Under Chinese mediation, Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement to resume diplomatic relations, Beijing, March 10, 2023 The agreement announced on Friday in Beijing regarding the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the reopening of their embassies is a historic event. It goes way beyond an issue of Saudi-Iranian …
Continue reading “China steps up, a new era has dawned in world politics”
Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has hit the political turf running. He was catapulted back on to the frontline of Brazilian politics only on Monday by the surprise decision of the country’s Supreme Court to declare that the anti-corruption operation that scuppered Lula’s bid …
Continue reading “Return of ‘Pink Tide’ in Brazil. Viva BRICS!”
US President Donald Trump faces reporters as he walks toward Marine One, White House, Washington, DC, January 13, 2021. “My crown I am, but still my griefs are mine. You may my glories and my state depose but not my griefs; still I am king of those.” (King Richard in William Shakespeare’s Richard II) For …
Continue reading “No matter Impeachment 2.0, Trumpism haunts America”
Rioters stormed US Capitol, Washington, Jan. 6, 2021 In a poignant remark, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas reacted to the dramatic events in Washington, DC, on Wednesday — the storming of the Capitol building and President Donald Trump’s attempted coup — by recalling that Hitler’s seizure of total power started with the burning of the …
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) welcomes Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Ankara, Turkey, Nov. 26, 2020 A rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is on cards. An announcement can be expected in a matter of days. Kuwait, which had been mediating between Riyadh and Doha hinted on November 27 that a breakthrough …
Continue reading “Saudi overtures to Qatar and Turkey bring results”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) received US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Neom, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 22, 2020 On the arid landscape of the Arabian deserts, the outgoing US president Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner planted a sapling called the Abraham Accords last August. They forecast it to be the harbinger of …
Continue reading “Biden inherits Middle East’s grapes of wrath”
Frau Europa: German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Brussels While addressing an online conference of legislators from across the European continent on November 30, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hit out at the concept of exceptionalism. Inevitably, Merkel’s remark has drawn much attention at a time when the Joe Biden’s presidency appears on the horizon. Merkel came …
Continue reading “When values and interests collide, where does Biden stand?”
A Renaissance like photograph with a hint of Caravaggio: General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte surrounded by his military staff after the US-backed coup of 11th September 1973 , Santiago The instances of cabinet officials being fired have become such a whimsical affair in the Donald Trump presidency that novelty has worn off. Yet, …
Continue reading “Trump retrofits history, takes Pinochet route”
Vladimir Putin (R), then Russian prime minister, met with US Vice President Joe Biden (L) in Moscow, March 10, 2011. The conspicuous reticence on Moscow’s part to congratulate Joe Biden on his spectacular victory in the US elections was bound to get noticed internationally. That prompted Moscow to explain its stance. The Kremlin explanation is …
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to give his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Chase Center, Wilmington, Delaware, August 20, 2020. Joe Biden’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on August 20 has been widely acclaimed in America and it enhances the growing perception that he is likely to …
Continue reading “China sees Biden as tough but predictable”
