Author: M Barbu

Russia-Ukraine War: Implications for Asian Geoeconomics

As the war and resulting sanctions redraw trade maps in Asia, Iran stands to be the primary beneficiary.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has set off a series of sanctions from Western states and many others that will have broad implications for some time to come, even in the unlikely scenario of a relatively quick end to the fighting. The impact on the global economy and supply chains from both the war and the escalating sanctions regime has already been significant but will have long-term consequences on the geoeconomics of Asia and East-West trade that require closer examination.

Dans l’est de la RDC, la rébellion du M23 pousse toujours plus de civils sur les routes

Au moins 160 000 personnes ont fui les combats dans le Nord-Kivu. Une tentative de médiation entre Kinshasa et Kigali doit se tenir, le 6 juillet, à Luanda.

Les coups de feu l’ont réveillé en pleine nuit. Dans son village de Buhumba, situé dans la province du Nord-Kivu, l’armée congolaise faisait face, fin mai, aux insurgés du Mouvement du 23-Mars (M23). « Au matin, les soldats avaient disparu. Il ne restait plus que les rebelles. Je suis parti immédiatement », raconte Harerimana, debout au milieu de nattes étalées sur le sol en guise de lit.

Selling Weapons, Selling War

Why does war persist?

War was always madness, always immoral, always the cause of unspeakable suffering, economic waste and widespread destruction, and always a source of poverty, hate, barbarism and endless cycles of revenge and counter-revenge. It has always been a crime for soldiers to kill people, just as it is a crime for murderers in civil society to kill people. No flag ha ever been wide enough to cover up atrocities.

The Second-Coming Of The BRICS

When the inaugural BRIC summit took place in 2009, it was a moment of relative triumph for its members. While the West dealt with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — enjoyed temporary shelter from the turmoil. When South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, the BRICS agenda expanded beyond economic cooperation and now includes a wide array of global governance issues, including security.

A Vital Humanitarian Mandate for Syria’s North West

What is at stake in the Security Council?

The UN Security Council is set to vote soon on the renewal of a mandate that allows UN agencies to deliver aid to rebel-held Idlib in north-western Syria via a border crossing with Türkiye without asking for approval from the government in Damascus. The UN calculates that nearly two and a half million people rely on this lifeline for food and other essential supplies. Yet the arrangement is contentious. Since 2019, Russia, the Syrian regime’s ally, has aimed to curtail the mandate, arguing that the UN should work with Damascus on aid deliveries out of respect for Syria’s sovereignty.