Between the night and early afternoon of Monday 6 February, two violent earthquakes struck south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria, causing what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the greatest disaster recorded in the Country since 1939, the year in which the earthquake in Erzincan killed about 33,000 people and injured more than 100,000. The two…

The People’s Republic of China urgently needs to revive the national economy after GDP growth stopped at 3% last year, marking the second-worst performance in the last 50 years. However, Beijing’s ambitions have to deal with an extremely unstable and conflictual international context, marked by the persistence of the war in Ukraine, the slowdown of…

“How Africans voted on the Ukraine War is an indication of the plurality of views [in the continent]. If the weather forecast is a cold front, it is likely immense pressure will be exerted on African countries to choose sides. We know what follows, and we have been there. Better be united and cautious.” The…

The Wagner Group – Russia’s most prolific and infamous private military company (PMC) – formed during Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, a mission that was influential in establishing Russia’s growing strategy of pursuing state goals through deniable PMC activities. Although other PMCs such as the Moran Security Group, Rossiskie System Bezopasnosti (RSB) Group, and Patriot…

Turkey is heading for crucial presidential and parliamentary elections in a pivotal year for its history. Indeed, October 2023 will mark the centenary of the founding of the Republic. Before that date, in June, Turkey will go to the polls, which will either consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s longstanding power or mark a seismic shift,…

Global growth forecast is expected to slow down, from 3.2% in 2022 to 2.7% in 2023. This is caused by a combination of the global cost-of-living crisis, tightening financial conditions, the invasion of Ukraine and the enduring impacts of the pandemic. As economic growth will weaken worldwide in 2023, most countries in the Middle East…

All rights are equal but some rights are more equal than others. FIFA and the Qatar authorities are justly under fire for restrictions on LGBT rights and their treatment of migrant labourers. But nothing is said about the abuse of rights to religious freedom, a world-wide problem as well as one local to Qatar and…

The reconfirmation of Xi Jinping as Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) opens an unprecedented season for China and the world, as no one before him had been reconfirmed for the third time for this position. This undoubtedly constitutes a signal of internal strengthening of the current leadership, which has managed to prevail…

In recent years, Egyptians seemed to have become resigned to their country’s social, economic, and political trajectory. Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the country has undergone massive aesthetic changes through an infrastructure overhaul and experienced bursts of economic revival amid a widespread malaise regarding social and political issues. For much of the past decade, Egyptians…

Despite the geographical distance involved, over the last five decades Latin America has become a significant area for the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Chinese expansion in Latin America is strictly interconnected with the country’s rise as a global power. Since the first diplomatic ties were established in the 1970s, the…

The development of nuclear technology to power electricity generation was hailed as a triumph of modern technology. We can never forget and not be on our guard from the history that nuclear power was first used in the atom bomb that wiped out two Asian cities in World War II. The horrific death of almost…

Illegal logging is a growing feature of transnational organized crime in Africa, often facilitated by the collusion of senior officials, with far-reaching security and environmental implications for the countries affected. African countries are estimated to lose $17 billion to illegal logging each year. This is part of a global market with an economic value of…