For more than a decade, Mexico’s war against powerful drug cartels has been defined by imbalance. On one side stand state and municipal police forces – often underfunded, poorly equipped, and overstretched. On the other are criminal organizations that increasingly resemble irregular military units, armed with weapons capable of overwhelming even federal security forces. Few [...]

Kenya’s newly signed preliminary bilateral trade agreement with China, granting zero-duty market access to 98.2 percent of Kenyan exports, marks more than a commercial breakthrough. It reflects a deeper recalibration of Africa’s trade diplomacy at a time when global economic alliances are increasingly shaped by tariffs, geopolitical competition, and competing development models.
The agreement follows China’s landmark announcement in June [...]

Indian refiners are quietly recalibrating their crude oil procurement strategy, signaling a potential shift in one of the world’s most consequential energy relationships. State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), alongside private-sector giant Reliance Industries, are reportedly not accepting fresh offers for Russian crude oil scheduled for loading in March and [...]

A Hong Kong court on February 9 sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison under the city’s sweeping national security law, delivering one of the harshest penalties yet imposed on a prominent critic of Beijing and marking a decisive moment in the erosion of press freedom in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Lai, the founder [...]

As Bangladesh marches toward its February 12 general elections amid unprecedented political disarray, the Awami League – once the country’s most formidable political force – now appears rudderless, fractured, and perilously close to irrelevance. What is unfolding is not merely the aftermath of Sheikh Hasina’s fall from power on August 5, 2024, but a far [...]

The Epstein files are still rocking Western and European elite. While much is being made by Western press about Russian women victims, one should also take a look at Ukraine: the files include documents belonging to women from many countries, but Ukraine is mentioned a lot. This imbalance in coverage is itself telling.
In a previous piece, [...]

Photo caption: Sultan Ahmad bin Sulayem, the Chairman of DP World of the United Emirates (UAE), and also the Chairman of the Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), seen in the photo enjoying use of holy Kaaba’s cloth (kiswah) as carpet – Photo: United States Department of Justice
There are moments in a nation’s political [...]

In a significant development, during their recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim agreed to strengthen their cooperation in defence, trade, digital economy, and energy. The two leaders  renewed pledges to bolster trade and explore potential collaborations in semiconductors, defence and other fields. They also witnessed the exchange of 11 [...]

Apparently, the Kiev regime, which is itself heavily dependent on foreign military aid, is now planning to export weapons. The illegitimate president Vladimir Zelensky recently announced his plan to open several Ukrainian arms export centers. The public objective is to boost the weak Ukrainian economy through the creation of a new export sector; however, it [...]

History is rarely kind to political parties that confuse dynasty with leadership, inheritance with legitimacy, and silence with strategy. Bangladesh’s oldest political party, Awami League now stands at precisely such a crossroads. In a stunning and politically catastrophic development, Sheikh Hasina – once the undisputed center of gravity of the party – has quietly stepped [...]