Trevor Sutton & Ben Judah, Center for American Progress
Ilya Yablokov, MT
For decades Russia has been involved in the circulation of conspiracy theories. Now very few Russians believe in Covid-19.
Michael Moran, Foreign Policy
During crisis after crisis, London's financial giants cried wolf about leaving. Now the wolf is at the door.
D. Sanger & E. Schmall, NYT
WASHINGTON — Early last summer, Chinese and Indian troops clashed in a surprise border battle in the remote Galwan Valley, bashing each other to death with rocks and clubs.
Daniel Davis, 1945
Though it should have happened a decade or more ago, it is imperative now that policymakers in Washington acknowledge the painful reality that our foreign policy is based on an outdated model that cannot and will not succeed in today's world. It's time for us to break our decades-long losing streak and bring in Tom Brady.
T. Zakaryan, African Arguments
Russia recently sent an additional 300 military advisors to support President Touadéra as part of a deepening relationship. What's in it for each side?
Paul Gregory, The Hill
By forcing the standards of "wokeness" on a Western institution like Amnesty International, the Kremlin has weakened Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny as he begins his almost three years in a penal colony near Vladimir (190 km from Moscow). Everyone understands he is a political prisoner, isolated from Russian political life. That is the definition of "prisoner of conscience," which Amnesty International
Bryan Durkee & Chris Bassler, WOTR
This is a hell of a way to run a Navy. The Department of the Navy's revolving door of senior civilian leadership over the past four years, including two secretaries and three acting secretaries, has done a disservice to U.S. national security. New leadership will soon arrive, but the department should not squander precious time on restarting strategic studies, force assessments, and process improvement programs. Instead, steady and strategic civilian... Читать дальше...
Masha Gessen, New Yorker
Andrei Konchalovsky's "Dear Comrades!," Russia's entry this year for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (streaming on Hulu), opens with the chords of the Russian national anthem. The director was five or six years old when his father, Sergei Mikhalkov, first co-wrote the lyrics for the anthem, which included praise for Lenin and Stalin. Decades later, Mikhalkov rewrote the lyrics to remove Stalin, and, in 2000, immediately after Vladimir Putin became President... Читать дальше...
Doug Klain & Shelby Magid, Atlantic Council
On February 23, Georgian police broke into the offices of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party to arrest UNM leader Nika Melia on what his team says are politically motivated charges. Melia was arrested shortly after former Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Garibashvili assumed the office of prime minister—after his predecessor, Giorgi Gahkaria, resigned over plans to arrest Melia. After protests broke out over the arrest, Garibashvili... Читать дальше...
Clarke & Zenn, D1
A rundown on jihadi groups' expansion in the Sahel and Nigeria, the Horn of Africa, and the continent's southeastern Swahili coast.
Edward Lucas, Times of London
Even if you think you know this country's history well, Empireland is a stunning and thought-provoking read. Sathnam Sanghera's new bestseller resists the temptation to take anachronistic shots at the brutality and greed of Britain's imperial history or to puff its achievements. Instead he does something much harder and more interesting. He highlights the empire's hidden influence, positive and negative, on modern Britain: our politics, culture, education, ethnic make-up... Читать дальше...
Afyare Abdi Elmi, Al Jazeera
Only a pragmatic approach can lift Somalia out of its current crisis.
Читать дальше...
Oliver Stuenkel, Foreign Policy
So far, policymakers have maintained strong ties with both nations. In 2021, they may face a point of no return.
Karolina Muti & Arturo Varvelli, ECFR
Italy can play an active role in shaping European defence policy - if it avoids getting distracted by its internal political tribulations
William Pesek, Nikkei
Here is the real question to ask about a scandal involving Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's son lavishing $700 per-head dinners on Tokyo bureaucrats: where, oh where, did the last 23 years go?
Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg
Nicholas Kristof, New York Times
The crown prince killed my friend Jamal Khashoggi, and we do next to nothing.
Barbara Arvanitidis, CNN
The corpses, some dressed in white church robes drenched in blood, were scattered in arid fields, scrubby farmlands and a dry riverbed. Others had been shot on their doorsteps with their hands bound with belts. Among the dead were priests, old men, women, entire families and a group of more than 20 Sunday school children, some as young as 14, according to eyewitnesses, parents and their teacher.
