By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The Biden administration has cracked down on three African countries accused of serious rights violations, expelling them from AGOA, a duty-free trade program worth millions in benefits. The three countries—Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea—had been warned in November of the threatened action which affects imports and […]
Collective Sanctions Isolating Mali in the Sahel Sahara as Russia Rides the Wave of Anticolonialism
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW I BAMAKO (IDN) — The Republic of Mali, a landlocked West African state with an impoverished population, faces increasing isolation from the international community over the political power grab. Even as the African Union (AU), the continental organization, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc, […]
India’s Marriage of Convenience with Myanmar
By Niranjan Marjani The writer is an independent researcher and columnist based in Vadodara (formerly Baroda), India. VADODARA, India (IDN) — The November 13 attack on an Assam Rifles convoy by two Manipur insurgent groups—the People’s Liberation Army and Manipur Naga People’s Front—in Churachandpur district of Manipur has the potential to further destabilise Northeast India. […]
Russia Studying the Impact of a New Edition of US Triangular Diplomacy
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — Russian policy experts and academic researchers have been upbeat with heated reactions, especially in the local media on the current state of affairs between the United States, Europe and Russia, and the prospects of moving forward. The focus has been on the key questions dealing with the North […]
Russia Extending its Sphere of Influence in Africa’s Sahel
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — With renewed and full-fledged interest to uproot French domination, Russia has ultimately begun making inroads into the Sahel region, an elongated landlocked territory located between North Africa (Maghreb) and West Africa, and also stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. While it remains largely underdeveloped and […]
Indo-Lanka Ties Back on the Rails
By Sugeeswara Senadhira* COLOMBO (IDN) — Following the recent visit to Delhi by Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, a four-point package agreed to with India to help overcome the island nation’s current economic problems, has put the traditionally close relations between the two South Asian neighbours back on rails. India acceded to Sri Lanka’s […]
How Russia and Four Other BRICS Countries Are Dealing With COVID-19
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW l PRETORIA (IDN) — On December 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. According to the official Kremlin transcript, which hardly gives detailed information, “the presidents agreed to join efforts in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, in particular in view of the […]
US Hosts Summits Promoting Democracy But 83 are Missing from List of Invitees
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — A head of state, who presided over an authoritarian regime in Southeast Asia, was once asked about rigged elections in his country. “I promised I will give you the right to vote,” he was quoted as saying, perhaps half-jokingly “But I did not say anything about counting those […]
Tajikistan: Young Girl Out to Save The Community from Pollution
By Sharofat Shafieva KHOROG, Tajikistan (IDN) — The city of Khorog is generally clean, but it has a problem with waste management. Residents leave their garbage on the streets and especially in public places. The central market is one of the places where there is a large garbage dump. “Passing by garbage is very unpleasant. […]
Russia Agrees to Strengthen Military Regime in Mali
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) — During his first official visit to Moscow under the military rule in Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, held extensive discussions with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The discussions on November focussed on increasing bilateral cooperation in economic sectors. But particularly significant was […]