How African countries became casualties of Sudan war and Red Sea maritime mayhem
INNUMBERS
• 50+ Vessels using Bab Al-Mandab Strait targeted by Houthis so far.
• 3,500 nautical miles Additional distance for Cape of Good Hope route.
• 14 Extra days for a Rotterdam-Singapore journey bypassing Suez Canal.
ABIDJAN Cote d’Ivoire: Already plagued by complex internal problems, the economies of East Africa have perhaps been the most affected among regional states by the unfolding crisis in Sudan and the attacks on trade passing through the Red Sea.
The conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, which began on April 15 last year, has caused massive internal and cross-border displacement as well as disruption of critical supply chains.
Meanwhile, attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi militia, launched in response to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, have interrupted trade traffic plying East Africa’s ports, as wary firms redirect their vessels.
As a result, ports in Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somaliland have seen a reduction in the number of vessels docked.
Argentina is starting a record swap of peso-denominated debt Monday in a bid to roll over almost all of its 2024 maturities into the next four years, providing a temporary respite to President Javier Milei’s government.
The Economy Ministry published late Friday a list with the bonds it seeks to repurchase and sell, saying it will receive offers from investors until Tuesday 3pm in Buenos Aires (2pm ET). The swap may amount to 55 trillion pesos (US$65 billion), according to Juan Manuel Truffa, partner and director at local consulting firm Outlier.
Conversations between Economy Minister Luis Caputo and local banks began in January as his team floated the idea of rolling over all of the peso debt due this year, which amounts to 57 trillion pesos. While debt swaps are common in Argentina, the record size of this operation will be seen as a test of local market confidence in Milei’s economic programme, three months into his presidency.
Extending local debt maturities would reduce the need to print pesos to cover all of Argentina’s local debt payments in 2024, helping to stabilise the currency and potentially stamping out some inflationary pressures.
Russia Writes Off 20 Billion In Debt To African Countries Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia has written off debts of African states worth more than 20 billion dollars.
Putin's comments came on the occasion of the International Parliamentary Conference "Russia - Africa in a Multipolar World," where the Russian President said that the volume of mutual trade "reached almost $18 billion by the end of last year."
In this regard, the President added that the volume of trade between Russia and African countries will benefit from "the more vigorous transition to national currencies in financial settlements and the establishment of new transport and logistics chains."
"We are convinced that Africa will become one of the leaders of the new emerging multipolar world order," Putin said, and added that the role of the African continent in international affairs is steadily growing.
Russia and African countries, along with many states of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, "defend the traditional moral norms and social principles of our peoples, and oppose the neocolonial ideology imposed from abroad," the Russian President said, pointing to the global majority stance against neocolonial ideology.
Putin expressed Russia's commitment to work together with Africa "to strengthen fair and equal interstate relations and improve mechanisms of mutually beneficial economic cooperation." _______________________________________ BRICS Group Works On A New Form Of Currency India, Russia and China should form a new financial relationship with a new common currency, which could be a digital ruble, rupee or yuan - Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Babakov.
Russian, Chinese, and Iranian navy ships are holding a joint exercise in the Arabian Sea this week, staging from the Port of Chah Bahar in the Gulf of Oman.
The wargames – Maritime Security Belt – are scheduled to run from March 12-15 and involve vessels and aircraft from the three countries. Envoys from the militaries of Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, and South Africa are in attendance as observers.
China sets 2024 GDP growth target at around 5%, showing confidence in economic recovery
“This is a relatively high target, which shows that the central government has relatively high confidence in [the economy],” Wan Zhe, an economist and professor at the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times.
The target of around 5 percent is the same level as last year, but it exceeds some expectations for China’s growth in 2024. For example, the IMF, in its latest World Economic Outlook report released in January, projected that China’s GDP will grow by 4.6 percent in 2024. A rate of around 5 percent would also be faster than the projected global growth rate of 3.1 percent or the forecast of 1.5 percent for advanced economies and 4.1 percent for emerging market and developing economies.
In 2023, China's economy grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year, exceeding the official target of about 5 percent
The government plans a “new development model” for the housing market, he said, including building government-subsidized housing. That appeared to confirm reports that authorities plan to use public funds to buy up some of China's legions of unoccupied apartments and turn them into affordable housing.
Economists have said such an approach, although potentially costly, would relieve pressure on financially troubled property developers, help families afford housing that is still financially beyond their reach and help encourage more consumer spending.
Among the dozens of projects he listed in his roughly 30-page Chinese-language report — 55 pages in English — China plans a program this year for “worry-free consumption” to encourage people to spend more. Households will be encouraged to trade in old cars and appliances and buy new ones.
VMove's NEU Green Electric Motorcycle Sells Out Following Gibran's Endorsement
Manufactured by the Indonesian motorcycle company VMove in a factory in Gresik, East Java
The NEU Green boasts dimensions similar to a 250 cc sports motorcycle, featuring a long wheelbase and a robust body. The design, including the fairing and front lights, draws inspiration from classic Italian sports motorcycles, such as the Ducati Panigale V4R, presenting a firm and bold appearance with aerodynamic scoops.
The electric sports motorcycle is powered by Gotion's LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery with a 70 V 60 Ah capacity, providing a claimed range of 150 kilometers on a single full charge. Paired with a 5-kilowatt hub-drive dynamo, it can achieve a maximum speed of 150 km/h, offering power comparable to conventional motorcycles with a 250 cc engine. __________________________ Indonesia's Foreign Exchange Reserves Stand at $144 Billion in February __________________________________________ Egypt Floats Currency, Agrees on $8 Billion IMF Bailout
Egypt on Wednesday floated its currency and announced a deal with the International Monetary Fund to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion, moving to shore up an economy hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation.
The flotation of the Egyptian pound, combined with a sharp rise in the main interest rate, is meant to combat inflationary waves and attract foreign investment. The measures, announced by the Central Bank of Egypt early Wednesday, were among the key demands of the IMF to increase its $3 billion bailout loan that both parties agreed to in 2022 ________________________________ Britain says it will provide 10,000 drones to Ukraine in its fight with Russia ______________________________ Niger, Mali, Burkina creating joint force to fight worsening jihadi insurgency
_______________________________ China will be global ‘force for peace’: Wang Yi
Foreign Minister Wang Yi made his comments at China’s largest annual political gathering, which opened in Beijing earlier this week He was responding to warnings by Southeast Asian and Australian leaders against Chinese actions that “endanger peace” in the South China Sea
BEIJING: China will be a global force for peace and stability, the country’s foreign minister Wang Yi said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
China needs to mobilize resources and step up efforts for modernizing its armed forces and bolstering the country’s defense capability, a senior Chinese military commander said at a session of the National People’s Congress (parliament), China’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.
As the 14th National People’s Congress said in a report at the opening of its 2nd session on Tuesday, China will "strengthen and build up the defense mobilization potential." In particular, the Chinese authorities plan to improve the regulatory framework "to optimize defense science, technologies and industry."
Pursuant to the document, the Chinese government is set to boost defense spending by 7.2% in 2024 to 1.6 trillion yuan (about $231 billion). Last year, China also set the task of raising defense appropriations by 7.2% to 1.5 trillion yuan (around $224.85 billion).
Australia and South-East Asian nations endorse watered-down Melbourne Declaration to strengthen ties in the region _________________________________ Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia pledge to boost solidarity in ensuring security
The leaders reached consensus on strengthening security and defence cooperation; closely coordinating in protecting border security and fighting cross-border crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking; joining hands to continue building borderlines of peace, stability and development.
They also agreed to have more policies and measures to further facilitate and encourage trade and investment, with attention to border trade; open more flights connecting the three countries; and actively implement the action plan to connect the three economies to 2030. _______________________________________ Somalia: Process to Join East African Community Finished _________________________________ Chinese Vice President Han Zheng pledged Friday to provide more opportunities for foreign companies in China as the government tries to restore confidence in the world's second largest economy.
Han told an audience of American business people in Beijing that the government would continue to open up more industries to foreign investment and create a market-oriented and law-based international business environment.
“China’s development achievements have been made through opening up," he said at an American Chamber of Commerce in China banquet. “We will unwaveringly adhere to a high level of opening-up to the outside world.”
Three Red Sea underwater cables providing internet and telecommunications around the world have been cut as the waterway remains a target of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said Monday. Meanwhile, a Houthi missile attack set a ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden, but caused no injuries.
The cut lines include Asia-Africa-Europe 1, the Europe India Gateway, Seacom and TGN-Gulf, Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications said. It described the cuts as affecting 25% of the traffic flowing through the Red Sea. It described the Red Sea route as crucial for data moving from Asia to Europe and said it had begun re-routing traffic.
Shehbaz Sharif voted in as Pakistan's prime minister for second time:
Shehbaz Sharif was re-elected as Pakistan's Prime Minister, leading a fragile coalition that excludes supporters of imprisoned opposition leader Imran Khan.
Pakistan's election commission on Monday blocked lawmakers loyal to jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan from taking a share of parliamentary seats reserved for women and minorities, after a poll marred by rigging claims.
The decision was published shortly after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif - who helped oust Khan in 2022 - was officially sworn in as premier at a ceremony in the capital.
In Pakistan's National Assembly of 336 lawmakers, there are 70 seats reserved for women and non-Muslims, assigned to parties proportionally according to their success at the polls.
Sharif and his army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have formed a coalition government with historic rivals, the Pakistan Peoples Party and several smaller factions.
PTI continues to face censorship, with opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan's speech in the National Assembly cut from state television on Sunday.
The Indian Navy will commission a second naval base in the Lakshadweep Islands off its west coast amid an ongoing diplomatic row with the neighboring archipelago nation of Maldives. The new Maldivian government, led by President Mohamed Muizzu, is seen as cultivating closer ties with China while distancing itself from New Delhi.
Chad is officially non-aligned but has close relations with France, the former colonial power, which has about 1,200 troops stationed in the capital N'Djamena. It receives economic aid from countries of the European Community, the United States, and various international organizations.
Chad has long been in the grip of political tensions arising from shifting allegiances and familial and tribal relations within the political elite. Uncertainty following the death of longtime ruler Idriss Deby in 2021 and the installation of his son Mahamat as leader have escalated the problems. ____________________________ Hungary refuses to transfer $18 mln on weapons for Ukraine, sends it Chad instead ___________________________ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held meetings with his Hungarian and Serbian counterparts - Peter Szijjarto and Ivica Dacic - on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Lavrov said at his press conference after the forum.
"Apart from the forum events I have just mentioned, bilateral meetings were held, including with King [Mswati III] of Eswatini, the foreign ministers of Turkey [Hakan Fidan], Kazakhstan [Murat Nurtleu], Kyrgyzstan [Jeenbek Kulubaev], Uzbekistan [Bakhtiyor Saidov], Tajikistan [Sirojiddin Mukhriddin], Hungary [Peter Szijjarto], Serbia [Ivica Dacic], and Slovakia [Juraj Blanar]. A busy schedule," he said. ____________________________________________ China creating new form of human civilization, Xi Jinping says
Only a strong theory will provide us with a clear direction, unanimity and self-confidence," Xi stressed.
He called for using socialist thought with Chinese characteristics in a new era in order "to truly master the skills of Marxism, ensure political unity and cohesive actions, while keeping the level of like-mindedness high" within the party.
China says it aims to 'contain' foreign interference over Taiwan this year
China aims to "contain" foreign interference over Taiwan and "resolutely combat" any efforts towards the island's formal independence this year, which is the sensitive 75th anniversary of the founding of communist China, state media said on Friday.
China views democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, ignoring the objections of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up political and military pressure to assert those claims.
Taiwan last month elected current Vice President Lai Ching-te as its next president, a man Beijing has called a dangerous separatist. Lai, who takes office in May, has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed.
India’s minister of external affairs has suggested that countries in Asia and elsewhere should engage more with Russia as it seeks new partnerships amid its standoff with the West.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar made the comments on Friday at the Raisina Dialogue, India’s main geopolitical gathering in New Delhi. He said Moscow and Beijing had been forging stronger ties since the West “closed the doors” on Russia.
“On the one hand, you have people who set policies that bring the two together,” Jaishankar explained. “And then you say, ‘Beware of them coming together.’”
The BRICS states are overtaking the G7 in terms of share in global GDP in PPP terms, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday while addressing the Federal Assembly.
The share of BRICS will increase to 36.6% by 2028, while that of the G7 will decrease to 27.8%, according to estimates provided by the president.
“But ten years ago, the situation was different,” Putin said, noting that in 2022 the BRICS countries surpassed the G7 in terms of GDP in PPP terms (31.5% versus 30.3%), whereas back in 1992 the BRICS share was only around 16.5%.
According to data from the IMF, the share of the G7 (comprising Canada, France, Japan, Italy, the US, UK, and EU) in global GDP in terms of PPP has been on a steady decline over the past several years, dropping from 50.42% in 1982 to 30.39% in 2022. The Washington-based institution expects the figure to edge lower to 29.44% this year. ____________________________________________ India is the world’s fastest-growing economy and its expansion in the final quarter of last year exceeded expectations, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive director Krishnamurthy Subramanian.
Indian gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.4% between October and December 2023, representing the fastest pace in six quarters, data published by the country’s statistics service on Thursday showed. __________________________________ New Delhi has approved acquisition of $4.7 billion-worth of weaponry, including missiles and MiG29 engines co-developed with Russia The Indian Ministry of Defence has approved five weapons contracts worth $4.7 billion (391 billion rupees), including an order for the Navy’s preferred long-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, New Delhi announced on Friday.
Of the five approved contracts, two are with the India-Russia joint venture BrahMos Aerospace, for the acquisition of missiles and a ship-borne system.
While the government will spend $2.3 billion on the missiles to meet the “combat outfit and training requirements” of the Indian Navy, the ship-borne system will cost around $120 million. Fitted on various frontline warships, it is the Indian Navy’s primary weapon for maritime strike operations. “The system is capable of hitting land or sea targets from extended ranges with pinpoint accuracy at supersonic speeds,” the statement noted. ___________________________________ Gagarin to Gaganyaan: India’s Russia-trained astronauts are gearing to liftoff for the giant’s first manned space mission. ________________________________________ The Indian government has increased its annual target for defense and aerospace production to $36 billion, while raising the export target to $6 billion. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the country aims to increase its production of jet engines and gas turbines to reach the new goal.
“Earlier, India was known to be an arms importer. But today, under the leadership of the prime minister, we have come out of our comfort zone and found a place in the list of top 25 arms-exporting nations,” Singh asserted while speaking at a defense summit on Saturday.
“From an arms importer,” Singh noted, “India found a place in the top 25 arms exporting nations.” Defense exports did not even reach $120 million, seven or eight years ago, he pointed out. In the last fiscal year, the Ministry of Defense reported that exports soared to nearly $2 billion – a nearly tenfold increase since 2016-17, according to the Times of India.
________________________________ Prabowo Receives Honorary General Rank from President Jokowi President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo awarded a special promotion to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto as an Honorary Army General during the leadership meeting of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and National Police at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.
____________________________________ The U.S. and Britain struck 18 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, answering a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this past week that set fire to a cargo vessel.
The strikes have support from the wider coalition, which includes Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
The decision by the UK to blacklist Chinese companies as part of a new round of sanctions against Russia won’t be left without a response, the Chinese embassy in London has said.
On Thursday, Britain announced more curbs designed to hurt Moscow, saying that these mark the second anniversary of the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The latest sanctions target 50 entities and individuals, most of them from Russia but with three Chinese firms also on the list.
The restrictions on the Chinese companies by the UK are “unilateral acts that have no basis in international law, and we firmly oppose them,” Beijing’s diplomatic mission said in a statement later on the day. ________________________________________ A vessel caught fire after being hit by two missiles southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
It comes as Houthi militants have escalated attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The militants who control large parts of Yemen have been targeting merchant ships in response to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, which started in October.
According to the Associated Press, ship-tracking data helped identify the vessel as a Palau-flagged cargo ship named Islander that had been coming from Thailand bound for Egypt.
Earlier this week, the Houthis claimed to have targeted an Israeli cargo vessel, a number of US warships, and a British vessel in an incident described as “catastrophic,” causing the crew to abandon ship. _______________________________ Somalia’s Council of Ministers has ratified a new maritime agreement with Turkey which outsources the protection of Somalia’s territorial water for ten years, Somali news site Garowe Online reported on Wednesday.
The agreement grants Turkey "comprehensive authority" over the defence and management of Somalia’s maritime territory, the newspaper reported. Turkey will allegedly receive 30 percent of revenues from Somalia’s exclusive economic zone as payment for its maritime security services.
A new power could be emerging in Asia Indonesia. Increasing prominence of Indonesia has led the island nation to become subject to a geopolitical tug of war, that is the question of who will win its “allegiance” as part of the macro struggle between the US and China. Stretched out across thousands of islands, the geostrategic location of the country is critical, because it occupies the fundamental passage between the Pacific and Indian oceans known as the Malacca Strait, forming an effective bridge between Asia and Oceania, as well as the South China Sea.
With the rise of new economies such as Indonesia with its huge population, “older powers” like Britain and France increasingly become smaller and less relevant. It is one thing to look at the rise of China’s economy, but what happens when other economies such as India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, et al become larger in scope than Western ones thanks to their large populations and markets? There is an undeniable shift in the balance of power going on here, and this of course also means American dominance cannot last forever ________________________________________ The BRICS member states will overtake the G7 in terms of share in global GDP within the next four years, the head of the New Development Bank (NDB), Dilma Rousseff, said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the chair of the multinational lender said that with the addition of the new members, the group’s share in global economic output will rise from the current 35% to 40% by 2028, while that of the G7 group of developed nations will decline to 27.8%.
Rousseff also noted that the share of BRICS in global trade grew from 37% in 2016 to 41% in 2022, whereas the G7 saw its position erode with its share decreasing from 62% to 58%.
The BRICS group of emerging economies, which previously comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, underwent a major expansion after Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates joined in January of this year. _____________________________ Russia’s trade with key BRICS partners now almost dollar-free 95% of the country’s transactions with India and China were conducted in local currencies last year
According to the ICC, the share of the US dollar and euro in Russia’s export settlements has dropped dramatically, from 85.6% in January-December 2021 to 34.1% over January-May of last year.
The use of the Russian ruble in cross-border transactions surged to 39.1% over the same period and settlements in currencies of so-called ‘friendly’ countries rose to 26.9%, the data showed.
“95% of settlements in the Chinese and Indian directions in 2023 were carried out in national currencies. China has become Russia’s key trade partner accounting for 29% of the trade turnover,” Monaghan said.
Russia and its trade partners began to switch to the national currencies in mutual trade after sanctions effectively cut Moscow off from the Western financial system. _______________________________ Russia has risen to sixth place in the world in terms of foreign currency reserves, according to the latest calculations by the World Gold Council. The country had accumulated $442.5 billion in forex holdings as of the end of 2023, overtaking Saudi Arabia, whose holdings have dropped to their lowest level since 2009 at $439 billion.
The top five in the ranking are China ($3.3 trillion), Japan ($1.2 trillion), Switzerland ($755.9 billion), India ($574.8 billion), and Taiwan ($564 billion).
In terms of total international reserves, which include monetary gold, Russia is also in sixth place with holdings worth $598.4 billion as of January 1. The value of its holdings rose by roughly $16 billion over the past year, largely due to higher gold prices, according to the Russian central bank.
India, water, war, and China's grip on occupied Tibet
Less than one year after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet.
In 1951, the defeated Tibetans were forced to sign an agreement that retrospectively has been dubbed the first "one country, two systems," though like its Hong Kong successor proved to be just ink on worthless paper, and in 1959, the CCP imposed its Communist system, just in time for the horrors of the Great Leap Forward.
Potential for war
While many rivers emanate from the Tibetan Plateau, four important ones have geopolitical significance. Two flow through Southeast Asia, the Nu/Salween River which runs through Burma and Thailand, and the famed Lancang/Mekong River which transits Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. (unlikely I think)
US deploying 5 aircraft carriers in western Pacific USS Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Ronald Reagan, Carl Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt are all in Pacific
Of the U.S. Navy's active fleet of 11 aircraft carriers, three are currently performing missions in the western Pacific and two more are set to arrive soon, reported the South China Morning Post. This will mark the first time that five U.S. carriers from the current fleet have operated in the western Pacific in the same year.
2024/02/20 A joint air patrol by the Philippines with the United States was aimed at protecting territory and national interests in the South China Sea, a Philippine military official said Tuesday, after Beijing accused Manila of stirring up trouble.
Philippine fighter jets and a U.S. bomber plane flew together over the South China Sea on Monday, more than a week after their navies held joint maritime exercises in the face of simmering tensions over territorial claims in the area.
I agree, however in my mind if ww3 occurs then clearly we will loose Australia. Hopefully King Charles will get rid of the bloody republican Liberal Labor parties and there lackey's and honesty can arise before its to late. Take look Indonesian elections, naval armada 50 nations playing silly buggers near Taiwan this week, think Vietnam, North Korea, Russia, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan etc. Also recent announcement the implications of China having regard to the Panama carnal. Chinese new base in Antarctica, a base bit below Argentina. The 21,000 Indonesian commandos 450km away from Cape York, China in PNG and Solomon Islands and other.
according to Dr Google Economic Community of West African States:
The 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
In 2024, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali announced their withdrawal from the bloc. The countries had been suspended from ECOWAS due to military takeovers of their respective governments.
The Lagos treaty which set up ECOWAS was signed on May 28, 1975 in the Nigerian economic capital, with the aim of removing economic, political and linguistic barriers to trade. But ECOWAS gradually had to scale back its economic ambitions.
ECOWAS was established in 1975 through the Treaty of Lagos with the sole mission of achieving economic integration across the region. However, the bloc struggled to advance its agenda due to extreme political volatility and perpetual civil wars crippling many of its members.
China's investment in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region has boosted economic growth and infrastructure development, lowered commodity prices, raised employment and income levels, improved the quality of life locally, and made significant contributions to the region's economic HOWEVER
China has so far built or refurbished parliaments in some 15 African countries, including the Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, the Seychelles and Guinea Bissau, as well as other government buildings such as Burundi's presidential palace and the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia.
The People's Liberation Army Support Base in Djibouti is a military base operated by China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), located in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa
I really don't know where its all going, as before changes are inevitable, just have to wait and see mate
"Dear Mr. Prabowo Subianto, please accept my sincere congratulations on your convincing victory in the presidential election. Indonesian-Russian relations are built on benevolent traditions of friendship and mutual respect, successfully evolving in various areas," Putin said.
He further expressed confidence that Prabowo’s leadership would contribute to the continued development of the entire spectrum of Russian-Indonesian cooperation, "for the benefit of both countries' citizens and in the interests of strengthening security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."
When China opened its fifth research station in Antarctica this month, analysts sounded alarm bells about potential security threats on Australia's southern doorstep.
Experts warned that China's expanding activity in Antarctica combined with Australia's inaction and lack of funding could lead to Beijing's increased strategic presence in the frozen continent.
The new Qinling base could also improve China's surveillance capabilities and give them more control over transport routes to exploit resources, they say.
However, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson insisted the new station would be used to "provide a platform for joint scientific exploration and cooperation between China and other countries and help advance peace and sustainable development in the region".
Beijing's new Qinling base also fronts the Pacific arc, which has no choke points.
Vessels travelling down the Panama and Suez Canal are facing challenges including falling water levels caused by drought exacerbated by climate change.
This has forced the canals to lower the maximum depth limit on ships and has also led to a drop in marine traffic.
The Drake Passage, a turbulent body of water that lies between South America and China’s Great Wall station in Antarctica, may become a more popular alternative route.
Dr Buchanan said China had spent the past 10 years building infrastructure in Chile and parts of Argentina, which has given them the ability to control the passage.
“They could cut off the Drake Passage in all sorts of ways,” she said.
“They could make that passage difficult to pass and control shipping … or by having more boats to be able to monitor and block [the passage] with their own boats.”
______________________________-- Israel conducted clandestine strikes against two key natural gas pipelines in Iran this week, marking an escalation in the years-long standoff between the two states, the New York Times has reported.
“Israel has long targeted military and nuclear sites inside Iran,” but this week’s attacks on the energy infrastructure “marked an escalation in the covert war and appeared to open a new frontier,” the NYT wrote, citing Western officials. Israel conducted clandestine strikes against two key natural gas pipelines in Iran this week, marking an escalation in the years-long standoff between the two states, the New York Times has reported.
_____________________ Satellite imagery has shown construction work next to the Palestinian enclave as Israel prepares to launch a ground offensive
The Egyptian government has reportedly started work on a wall near the country’s border with Gaza amid fears that a planned ground offensive by the Israeli military will push up to 1.4 million war refugees currently in the border city of Rafah out of the Palestinian enclave.
Yes mate: The Taiwanese military registered the approach of 21 aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and six warships of the PLA Navy near the island in the past day, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on its website.
According to it, 14 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and flew into the island’s air defense identification zone north and southwest of it over the past 24 hours.
Taiwanese aircraft, vessels and ground-based air defense systems were dispatched to monitor them, the statement reads.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China. _______________________ A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted the election “will not change the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China and there is only one China in the world,” while the Taiwan Affairs Office's spokesperson said the “election cannot change the basic pattern and direction of cross-strait relations.”
On January 13, 2024, Taiwan held elections for its presidency and 113-seat legislature, the Legislative Yuan. The run-up to the election drew global attention because of the growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Since current president Tsai Ing-wen was elected in 2016, official cross-strait dialogue has been suspended, and there is deep concern about China’s growing use of “gray zone” tactics and the rising possibility of actual hostilities. With the elections now concluded and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate William Lai the victor, all eyes are on the ongoing transition, which will culminate in Lai’s inauguration on May 20.
The party system is currently dominated by two major parties: the Kuomintang (KMT), which broadly favors maintaining the constitutional framework of the Republic of China Constitution and deepened economical cooperation with mainland China, and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which broadly favors de jure ___________________________________________ Nigeria should join BRICS, which would allow the country, Africa's leading oil exporter, to sell oil not for dollars, but for naira and thereby strengthen its national currency, said Nigerian politician and human rights activist Femi Falana.
"There are countries in the world today insisting that we are not going to be tied to the American dollars and those countries are in the BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa," the politician said in his appeal to the federal government of Nigeria as quoted by the Vanguard newspaper.
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One Belt and Road Initiative growing stronger
Butcher if you need have full backup of whole blog