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Spheres of Influence Won’t Help the US

By CEPA

Sacrificing small nations to please the world’s biggest countries is a dead end. The US in particular has much more to lose than to gain.

October 23, 2026
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China
Photo: An excavator loads a truck with rare earth at the Port of Lianyungang in Lianyungang city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, 31 October 2010. China has created a state planning zone covering the countrys biggest rare earth mines in a move to cut production of the vital rare mineral elements used for numerous high-tech goods, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday (10 February 2011) night. Exploration and mining of rare earth resources in the zone, an area of 2,500 square kilometers of Jiangxi province in southern China that contains 760,000 metric tons of rare earth mineral deposits, will be subject to stricter state scrutiny and regulatory checks, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Land and Resources in Beijing. Chinas rare earth reserves only account for a third in the world but China supplies more than 90 percent of rare earths globally, that is obviously not sustainable, a ministry official was quoted as saying. China, which produces about 97 percent of the global supply of the minerals, cut export quotas for the minerals by 40 percent in 2010, a move that alarmed buyers and trading partners. Beijing has cut export quotas for the first half of 2011 by 35 percent from the first half of last year, although total quotas for this year have not yet been announced. Credit: Reuters.
Ending China’s 60-Year Grip on Critical Minerals
By Sharon Hudson-Dean
October 29, 2026
Artificial Intelligence
Photo: An employee of a construction company from Melitopol works on conversion of the office space of the former Tysa engineering plant into residential apartments, Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia Region, western Ukraine. Credit: Serhii Hudak via Reuters Connect
Rebuilding Ukraine: A Testing Ground for Western Innovation?
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Russia
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia September 26, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool
A US-China-Russia Summit: What’s at Stake?
By David Abramson and Evgeny Roshchin
October 28, 2026
Data and Privacy
Photo: App icons of online platforms Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon, Apple Store, and TikTok are being displayed on a smartphone with the EU Digital Market Act (DMA) in this photo illustration, taken in Brussels, Belgium, on February 17, 2024. Credit: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto
EU Tech Rules Pit Privacy Against Competition
By Anda Bologa
October 28, 2026
Elections
Photo: A man waves a Serbian flag as people attend a protest against Rio Tinto's lithium mining project, in Belgrade, Serbia, August 10, 2024. Credit: REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic
Serbia’s New Government Needs New Security Services
By Nikola Lunić
October 28, 2026

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Georgia – A Step Away From One-Party Rule NATO – Stop Training for Yesterday’s Wars Ending China’s 60-Year Grip on Critical Minerals A US-China-Russia Summit: What’s at Stake? Rebuilding Ukraine: A Testing Ground for Western Innovation? EU Tech Rules Pit Privacy Against Competition
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