Eurasia

“War is too serious a matter to be left to the soldiers,” said the French First World War prime minister Georges Clemenceau. But the evidence of most wars in history is that they are also too serious to be left to the politicians. This failing is not yet evident in …

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it had declared 40 German diplomatic staff “personae non gratae” in a retaliatory move after Berlin expelled the same number of Russian diplomats, Reuters reported. In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had taken the decision after Germany on April 4 declared …

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Saturday said his country will not abandon its commitment to supply Spain with gas despite a diplomatic row with the European country over Western Sahara. “We assure the Spanish friends, the Spanish people that Algeria will never abandon its commitment to supply Spain with gas …

Vehicles packed with explosives were driven into three military camps in central Mali before dawn on Sunday Fifteen soldiers and six civilians have been killed in attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso, neighbouring West African countries that are struggling against armed groups. Vehicles packed with explosives were driven into three …

When abuses were reported in recent weeks in Mali — fake graves designed to discredit French forces; a massacre of some 300 people, mostly civilians — all evidence pointed to the shadowy mercenaries of Russia’s Wagner Group. Even before these feared professional soldiers joined the assault on Ukraine, Russia had …

Two other cryptocurrency exchanges have also announced moves to Dubai recently. Another cryptocurrency platform is coming to the United Arab Emirates. Kraken Exchange is establishing its Middle East and North Africa headquarters at Abu Dhabi’s International Financial Center after the exchange obtained the required financial license, the center said in …

Saudi Arabia has acted to keep prices high recently against the wishes of the US. Global oil prices have fallen significantly in recent days. The price of Brent crude oil — considered the global benchmark for oil prices — fell to $100.85 a barrel at around 5 a.m. ET. This …

Iraq has stepped up security amid an IS campaign called ‘Battle of Revenge for the Two Sheikhs’ that killed dozens in several countries in the first few days. The Islamic State (IS) has taken responsibility for a rash of attacks in recent days as part of their “Battle of Revenge …

Ankara is using the cover of Ukraine’s war to weaken the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and associated groups in the region. Turkey’s military has launched a spate of strikes on Kurdish-run parts of northeast Syria over the past week as world attention is focused on Ukraine. At least four artillery …

If the West and NATO remain united during the long war in Ukraine, Turkey’s policy of straddling between Kyiv and Moscow would be unsustainable. “It is the only game in town,” a Turkish ambassador said in a self-aggrandizing fashion at an international conference recently. Turkey secured the first and only …