Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation from office on health grounds, Tokyo, August 28, 2020 The earth becomes a lonely planet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his friend and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe announced his resignation from office on August 28 and began walking toward the sunset. Abe should have been around …
Anatomy of coup attempt in Belarus
Women protestors in Minsk, Belarus, lionised by western media The Russian President Vladimir Putin disclosed in a TV interview on August 27 that the Americans, amongst others, had fuelled the unrest in Belarus. He explained that the controversial presence of 33 Russian nationals (with military background) in Minsk in the run-up to the presidential election …
Trump sets the Israeli cat among Arab pigeons
Iranian military delegation led by Defence Minister Gen. Amir Hatami examining Russian weaponry, Moscow, August 24, 2020 The US President Donald Trump’s legacy in the Middle East is going to be that he scattered the region’s Arab unity once and for all. What the successive waves of Cold War, oil, petrodollar, terrorism, political Islam or …
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Turkey reboots Arab Spring with Palestinian resistance
Turkish President Recep Erdogan (C) met a high-level delegation of Hamas led by Ismail Haniyeh (L), Istanbul, August 22, 2020 Turkey has made its first move on the regional chessboard after the recent deal between the UAE and Israel, when on August 22, President Recep Erdogan received in Istanbul a high-level delegation of the Palestinian …
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US-China decoupling is hard to do
Top US and Chinese officials participated in a scheduled call for a “constructive dialogue” on trade issues, Aug 24, 2020 The cracking sound of ice breaking in the frozen US-China relationship is audible with the two big powers holding a high-level “virtual meeting” on Tuesday to discuss trade and related issues. In spite of everything, the …
A high-flying US senator warns Modi against Putin
Russian Ka-226T helicopter to be produced under ‘Make in India’ is advantageous in high-altitude environments. (File photo) The Nikkei Asian Review, well-known for its anti-China reportage, featured an article in the weekend titled India should ignore Putin’s offer to broker accord with China. The author is none other than Marco Rubio, the high-flying Republican senator …
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China sees Biden as tough but predictable
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to give his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Chase Center, Wilmington, Delaware, August 20, 2020. Joe Biden’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on August 20 has been widely acclaimed in America and it enhances the growing perception that he is likely to …
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Iran “snapback” sanctions is a pantomime. Spectacle to watch is Trump-Putin summit.
As expected, the Trump Administration delivered letters on Thursday to both the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the president of the Security Council Dian Triansyah Djani notifying them that the United States is initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This process, if successful, …
Israel-UAE deal doesn’t herald a geopolitical formation
Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj (C) met with Turkish Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar (R) and Qatar Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah (L), Tripoli, Libya, August 17, 2020 Sweeping geopolitical assumptions are being made regarding the Israel-UAE agreement to establish diplomatic relations. Basically, the deal legitimises a previously existing two-decades old relationship. See …
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Russia takes Europe’s support to calm Belarus
Opposition protests in Minsk, Belarus, Aug 16, 2020 The mercurial Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has not been an easy ally for the Kremlin. But the growing interference by Belarus’ “New European” neighbours is setting the stage for a “colour revolution” with potentially anti-Russian orientation. Poland, egged on by the US, has convinced itself that it …
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