Month: September 2024

The Middle Corridor Will Help China Hedge Against Uncertainty In Russia & Pakistan

It’s unrealistic that China would ever abandon its investments in Russia or Pakistan, but those two’s connectivity roles for it vis-à-vis the EU and West Asia/Africa respectively can be complemented by Turkey and Iran via the Middle Corridor.

Up until the beginning of this year, China’s grand strategy was to rely on a network of connectivity corridors across its Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) to integrate Eurasia and thus advance its non-Western model of globalization, which Beijing believes to be more equal, just, and multipolar than the declining Western-centric one. This ambitious plan was abruptly disrupted by two black swan events that created sudden uncertainty about the viability of BRI’s Russian and Pakistani routes: Moscow’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine and Islamabad’s scandalous change of government.

Punishment as a crime. Why the penitentiary system is to blame for the riots of Russian prisoners

The tragedy in IK-19 – the seizure of employees hostage by convicts and their brutal murder, and then the murder of the invaders themselves – once again stirred up public interest in the topic of prison and gave rise to disputes: how this could happen and what led to it. Exactly the same questions were asked after the June hostage-taking of employees of pre-trial detention center-1 in Rostov-on-Don. Most likely, riots will continue, and the reason for this is a whole range of reasons: unbearable conditions of detention, discrimination against Muslims, lack of prison staff and their low level of training. The situation can only be corrected by completely dismantling the penitentiary system, which directly inherits the Gulag, and creating a new one based on the principles of humanism in its place,” says Anna Karetnikova, a former leading analyst of the Federal Penitentiary Service in Moscow.

Death Camp

Since 2007, when the State of Israel implemented its still-ongoing blockade of Gaza, several different monikers have emerged to describe the conditions for Palestinians living in the territory under the ongoing Israeli siege. Now, after 11 months of the murderous Israeli assault on the people of Gaza, it is necessary once again to revise what the State of Israel has imposed on the territory. What the state of Israel has created in the Gaza Strip is nothing less than a death camp akin to what the Nazis created for the massacre of Jews and other so-called enemies of the Reich.

Imperialism in the Indo-Pacific—An Introduction

Indo-Pacific is a term with a long history within the imperialist lexicon. It originated in the writings of Karl Haushofer, the leading German geopolitical theorist, in his 1924 Geopolitics of the Pacific Ocean and numerous other works.1 Haushofer was a German military attaché in Japan in 1908–1909, and traveled widely in East Asia. As a result of these experiences, he was to emerge as a major geopolitical analyst. He served as a brigade commander in the First World War, rising to the rank of major general by the war’s end. Rudolf Hess, who had been Haushofer’s aide-de-camp and later his student, was one of his chief disciples. In 1920, Hess joined the Nazi Party.

First Syrian Death in Ukraine War

A source told Syria TV that Batal was initially injured and transferred to a hospital, where he remained for four weeks under tight security by the Russian military police.

A Syrian fighter was killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine after being recruited by Russia with promises of large financial salaries and the offer of citizenship.

“Syria’s Paradox: Unpacking the Complexities of Revolution and Civil War”

A revolution is supposed to transform society, often driven by a clear vision for the future and a commitment to radical change, Wael Sawah writes.

I find myself at a loss when it comes to understanding the origins and conclusions of certain trends. One morning, I awaken to find the world abuzz with a new trend, dominating both the media and social platforms, subjecting individuals to relentless scrutiny. Yet, within days, this trend vanishes as abruptly as it emerged, leaving behind a society that quickly forgets the fervor with which they once hurled accusations at one another. The latest Syrian trend revolves around a question of profound significance: Is what is unfolding in Syria a revolution or a civil war?

Al Qaeda-affiliated media shop promotes worldwide operations

Thabat, an al-Qaeda-affiliated media outfit, has released a series of infographics in recent weeks that are intended to highlight the jihadists’ worldwide operations. The images include purported summary statistics for the entire month of March, figures for the week from Mar. 26 to Apr. 2, a brief timeline of the jihad in Afghanistan, as well as a history of the jihad in Somalia.

Xi wants to enlist the Global South in his anti-American movement

At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation starting September 4, Beijing will once again seek to deepen its engagement with countries in the Global South. Chinese leader Xi Jinping was, to his credit, prescient in recognizing the frustrations and aspirations within the developing world and has capitalized on those sentiments to build China’s global political and economic influence. The three-day event, which the Chinese foreign ministry called “the largest diplomatic event China has hosted in recent years,” is only one of a series of programs, initiatives, and gatherings that Beijing has launched to tighten its bonds of diplomacy, business, and trade with countries throughout the Global South.

American Officials Told Politico Their Plan For Waging Hybrid War Against Wagner In Africa

While America is ramping up its operations to counter Wagner’s growing popularity across Africa, it lacks the credibility to advance its goal through information warfare alone as proven by its failures in Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Sudan, which are the six countries of focus mentioned in Politico’s latest report.

The Sahelian Alliance’s Plans To Create A Confederation Will Transform Continental Dynamics

It’ll of course take some time to reap the fruits of this vision, but throughout the interim, these countries can rely on varying degrees of Russian assistance.

Burkina Faso revealed in February that it planned to create a confederation with neighboring Mali, which President Traore elaborated on in an exclusive interview with Sputnik in late July. Those two and their mutual Nigerien neighbor then formed the Sahelian Alliance in mid-September nearly three months after that last-mentioned country’s coup. This platform created the basis upon which to include Niger in the planned Burkinabe-Malian Confederation according to their Foreign Ministers’ latest joint statement.