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Opinion & Comment

Yemen. The Houthis and their Own “Brand”.

By opening the Red Sea front, the Houthis have taken the lead of the Palestinian cause and of anti-Americanism in the region. They address now an Islamic audience broader than the axis led by Iran. Doing so, the Houthis are capitalizing on traditional anti-Israel and anti-US slogans and symbols of the Iranian galaxy but this…

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The world is entering an era of instability.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), he world has entered a more dangerous period in the last twelve months, with increased tensions and conflict reshaping the global defence-industrial landscape. Data published in the new The IISS Military Balance 2024 shows how countries are reshaping their equipment and spending plans and how their…

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Mexico. Thirty years after NAFTA and the uprising of the Zapatistas.

Last January it recalled the 30th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement signed between the United States, Canada and Mexico as well as the insurrection of the Zapatista movement. The indigenous movement that broke out at that time, led by the so-called “Subcomandante Marcos”, still exists in the Mexican state of Chiapas (bordering…

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Taiwan. Post-Election Scenarios.

On January 13, approximately twenty million Taiwanese went to the polls to elect the new President and the country’s unicameral Parliament (Legislative Yuan). The selected candidate, elected with 40.1% of the votes, was Lai Ching-te, known as William Lai, a leading exponent of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and former vice president alongside Tsai Ing-wen.…

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Tensions in the Red Sea: the changing scenario in the Middle East.

The US and UK have stepped up airstrikes against  Yemeni Houthi militias. The Anglo-American air strikes were a direct response to the long series of Houthi attacks against civilian ships and boats (merchant and container) crossing the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, in the Red Sea, in retaliation for the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The drone…

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Yemen: Houthi piracy in the Red Sea.

Recent Houthi piracy attacks heighten global maritime security concerns in the Red Sea, despite international efforts of deterrence. The issue of maritime security and insecurity in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb area is primarily tied to Yemen’s militarized islands. Since 2015, Yemeni islands are mostly controlled, as for its coastline, by armed groups:…

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Africa’s election issues.

Electoral events refer to issues, problems, or challenges that influence elections and voters’ choices. Inherent in the democratic process, they vary depending on the political, economic, social and cultural context of a particular country. In short, they often include issues of democracy, transparency, access to information, political participation, representativeness, good governance, human rights, and so…

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Europeans, Israel and Palestine.

European countries have a history of differing views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Recent disagreements among EU leaders highlight the complexity of the issue, but a political solution necessitates the involvement of various stakeholders. The recent ‘cacophony’ of EU voices – as some defined it – over the Israel-Gaza conflict should not come as a surprise.…

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The Hamas attack on Israel: the positions of the Indo-Pacific actors.

Following the attack launched on Saturday 7 October by Hamas militiamen against Israel, diplomats from all over the world have expressed the positions of their respective states on the incident and, more generally, on the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the Asia-Pacific region, one of the first actors to intervene in support of Israel was Narendra…

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United States-Pakistan: obstacles to relaunching relations.

In September, the United States undertook a series of initiatives aimed at reviving its complex relationship with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The latter, in fact, has not appeared among the priorities of the American Administration for some time, which does not mention Pakistan in any of the latest strategic documents produced, including the strategy…

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Africa. Reasons for coups d’état.

What happened in Gabon on 30 August was only the latest coup attempt in Africa, a continent that has seen eight in the last three years. The first took place in Mali, a country that suffered two coups in nine months between 2020 and 2021, while the last one before Gabon’s took place in Niger.…

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Iran returns to Africa.

Three countries visited. Cooperation contracts. The intention is to get out of a state of political and economic isolation imposed by Western sanctions. Last 12 and 13 July, a delegation, made up of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif and businessmen and led by the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, visited the African continent,…

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Advocacy

Maria Ressa. Information that gives hope.

“We want to create a federation of international journalistic organisations that collaborate in this effort, starting from the global South,” says Filipino journalist and 2022…

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Baobab

The Leopard, the Dog and the Tortoise.

Once upon a time, there was a leopard. He had a huge walnut tree that was full of nuts. Stingy as he was, however, he forbade…

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Youth & Mission

Mission. In the school of life and humanity.

Three young Comboni missionaries from three continents share their vocation stories and missionary experiences. Fr Victor Cunanan Parungao from the Philippines reflects on 15 years of…

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