension to urge Pyongyang to stand up against the United States and align more closely with Tehran against the "common enemy" of Washington. Published June 25, 2020