Author: M Barbu

As Russia and the United States Seek Influence in Africa, Strategic Pitfalls Loom

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s four-country Africa swing attracted a great deal of attention in Western media outlets, which framed his trip as a diplomatic campaign intended to prove that the West’s efforts to isolate Russia have obvious limits. In Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Republic of Congo, Lavrov sought to deflect responsibility for the serious food and fuel disruptions resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and position Moscow as a champion of state sovereignty and independence. It’s an audacious claim from a country currently engaged in a campaign to annex part of its neighbor. Meanwhile, the world waits for Russia to lift its blockade on Ukrainian grain and allow ships to pass through the Black Sea.

Turkish consulate in Mosul targeted in rocket attack

The Turkish consulate in Mosul was attacked in a rocket attack, causing damage but no casualties, Iraqi and Turkish sources said.

The overnight fire in Iraq’s main northern city came after deadly shelling, conducted by the Turkish army, killed nine civilians last week, prompting anti-Turkish protests in cities across Iraq.

France could deliver drones to help Benin battle militants

France could deliver drones and more sophisticated weapons to Benin to help it tackle a worsening Islamist insurgency that is threatening the region, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.

Macron made the pledge during a joint press conference with Benin’s President Patrice Talon on the second leg of his three-nation tour of Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau.

Renaud Girard: «La France doit réussir en Afrique!»

Pour le deuxième déplacement international de son deuxième mandat, du 25 au 28 juillet 2022, Emmanuel Macron a décidé de se rendre en Afrique (Cameroun, Bénin, Guinée-Bissau). Le président de la République estime, à juste titre, que les destins de la France et du continent africain sont étroitement liés.

Египетская сила

Политолог Александр Ведруссов — о роли африканского континента во внешнеполитических построениях России

Быть глобальной державой нелегко. Буквально каждый регион мира требует пристального и непрерывного внимания. Иначе не получится выстроить долгосрочные диалоговые механизмы и сбалансировать интересы самых разных международных акторов, особенно в текущей стрессовой геополитической обстановке.

The flaws in Europe’s deal to ration gas

WHEN THE energy ministers of the European Union’s member countries gathered for an emergency meeting on July 26th, the deal came swiftly. They agreed that each country should cut gas consumption by 15%, compared with their average over the past five years, between August 1st and March 31st 2023. It was a typical EU compromise, forged in long negotiations and riddled with exemptions and concessions. It will not really solve the problem at hand: how the EU should respond if Russia halts or radically reduces supplies—something that seems increasingly likely. The day before the meeting Gazprom, Russia’s state energy giant, announced that it would again reduce the volume of gas flowing through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, to 20% of capacity.

The European inflation debate needs better wage data

While the US provides monthly updates on the development of wages, eurozone wage data is published quarterly, creating delays of up to six months. This negatively affects how inflation is discussed in Europe and could lead to bad economic policy.

Turkey: Torture Has Reached “Unprecedented Levels”

“We saw his body while washing it. There was a scar on his neck as if he had been hanged with a clothesline. Both of his eyes had burst. Blood was coming from his eyes. His nose was completely broken and filled with cotton. There was such a large swelling and bruise on his chest it looked as if a tree had been stuck there. His upper lip was almost as big as a palm. His right foot was stitched.” — Hikmet Yılmaz, elder brother of Ferhan Yılmaz, evidently tortured to death in Silivri prison on April 10, 2022.

Putin’s New Police State

In the Shadow of War, the FSB Embraces Stalin’s Methods

Since the spring of 2022, a terrifying new force has coursed through Russian society. Activists who have protested the “special operation” in Ukraine are being rounded up. Opponents of the regime and even ordinary citizens who have had unauthorized foreign contacts are being thrown into Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison, where in Stalinist times, political prisoners were tortured and executed. Special border agents have been interrogating and intimidating Russians who are trying to leave or return. But even those who have made it out are not safe; exiles who have spoken out are being investigated, and their relatives in Russia are being harassed by the regime. And security police are cracking down on Russian companies that buy foreign rather than Russian raw materials and hardware.