This year’s summit for the group of nations came as they grappled with the place of the monarchy, and as many were forging connections with powers like China and Russia. KIGALI, Rwanda — As the leaders of the Commonwealth wrapped up a week of closed-door meetings, panel discussions and formal dinners on Saturday in Rwanda,…
A summit of the organization that was born out of the embers of the British Empire is being held for the first time in the African country, but discussion of the host’s alleged abuses is conspicuously missing. KIGALI, Rwanda — Presidents, princes and prime ministers from across the world gathered on Friday in Kigali, the…
The Biden administration failed to deter Russia from its second invasion of Ukraine. Like his predecessors in the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden went to great lengths to placate and reassure Russian President Vladimir Putin in return for stable relations. Biden defied Congress when he refused to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, unilaterally…
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s SitRep! Jack and Robbie here, chuckling at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy’s visible discomfort with French President Emmanuel Macron’s PDA during his visit to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, today. Alright, back to work. Here’s what’s on tap for the day: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tries to walk and chew gum between deterring…
During his decade and a half at the Pentagon, Christopher Skaluba read countless reports and assessments on the Russian military and how it squared up against NATO forces. Now that he has left and has watched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine falter for months, he has a new message for defense planners: “Every single one of…
A worker arranges fruit for sale a food market in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, June 3, 2022. Annual inflation in Turkey hit 73.5% in May, according to official data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Friday, as a cost-of-living crisis in the country deepens. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) Burhan Ozbilici via AP WASHINGTON (AP) — The World…
President Joe Biden has yet again stated that if China attacked Taiwan to reunify what Beijing sees as a renegade province with the mainland, the United States would come to Taiwan’s military defense. White House staff has again followed up these off-the-cuff presidential comments with a “clarification” that in fact, strategic ambiguity remains American policy. Somewhat…
Marshall plan: US aid to rebuild postwar Europe – archive, 1947 On 5 June 1947, secretary of state George Marshall put forward the idea of a European economic recovery plan to be financed by the US. See how the Guardian and Observer reported events Better use of US aid to Europe: “unite to plan economic…
Best known for its mercenaries, the Wagner Group also mines diamonds, spreads disinformation and props up autocrats in an effort to grow Russia’s footprint. Mercenaries are enjoying a resurgence in Africa, hired to fight in some of the continent’s most intractable conflicts. Perhaps the most famous outfit is the Wagner Group, a nebulous network that…
BAMAKO, Mali — On the last Sunday in March before Ramadan, thousands of merchants and villagers filled the market of Moura, in central Mali, trading cattle in a vast pen and stocking up on spices and vegetables in the town’s sandy alleys. Suddenly, five low-flying helicopters thrummed overhead, some firing weapons and drawing gunfire in…