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What the Russian Crisis Means for Europe

European leaders must not only double down on Ukraine and Eastern Europe. They need to figure out how they are going to deal with Russia now and in the future. A day after Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his march on Moscow, several EU member states’ foreign ministers …

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Emergence Of The Yuan: China’s Economic Diplomacy In The Middle East – OpEd

In recent years, the Chinese Yuan Renminbi (RMB) has emerged as a popular form of exchange on the foreign currency markets in the Middle East. This arose as a direct result of the current global events that have shattered economies all across the world. The supremacy of the US dollar …

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China’s Spy Base in Cuba?

On the heels of China’s weather/spy balloon downed by a US F-22 comes a report of the construction of a Chinese listening post in Cuba. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., supports the Biden administration’s claim that China is setting up a spy station in Cuba. Gaetz calls it a “stationary aircraft …

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Sordid Urkanian war of private military companies and multi-national corporations

Private Military Companies, Soldiers of Fortune, Multi-National Investment Corporations and the enterprise of Mercenarism go hand-in-hand back to the time of antiquity’ when armies were predominantly comprised of foreign soldiers of fortune, private investors, multi-national business corporations and mercenary groups and individuals who were either primarily or solely concerned, not …

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The rise and fall of a Russian oligarch

The Kremlin leadership has acted decisively to meet the threat of an armed insurrection by the Russian oligarch and self-styled ‘founder’ of Wagner Group of military contractors, Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a series of videos released on Friday, Prigozhin alleged that the Russian government’s justifications for military intervention in Ukraine were …

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Biden’s Endless Gifts to China

The gifts the Biden Administration has already given the Chinese Communist Party in just two years have been nothing short of exorbitant — and often to the detriment of the US. The Biden Administration intends to spend more than half a trillion dollars on “clean energy and climate action over …

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Wagner group mercenaries in Africa: why there hasn’t been any effective opposition to drive them out

It is easy to understand what African rulers see in the mercenary group Wagner. Its fighters can be deployed quickly. It brings sophisticated arms with it and can apply force speedily and ruthlessly. Alternative sources of military muscle have flaws: United Nations missions lack robust mandates; African Union (AU) forces …

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Putin seriously weakened by Wagner Group mutiny – but it was a missed opportunity for Ukraine too

Blink and you could have missed it. Within 36 hours, the challenge mounted against the Kremlin by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary private military company the Wagner Group, was over. On Friday June 23 2023, Prigozhin ordered 25,000 of his troops on to a “march for justice”, which …

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Wagner’s rebellion may have been thwarted, but Putin has never looked weaker and more vulnerable

It is increasingly clear that a rattled Vladimir Putin’s political end is approaching. All that really matters now is whether it comes sooner or later. Having appeared on national television to warn of a coup attempt by traitors – and an impending civil war – Putin abruptly reversed his position …

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Regionalism In Russia Will ‘Inevitably’ Intensify And Become More Radical The Longer Putin Remains In Power – OpEd

It is “inevitable” that demands by people in Russia’s regions against Moscow will increase but how radical they become is likely to depend on how long Putin’s centralizing course remains in place, Vadim Shtepa says. The longer the Kremlin leader continues his current course, the more radical they will become. …

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