The fate of the war in Myanmar is intertwined with that of the “Scam Cities”, lawless places that produce money continuously and whose control is linked to billions in earnings. For several months, a war has been underway in Myanmar for control of the border centre of Myawaddy on the Moei River, opposite the Thai…

African military spending rose by 22% between 2022 and 2023, according to a new report, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seeing the biggest increase to its military budget globally at 105% as the central African country battles multiple security threats. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in a new report on world…

The threats from the Houthis in the Red Sea persist: the crisis continues to heavily impact global transport and trade, with significant repercussions on the world economy. Eight months, two naval missions and dozens of missiles later, the crisis in the Red Sea continues. The Houthis continue to threaten the world’s commercial fleet, so much…

Upcoming European elections: challenges and prospects for the European Commission. Analysis of the political landscape and industrial strategies in view of the new parliamentary cycle. Elections for the renewal of the European Parliament will be held on 8 and 9 June, followed by a new European Commission. Outgoing President Ursula Von der Leyen is the…

Given the elections for the European Parliament to be held on 6-9 June 2024, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has issued a statement inviting all citizens, especially Catholics, to prepare for the elections and vote responsibly “promoting Christian values and the European project”. Below is the statement. We, bishops…

About 53% of Africa’s population lives in rural areas. Six decades ago, it was 85.38 percent. The percentage varies greatly from country to country: 85.58% in Burundi, 83.11 in Niger, 82.28 in Rwanda, 9.27 in Gabon, 18.70 in Libya and 21.62 in Djibouti. These data show that more and more people are migrating to cities…

Democratic states are all alike; every autocratic state is autocratic in its own way.  Democracies are alike in featuring universal suffrage, striving for a body of robust accountable institutions and political practice, and sustaining a vibrant civil society.  Autocracies, however, have strikingly distinctive features. Take Iran and China.  Despite common features for example, Iran like…

By opening the Red Sea front, the Houthis have taken the lead of the Palestinian cause and of anti-Americanism in the region. They address now an Islamic audience broader than the axis led by Iran. Doing so, the Houthis are capitalizing on traditional anti-Israel and anti-US slogans and symbols of the Iranian galaxy but this…

On January 13, approximately twenty million Taiwanese went to the polls to elect the new President and the country’s unicameral Parliament (Legislative Yuan). The selected candidate, elected with 40.1% of the votes, was Lai Ching-te, known as William Lai, a leading exponent of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and former vice president alongside Tsai Ing-wen.…

The US and UK have stepped up airstrikes against  Yemeni Houthi militias. The Anglo-American air strikes were a direct response to the long series of Houthi attacks against civilian ships and boats (merchant and container) crossing the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, in the Red Sea, in retaliation for the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The drone…

Recent Houthi piracy attacks heighten global maritime security concerns in the Red Sea, despite international efforts of deterrence. The issue of maritime security and insecurity in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb area is primarily tied to Yemen’s militarized islands. Since 2015, Yemeni islands are mostly controlled, as for its coastline, by armed groups:…

Electoral events refer to issues, problems, or challenges that influence elections and voters’ choices. Inherent in the democratic process, they vary depending on the political, economic, social and cultural context of a particular country. In short, they often include issues of democracy, transparency, access to information, political participation, representativeness, good governance, human rights, and so…