The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), often called the “Russian Davos,” opened Wednesday in what is predicted to be the least impressive showing in the event’s 25-year history. Russia’s annual four-day economic showcase, which had once drawn crowds of foreign investors to President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, has been boycotted …

Iran’s goal is to modernize its transport infrastructure using Russian money, and Moscow has little choice but to foot the bill. The North–South Corridor, a planned railway route that will connect Russia to the Indian Ocean via Iran, is gaining relevance as a means for Moscow to move goods around …

For years, the Kremlin diminished the role of regional governors. But the war and the president’s self-isolation from real problems have changed everything. Now the enforced publicity of regional leaders may serve to restore their genuine popularity and authority.For many Russians, their country’s war against neighboring Ukraine is no longer …

Communist China’s People’s Liberation Army has established a military presence in Murghab, Tajikistan, close to the Chinese border with Afghanistan. There is also no doubt that Russia’s embarrassing military imbroglio in Ukraine has helped China supersede Moscow as guarantor of Central Asian state sovereignty. [Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev has…. denounced …

Amidst festering economic crisis and political stalemate, Lebanese authorities have stepped up their efforts to remove Syrian refugees from the country. In recent weeks, hundreds have been arrested, detained, and summarily deported by Lebanon’s army intelligence unit. Since early April, the Lebanese army has conducted multiple raids across the country, …

In an effort to reach recruitment targets for its war in Ukraine, Russia has been attempting to coerce or force foreign migrants to fight. Authorities and private military companies have attempted to enlist foreigners in migration offices, workplaces, prisons, worker dormitories, and mosques. According to several reports, immigration detainees have …

In 2022, the EU announced plans to fund a new detention unit within the grounds of a Temporary Reception Centre near Bosnia’s north-western border with Croatia. In recent months, however, significant confusion and controversy has emerged surrounding the centre. In November 2022, the EU’s Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi …

In-depth: Egypt is investing in infrastructure to boost Gaza’s economy as part of a long-term ceasefire plan, with the besieged enclave’s gas resources central to Cairo’s strategy. The Egyptian government is busy building a seaport off the coast of Port Said, renovating the Arish International Airport, and paving the long …

Analysis: Sixteen years of Israel’s blockade of Gaza have shown that the policy has little to do with security and more to do with economic warfare, collective punishment, separation, and bargaining. In 1995, the New York Times eagerly interviewed Palestinians in Gaza to highlight the freedoms the Oslo peace accords …

Since the Cold War, Western intelligence has built a track record of failing to foresee many of Russia’s moves. It failed to anticipate the invasion of Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, then the invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014, followed a year later by Moscow’s …