Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB) opened a criminal investigation Friday against mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, accusing him of armed mutiny, citing the National Anti-Terrorism Committee. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, according to Russia’s chief prosecutor. The NAC, which is part of the FSB, insisted …
Read More »Was The British Empire Evil? – OpEd
It’s a given among most academics today that Britain’s empire and economic success was the result of the depredation of native cultures and gross exploitation. But what if it’s not true? There is a comedy sketch from British television, now made immortal by the internet, in which a Nazi soldier, …
Read More »The New Turkish Economic Policy: Priorities, Benefits, And Risks – OpEd
Turkey is a country that has faced many economic challenges in recent years such as high inflation, currency depreciation, low growth and external imbalances. The COVID-19 pandemic has also added to the difficulties of the Turkish economy which contracted by 3% in 2020. In this context, the new Turkish government, …
Read More »Ukraine: Russia Says Ukraine Hit Bridge Linking To Crimea
Russian officials said Thursday that overnight airstrikes by Ukrainian forces damaged a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The Chongar bridge is one of the few routes Russian forces use to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under Russian control. Russia has …
Read More »UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Meets Iran’s Top Envoy
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on Thursday met with Iran’s foreign affairs minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who is on the second leg of his tour of Gulf countries. The two officials discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance cooperation, state news agency WAM reported, and also “exchanged views on …
Read More »Saudi-French Relations: The Sky Is The Limit – OpEd
Friday marks the end of a remarkable two weeks in the context of Saudi-French relations. Ties between the two nations have been reignited and rejuvenated and are now well on the way to reaching their full potential. Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir aptly described what happened …
Read More »China Is Ready for a World of Disorder
America Is Not In March, at the end of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood at the door of the Kremlin to bid his friend farewell. Xi told his Russian counterpart, “Right now, there are changes—the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 …
Read More »The Treacherous Path to a Better Russia
Ukraine’s Future and Putin’s Fate “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” U.S. President Joe Biden said of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a month after Russia launched a brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Biden’s off-the-cuff remark, which his administration swiftly sought to walk back, did …
Read More »Egypt eyes dropping US dollar in trade with BRICS nations
Egypt is planning to drop the US dollar in bilateral trade with several member states of the BRICS group of emerging economies, Egyptian Supply Minister Ali Moselhy revealed on 12 June. Cairo is specifically looking to use local currencies to pay for imports from India, China, and Russia – three …
Read More »Pakistan pays for first shipment of Russian oil in Chinese currency
The payment in non-US dollar denominated currency helps alleviate Pakistan’s balance of payments crisis and furthers the broader trend of de-dollarization in developing nations Pakistan paid for its first imports of discounted Russian crude oil in Chinese currency, Reuters reported on 13 June, marking a significant shift in the south …
Read More »