CAIRO | Xinhua | The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced its decision to quit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the wider OPEC+ alliance, effective on May 1, following “a careful look at the regional power’s energy strategies.” Why is the UAE leaving one of …
Read More »Sudan’s prolonged war and Uganda’s regional gamble
US-Iran war has relegated Sudan conflict to the back burner NEWS ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Three years into Sudan’s brutal war, the country has become a fractured map of collapsing cities, displaced families, and shifting frontlines that show no sign of settling. What began as a power struggle …
Read More »Trump extends U.S. ceasefire with Iran
WASHINGTON | Xinhua | U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will extend the ceasefire with Iran as the current two-week truce is set to expire on Wednesday night. “Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal …
Read More »As ceasefire nears expiry, what divides Iran and U.S.?
TEHRAN | Xinhua | With a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire nearing its expiry, uncertainty once again clouds the outlook for the Middle East. The stop-and-go situation in the Strait of Hormuz — briefly reopened and then shut again by Iran — has added to the volatility. The episode highlights deep-rooted disagreements …
Read More »Macron says Iran’s announcement of reopening Strait of Hormuz goes in right direction
PARIS | Xinhua) | French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that Iran’s announcement of reopening Strait of Hormuz goes in right direction. Macron made the remarks in a joint declaration following a conference co-hosted by France and Britain in Paris, which brought together 49 countries to discuss securing freedom …
Read More »The geography of power and the price of ignorance
COMMENT | ANDREW PI BESI | When commenting on the 1980–1988 Iraq–Iran war, Henry Kissinger once remarked that it was “a pity both sides can’t lose”. It was a chilling distillation of a worldview in which distant conflicts are not tragedies to be resolved, but instruments to be managed. Alongside Zbigniew …
Read More »What is happening after U.S. “blockades” Strait of Hormuz?
CAIRO, EGYPT | Xinhua | No vessel breached the U.S. blockade on Iran in the first 24 hours, the U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday, while ship-tracking data showed that several vessels continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the same day. That raises three questions: What is …
Read More »Trump says Iran war “very close to being over”
WASHINGTON | Xinhua | U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is “very close to being over.” In an interview with Fox Business, Trump also indicated U.S. strikes would continue as long as necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, repeating threats …
Read More »When fools go to war
COMMENT | FEDERICO FUBINI | Although one might be hard-pressed to find similarities between the wars in Ukraine and Iran, Donald Trump’s April Fools’ Day speech from the White House has brought the parallel into sharper focus. To be sure, Ukraine is a democracy (however imperfect) aspiring to European integration, …
Read More »Energy crisis strengthens case for green transition
VIENNA | Xinhua | The International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum, which concluded over the weekend, marked the first major global energy gathering since the latest U.S.-Israel-Iran tensions, a conflict that erupted on Feb. 28 and sent global energy prices sharply higher amid fears of supply disruptions. Under the theme …
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