Eurasia

Prigozhin’s Rebellion: What We Discovered, and What We Still Need to Know

The Wagner rebellion has exposed some of the systemic weaknesses in the Kremlin’s crisis management strategy. Although the aftermath remains unclear, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s actions may have set a chain of events in motion. The events of the past two days in Russia have prompted a thus-far inconclusive deluge of speculation …

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Wagner’s March on Moscow Left Unresolved Challenges in its Wake

Wagner represents a wider problem for the Russian military as to how it generates effective but politically apathetic troops to sustain its war. On 23 June 2023 Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that he would embark on a ‘March for Justice’ at the head of his Wagner Group. Within 24 hours his …

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Tchiani is not Niger’s Sankara: The military coup won’t bring revolutionary change to the people

Whilst some may cheer on the anti-France feelings seen in protests in Niger, the military coup is unlikely to provide the people with relief from the current poverty, let alone put the country on a democratic path, argues Yasser Louati. The ongoing coup in Niger has meant that the relatively …

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Understanding the growing use of local currencies in cross-border payments

Geopolitical tension has intensified recently, accompanied by frequent use of economic and financial sanctions, mainly by the United States and its allies. Furthermore, there has been growing discontent in the rest of the world with the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy—believed to have caused wild swings in capital flows and …

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BRICS is doubling its membership. Is the bloc a new rival for the G7?

This bloc goes to eleven. At its summit on Thursday in Johannesburg, the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa announced that its membership is more than doubling. Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia have been invited to join the group …

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Experts react: What the Prigozhin plane crash reveals about Putin, the Wagner Group’s future, and the war in Ukraine

It was easier to approach Moscow in June than to leave it in August. Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who staged a short-lived mutiny against the Russian military two months ago, was reportedly killed in a plane crash along with nine other passengers on Wednesday while traveling from Moscow …

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Libya captures Islamic State leader behind 2018 capital bombing

The Islamic State has exploited the chaos in Libya to extend its influence. Libyan authorities have arrested an Islamic State leader suspected of having planned three deadly attacks in Libya’s capital in 2018, the UN-backed government announced on Thursday. The head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid …

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Kurds suffer as Iraq, Turkey fail to restart oil flow ahead of Turkish FM’s Baghdad visit

As Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to meet in Baghdad with Iraqi leaders, disrupted oil flows, water and cooperation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party are expected to top the agenda. Iraq and Turkey failed to agree on the resumption of oil exports via the southern Mediterranean port …

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Prigozhin’s death spells end of Wagner, but Russia won’t abandon its missions

With the Wagner Group’s top leadership reportedly dead in a likely assassination, Moscow is continuing to quietly replace the private mercenary outfit in its overseas operations. Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is presumed dead along with his top deputies following a plane crash in Russia’s Tver region Wednesday. While the …

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Ukraine Says It Launched ‘Special Operation’ In Russian-Occupied Crimea

Ukraine’s navy and military intelligence carried out a “special operation” overnight in which units landed on Russian-occupied Crimea, the defence ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) said on Thursday (24 August). The operation, which could not be independently confirmed, would amount to a rare demonstration that Ukrainian forces are able …

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