April, 2021

• 4 April

  Italy Expels Russians After Spies ‘Caught Red-Handed’

  Italy expelled two Russian officials on Wednesday (31 March) after an Italian navy captain was allegedly caught red-handed selling secret documents to a Russian military officer. The frigate captain was arrested on spying charges after a “clandestine meeting” with the Russian late on Tuesday in Rome, according to a police …

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• 4 April

  Why Effective Handling Of Boko Haram Deserters Matters – Analysis

  The fact that thousands have left the group is an advantage, but only if they are properly reintegrated. In the highly volatile Lake Chad Basin area, the decision by many recruits to leave Boko Haram means the group’s ranks are shrinking. This is a positive sign for efforts to reduce …

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• 4 April

  UN’s Libya welcomes prisoner release as start of ‘nationwide reconciliation’

  The UN mission in Libya hailed the release of more than 100 prisoners loyal to renegade commander Khalifa Hifter, calling the initiative the start of a “nationwide reconciliation.” In a ceremony attended by members of Libya’s transitional government, 107 detainees were released from prison in the western city of Zawiya …

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• 4 April

  Critics react to US-Jordan defense agreement

  The Jordanian government bypassed parliament and approved a controversial agreement signed between Jordan and the United States that regulates the status of US forces present in the kingdom, which raised much controversy. On Jan. 31, Jordan and the United States signed a defense cooperation agreement. It was approved by the …

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• 4 April

  Iranian foreign minister meets Afghan president

  The meeting follows the hosting of a Taliban delegation by Iran earlier this year. Iran is critical of the US military presence in Afghanistan, and the Biden administration has not committed to the May deadline to remove American troops from the country. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Afghan …

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• 4 April

  Yemen’s Houthis claim drone attack on Riyadh

  The Saudi-led coalition also said it destroyed one of the Houthis’ ballistic missiles in Yemen. The Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed they targeted Saudi capital of Riyadh on Thursday with four armed drones, the latest reported attack in their stepped-up cross-border campaign against the kingdom. Saudi Arabia hasn’t confirmed the …

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• 4 April

  US pushes for progress on Nile dam talks

  The United States is once again trying to help the Nile dam negotiations resume, this time leaning harder on the African Union. US special envoy for Sudan Donald Booth embarked on a regional tour March 27 to revive the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia …

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• 2 April

  France reopens Libya embassy after 7-year closure

  

  Most diplomats and other foreigners left the North African country after repeated attacks and kidnappings. France has reopened its embassy in Libya after a seven-year closure as insecurity swept the country following its 2011 revolution in another sign of a gradual return of stability.

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• 2 April

  ‘We don’t have nearly enough’: pleas for more Syria aid at UN-EU donor conference

  

  The aid community is bracing for significant shortfalls ahead of a donor conference that starts Monday in Brussels and is being co-hosted by the United Nations and the European Union. Pledges were already dropping off before the coronavirus pandemic mainly due to donor fatigue. Officials fear that with the global …

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• 2 April

  China’s Threat to Free Speech in Europe

  

  The current standoff is, in essence, about the future of free speech in Europe. If notoriously feckless European officials fail to stand firm in the face of mounting Chinese pressure, Europeans who dare publicly to criticize the CCP in the future can expect to pay an increasingly high personal cost …

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