insert_link World The West can’t ‘solve’ its Russia problem. Here’s how it should handle 6 more years of Vladimir Putin By Peter Tesch, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He will serve for six more years. He will be 77 years old in 2030. According to the constitution, which he re-wrote to his benefit in 2020, he then could stand again for a further […] today20 March, 2024
insert_link Africa Niger has cut military ties with the US: why this is bad for the Sahel’s security By Olayinka Ajala, Leeds Beckett University Niger – a landlocked country of 25 million people in one of the most unstable parts of the world – recently announced it was suspending military cooperation with the United States. For over a decade, Niger has been one of America’s most reliable allies in the Sahel. The Sahel region, which stretches across Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, is […] today20 March, 2024
insert_link World Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed By Robert Huish, Dalhousie University There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 per cent in 2024. Nearly six per cent of Russia’s gross domestic product goes towards military spending. At a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scrambling to acquire arms, funds and […] today19 March, 2024
insert_link World Putin Claims Election Victory Russian President Vladimir Putin says he'll prioritise military operations in Ukraine after claiming another six-year term in elections. Official results gave him more than 87% of the vote. Western countries say the election was not free or fair and insist voting in Ukrainian territory was illegal. Director of the Russia Programme at Chatham House James Nixey says the result was not in doubt. today18 March, 2024
insert_link World Ukraine war: ten years after Putin annexed Crimea, Russia’s grip on the peninsula looks shaky By Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham It is ten years since Russia illegally annexed Crimea on March 18 2014. Subsequent efforts to firmly integrate the peninsula into the Russian Federation, however, have been far from the success story that the Kremlin often likes to portray. In fact, comparing the increasingly shaky grip that Moscow has on the peninsula today with the situation before the annexation would suggest […] today18 March, 2024
insert_link Videos Six more years: Putin claims landslide election victory in Russia Vladimir Putin has won a fifth term as president in a landslide election victory that had an all but certain outcome. Russia's number one faced no credible opposition candidates, amid a ruthless crackdown on dissent and critical voices. Russian election officials said Putin - who will now serve another six-year term on top of his nearly quarter-century rule - won more than 87% of the vote. Putin claimed Russia's democratic […] today18 March, 2024
insert_link World Russian elections: despite fixing the opposition, Vladimir Putin wants lots of people to vote for him By Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex Russians head to the polls this week in a presidential election that will almost certainly result in Vladimir Putin decisively winning yet another six-year term. When he does, it will make him the longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. Advance polling indicates he will earn 75% of the vote and face little or no meaningful opposition. His three main opponents are each […] today14 March, 2024
World The UN Security Council Is Struggling ‘Day by Day,’ Japan Says Secretary-General António Guterres, left, and Kazuyuki Yamazaki, permanent representative of Japan and president of the Security Council for March, before a recent meeting on Sudan and South Sudan. Only three months in the UN post, Yamakazi leads the Council on a range of crises this month, from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to conflicts in parts of Africa, as Japan also highlights its own two signature debates: building peace […] today13 March, 2024
insert_link World Ukraine war: Russian soldiers’ wives are increasingly outspoken in their opposition By Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University and Natasha Danilova, University of Aberdeen International Women’s Day is widely celebrated in Russia. But amid the bouquets of flowers and stilted speeches of congratulation made by Vladimir Putin, the state-controlled media will be doing its best to ignore one group of Russia’s women. These are the wives of some of its soldiers fighting in Ukraine, who have embarked on a series […] today8 March, 2024