Russia-China Alliance Poses Defining Challenge For The West

Russian President Vladimir Putin had been isolated on Ukraine in a series of major summits throughout December, but that changed significantly on Wednesday when his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping offered his strong support, strengthening an emerging Moscow-Beijing axis.

The Chinese premier’s alliance with Putin — one of the key factors emboldening Russian foreign policy in recent years — has significant implications not only for geopolitics but also the global economy. With both men potentially in power until well into the 2030s, they may well be seen by future historians as the two dominant figures in international relations in the first three to four decades of the 21st century.

Russian President’s Significant Political Reachout To India – India

Cognizant of India’s growing strategic denouement with Russia, visibly so in 2021, in wake of Russia’s outsized priority to China and pivot to Pakistan in its South Asian policy formulations, Russian President Putin made a significant six-hour dash to India, to rebalance Russia’s fraying strategic partnership with India on December 06 2021 for a Summit Meet with Indian PM Modi and also to mark the initiation of Russia-India 2+2 Dialogue of respective Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers.

Russians Split On Responsibility For Worsening Tensions Over Ukraine – Analysis

Older Russians blame NATO for rising tensions between the Kremlin and Western powers over Ukraine, according to a public survey conducted this week by an independent Moscow-based pollster.

Across all age groups, half of those polled by the Levada Center believe the United States and other NATO nations are “the initiators of the exacerbation of the situation in eastern Ukraine,” while only 4% blamed Russia. Sixteen percent saw Kyiv as being responsible for worsening relations.

When Putin Will Invade Ukraine

While much of the world wonders when Russia will invade Ukraine, the US Senate’s number 2 ranking member on the Armed Forces committee has added something new:

When will the US invade Russia?

Senator Roger Wicker disclosed that a US invasion of Russia is on the table. He spoke on national TV immediately after the Biden-Putin virtual summit about Ukraine.

China’s BRI Crown Jewel Joins The Era Of Defiance And Dissent – Analysis

The crown jewel of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increasingly looks like a powder keg that has exploded.

Mass protests have for the past month swept Gwadar, a Chinese-dominated Pakistani port city 90 kilometres from the border with Iran that has long been plagued by intermittent protests and Baloch nationalist attacks on Chinese nationals and targets.

Le « Maghreb », une invention coloniale ?

Le débat sur le concept de « Maghreb » a récemment ressurgi à l’occasion de la parution d’un ouvrage développant l’hypothèse d’une éventuelle origine coloniale. Une question complexe.

Un article paru le 9 décembre sur le site Orient XXI reprend le dernier ouvrage de l’anthropologue Abdelmajid Hannoum, qui interroge la notion de « Maghreb » pour savoir si elle est le fruit d’une invention coloniale française. La thèse est la suivante : par la conjonction de trois aspects, – représentation cartographique, archéologie, et mélange « langue, race, territoire »- le discours colonial ne se serait pas pas contenté de « bouleverser les identités et les traditions », il en aurait « créé de toutes pièces, sous les apparences du local mais sans l’avoir jamais été ».

Israeli Arab, Gazan Arrested for Spying on Iron Dome, Soldiers in Israel for Hamas

Israel’s Shin Bet security service has reiterated that Hamas in Gaza “exploits” permits for residents to enter Israel for commercial reasons. Its proof is its arrest, announced on Thursday, of an Israeli Arab citizen with family in the Gaza Strip and a resident of the Gaza Strip with a commercial permit to enter Israel suspected of spying on Israel, including its Iron Dome missile defense system, for Hamas.

Iranian Newspaper Puts Literal Targets on Israeli Sites in Public Threat

An English-language Iranian newspaper has put a literal bull’s-eye on dozens of sites inside Israel that it says the Islamic Republic will target if Israel makes “just one wrong move.” The Tehran Times published the article that topped its website on Tuesday, featuring a large map of Israel with pins representing potential targets, including in the West Bank and on the borders with Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

1 Killed, 78 Rescued After Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Tunisian Coast

Tunisia’s navy retrieved the body of an Egyptian man who was killed, and rescued 78 survivors, mostly from Bangladesh and Egypt, who were trying to reach Europe, after the boat that was carrying them capsized off the coast of Tunisia on Wednesday. The migrants had left from Libya the previous night, Tunisia’s Defense Ministry said. The rescued migrants were turned over to municipal authorities, according to a report by the AFP.

In late November, 487 migrants, including 93 children, were rescued off the Tunisian coast as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in an overloaded boat.