May 18, 2024 Africa, Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
Long a sinecure of former colonial powers, large parts of Africa have in recent years become a wide-open marketplace for new foreign players. While much of the focus – and hysteria – in the West has been about the resurgence of China and Russia in Africa, there is also a …
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May 18, 2024 Eurasia
As Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China for the first time since beginning a new term, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have been at pains to underline their “long and strong” friendship, and a strategic partnership that has been described as having “no upper limits.” “I have emphasized on …
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May 18, 2024 Eurasia
What a difference a few weeks can make. Earlier this spring, the Kremlin appeared to be yielding so many of its positions in the South Caucasus—or at least was on the defensive—that some Russian commentators discussed how Moscow may have entirely and permanently “lost” the region to the West (see …
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May 18, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The manner in which Brussels has meted out €1 billion to Lebanon smacks of opportunism and a reward for flouting reforms, writes Benjamin Fève. Bad behaviour certainly has its rewards. That is, at least, if you are among Lebanon’s political elite, who secured €1 billion in financial aid from the …
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May 18, 2024 Africa, Eurasia
In-depth: The Rapid Support Forces have surrounded and besieged the Sudanese army’s last Darfur holdout in El Fasher – a city gripped by famine and fear. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have encircled and besieged El Fasher in North Darfur in recent weeks, but fears of an all-out assault on …
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May 18, 2024 Balkans, Eurasia
A Bosnian Serb former martial arts fighter has been posting videos and pictures online, documenting his new life as a volunteer soldier with a Russian unit fighting in Ukraine. BIRN was able to track his posts, following his journey to the frontline.Afew weeks after returning home to Modrica in Bosnia’s …
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May 18, 2024 Balkans, Eurasia
The Hungarian government pledged political support to Milorad Dodik as it hosted the Bosnian Serb leader in Budapest, saying it would vote against the UN resolution on Srebrenica. But there was no new Hungarian aid announced. The president of the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, was in …
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May 18, 2024 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles. The attack wounded three soldiers, one of them seriously, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across the border with Israel over the past seven months, …
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May 18, 2024 Eurasia, South East Asia
Keep your “friends” close. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Beijing to celebrate a “new era” of cooperation in an increasingly “multipolar world.” Putin’s visit comes as Russian forces are ravaging Kharkiv, and just after the Russian president reshuffled his military leadership ahead …
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May 18, 2024 Africa, Eurasia, Middle Orient
The Israel Defense Force’s move last week into the southern Gaza city of Rafah has exploded in Egypt like a 2,000-pound bomb. Cairo has long been playing a double game, holding Hamas terrorists near while simultaneously trying to appear helpful to the United States and Israel. Israel taking control of …
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