The BRICS economic coalition of emerging markets on Thursday extended membership invitations to six nations, South African President and current BRICS chair Cyril Ramaphosa said. The BRICS alliance — which is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — is set to invite Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab…
Cooperation Europe Is Niger’s coup a sign that France’s influence in the Sahel is over? | View caption Hide caption Niger and France have been mutually dependent on each other for decades. But the coup in Niger has shaken their relationship, as well as French ties with the broader Sahel region. But just as France…
Vladimir Putin’s Russia could have handed Kyiv a huge boost after Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was reportedly killed when a private jet crashed just outside Moscow. As the leader of Wagner, Prigozhin had controlled the private military group as it worked alongside the Kremlin as Russian forces battled into Ukraine. But the warlord became…
Cooperation Europe US-Ukraine space project taught resilience, innovation. Why it’s over. | View caption Hide caption A little-known but fruitful partnership in space between the United States and Ukraine has come to an end, a victim of the war with Russia. But the Antares program has left warm memories on both sides. Yet the triumph…
The “major embarrassment” of the crash of Russia’s Luna 25 into last weekend had helped place Vladimir Putin into a “dangerous position”. This is the assessment of economic geographer Professor John Bryson of the University of Birmingham, who says that the spacecraft’s loss is the latest in a string of failures that are undermining the…
The comments made about ‘s illegal invasion of Ukraine by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy were thoroughly welcomed, unsurprisingly, by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. On the other hand, many in , Ukraine and the rest of Europe were baffled by his plea to Kyiv to concede territories to Moscow and accusations the West had…
Eastern European countries should expect “further provocation” by Belarusian leader and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Polish Ambassador to the US has warned. As on Tuesday, one high-ranking official issued a warning about Minsk and Moscow’s “growing aggressiveness”. Speaking as Warsaw is sending 10,000 troops to its border with in support to the al:…
Perseverance Europe Russian attacks on grain exports challenge Ukraine, and the world | View caption Hide caption Russia has launched near-nightly attacks on Ukrainian export facilities since it withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Tons of grain have burned and prices have surged, reviving concerns for worsening global food security. Beside a wrecked loading…
Russian President Vladimir Putin is weighing whether to attend his first in-person meeting with Western leaders since his forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, a Kremlin source tells NBC News. Putin still hasn’t ruled out appearing in person at the G20 meeting of major economies on Sept. 9-10 in the Indian capital, New Delhi, according to…
Safety Europe Letter from Moscow: When war suddenly explodes over your roof | View caption Hide caption In Moscow, it can be easy to ignore the devastating but faraway war in Ukraine. But that changes quickly when drones and anti-aircraft missiles start exploding in the skies overhead one morning. Had this occurred a couple of…