On Thursday Vladimir Putin hosts his annual press conference, in which he answers softball questions about the year’s achivements at great length. Russia’s president may be cheerful. His forces continue to progress in eastern Ukraine, albeit at a cost of many men. And Donald Trump’s victory might provide a boon. Many people think he will keep his promise to end the war swiftly by imposing a bad deal on Ukraine. Still, the Russian president has plenty of problems.
Tag: Russia
EU Ambitions in the Western Balkans
On Wednesday leaders from the six western Balkan countries hoping to join the European Union meet their counterparts from the bloc’s member states. They will discuss the EU’s “growth plan”, which aims to absorb the countries into individual aspects of the union, such as its single market, before they become full members. The region’s accession process began in 2003 but has generally slowed. Bulgaria, already an EU member, is blocking North Macedonia; Serbia’s dispute with Kosovo, its former province, hampers the accession of both; and Bosnia’s Serb leadership is more interested in destroying Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state than joining the EU.
China Promised to Vigourously Boost Consumption
After their annual Central Economic Work Conference, which finished on Thursday, China’s leaders promised to “vigourously” boost consumption. New economic figures released on Monday will illustrate the size of the task ahead of them. Retail sales probably grew by about 4.5 percent in nominal terms in November, compared with a year earlier. That would be slower than the previous month, which was boosted by an early start to the “Singles’ Day” shopping festival. Consumer-price inflation, which has already been released, was only 0.2 percent, another symptom of weak spending.
Assad’s Fall: An Outcome of the US-Russia Extended Cold War
Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and now Syria, the list of nations now in chaos after the fall of its governments is growing. There is a common pattern to the beginning of political storms in all these nations, which is the external interference in their domestic affairs by the United States. This model of toppling governments and replacing it with friendly options have failed everywhere. But the US is not reluctant to meddle with the affairs of other nations and especially when it comes to Asia, where they have geopolitical interests.
The Caretaker Prime Minister of Syria
On 8 December 2024, the Syrian Arab Republic under Bashar al-Assad collapsed amid major offensives by the Syrian opposition (led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – HTS and supported by other rebel groups, including the Turkish backed Syrian National Army) as part of the Syrian civil war which began in 2011. The fall of Damascus marked the end of the Assad’s regime, which had ruled Syria as a totalitarian hereditary dictatorship since 1971.
Decoding the Economy of an Isolationist Country
Being one of the most isolated, secretive, dark and censored countries in the world, North Korea continues to baffle audiences and surpass trends of journalistic opportunity. It has one of the largest militaries in the world, a staggering domestic infrastructure and much speculation as to what goes on inside the closed-to-exhibition country. The citizens aren’t allowed to venture outside and no official economic data has been published since 1965, which is both scary and bold at the same time.
Rebels Declare Damascus Free of al-Assad
After just a few days of rapid advances, the rebels appeared to control Syria’s capital. Rebels declared that they would work with a top official in President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Mr. al-Assad’s location was unclear. Rebel fighters stormed into Syria’s capital, Damascus, on Sunday, taking them to the brink of a stunning victory as evidence mounted that Syrian forces and their leader, President Bashar al-Assad, had fled. In just two weeks, a bitter stalemate that had held for years in Syria has been snapped.
How can China Respond to Trump’s New China Policy?
During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese goods and services coming to the United States. This time, Beijing seems already strategising to retaliate against the upcoming tariffs from the second Trump administration. Trump’s proposed tariffs on Chinese imports could disrupt China’s export-driven economic model, which has driven the country’s growth over the past few decades.
Letters to the Editor – 6 November 2024
President Putin brought together leaders of many Third World nations in the recent trending summit of BRICS organised in Kazan, Russia. All of them affirmed the need to fight against Western imperialism and the tools of the same, like SWIFT, IMF and World Bank and the requirement of a new financial system. Finance is the lifeblood of the global economy. As long as it is dominated by the US Dollar, nations will be forced to be subservient to the US.
Xi’s European Tour: Global Power Shifts and India’s Challenge
In these changing times, where every nation is trying to recalibrate its position according to its interests and the shifting power balances President Xi Jinping’s visit to France, Hungary, and Serbia has garnered observers of international politics their inquisitive seats of analysis. This comes when multiple conflictual clashes are building around the globe. The more than two-year war in Ukraine, the result of which seems to be elusive to the site, the Israeli siege of Gaza and its spillover effects in the region and the covert build-up of tensions between Israel and Iran distorting the current power status quo.