by Nasim Ahmed

In 2019, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary organisation called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) pledged over $1bn to help stabilise the Sudanese Central Bank in the aftermath of the economic crisis and protests which led up to the ouster of dictator, President Omar Al-Bashir. "We put $1.027 billion in the Bank of Sudan … the funds are there, available now" and that the RSF "supported the State at the beginning of the crisis by buying the essential resources: petrol, wheat, medication," said Dagalo, when making the pledge.

by Dr Ramzy Baroud

When Israel launched a war against the Gaza Strip in August 2022, it declared that its target was the Islamic Jihad only. Indeed, neither Hamas nor the other Gaza-based groups engaged directly in the fighting. The war then raised more questions than answers.

by Burak Elmalı

China's rise has been the talk of the global village, with its impressive economic performance, ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and frenzied diplomacy, ranging from the Ukraine conflict to Africa and the Gulf. But is there more to this "rising China" narrative?

Despite the oft-advertised strengths, China's significant limitations often go unnoticed. Failures to appeal ideologically in the international arena and military disparities with the US are serious constraints.

Ideology matters

by Thembisa Fakude

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan must surely renounce the Abraham Accords with Israel because of the occupation state's ongoing atrocities against the Palestinians and violations of their legitimate rights. The normalisation deals were cobbled together in September 2020 by Jared Kushner, the son in-law and former advisor of the then US President Donald Trump. The accords were signed initially by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain to normalise relations; Morocco and Sudan then followed suit.

by Dr Mustafa Fetouri

Back in 2011, when the West decided to topple their long-time foe, the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, it needed pretext to intervene militarily in an independent, sovereign and United Nations member, Libya. Instead of one excuse, Washington, Paris, London and other capitals fabricated several reasons to justify their invasion of Libya, including: lack of freedom, killing of civilian demonstrators and, above all, the claim that Gaddafi's Libya never had a constitution.

by Muhammad Hussein

In the West, the existence of a "deep state" remains a contentious issue. Many activists and political outcasts have referred to it, even targeted it, while mainstream media outlets have rushed to condemn the concept as a conspiracy theory.

by Dr Ramzy Baroud

The phrase "fake news" continues to be deployed routinely in US politics. In a polarised political atmosphere, both Republicans and Democrats distrust media organisations affiliated with opposing parties. This means that most of what is uttered or written by CNN is "fake news" for Republicans, and much of what appears in Republicans-affiliated media is "fake news" for Democrats.

by Dr Ramzy Baroud

The final exchange, caught on camera between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian host and counterpart, Vladimir Putin, sums up the current geopolitical conflict, still in its nascent stages, between the United States and its Western allies on the one hand, and Russia, China and their allies, on the other.

by Muhammad Jamil

It was a difficult labour for the International Criminal Court (ICC), which came to life in July 1998. Following the First and Second World Wars, projects to establish a permanent criminal court to eliminate the state of widespread impunity were set up. However, some countries which feared the prosecution of their officials stood against such a body, and the struggle continued until it was finally established.

by Yvonne Ridley

When the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush flouted international law and unleashed Shock and Awe on Iraq in March 2003, the attack and invasion had unintended consequences which could probably lead us directly to the equally illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia's Vladimir Putin in February last year.

by Motasem A Dalloul

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expecting to face fierce competition in the presidential election scheduled to take place on 14 May, because the strong opposition front formed by six parties in February last year announced in August that it would be running a joint presidential candidate.

by Muhammad Hussein

One of the most illusory phenomena in our current existence is the money we use for buying, selling and hoarding on a daily basis. It is, to put it simply, in the air, backed up by nothing and reliant on nothing, yet at the same time highly delicate and sensitive to geopolitical and monetary shifts.