Month: February 2024
Yandex to pull out of its country of origin
Set up in the dotcom boom in the late 1990s, Yandex developed its own search engine, mapping and advertising businesses. Other services include taxis and food delivery. Despite its nickname of ‘Russia’s Google’, Yandex has no ties to the US search engine giant or its parent company Alphabet. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many foreign-owned
NATO nations military exercises
NATO launched its largest military exercises on the European continent since the end of the Cold War in January. Operation Steadfast Defender 24 includes 90,000 soldiers that hail from 31 NATO nations, including newly added Sweden. The exercise is planned to run until the end of May and will unfold in two stages with the
Senegal Democracy
Senegal has long been seen as a pillar of stability and democracy in west Africa. Unlike many other countries in the region it has avoided civil wars and coups, and has held a series of largely peaceful and democratic transitions of power. Until now, it has never delayed a presidential election. And in a region
The popularity of Germany’s Social Democrats and Germany chancellor Olaf Scholz
since then the Germany’s Social Democrats (spd’s) popularity, and that of Mr Scholz, has collapsed. The party came first in the 2021 election, and peaked in polls of “voting intentions” at 28%. The same polls now put it in third or even fourth place, attracting barely 15%. Olaf Scholz, the eighth man (yes, all of
Booming American Economy
Despite that, inflation slowed to 2.6% on the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure, not far off its 2% target. Investors are now betting that by the end of the year the Fed will lower its benchmark interest rate from its current range of between 5.25% and 5.5% to below 4%, putting a rocket booster under America’s
Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden for presidency
The election is still nine months away. Historically, polls taken before the summer of an election year have been poor predictors of results. But no former president has sought to return to office since the advent of modern polling. Opinions about the omnipresent Mr Trump are much firmer than they are about typical challenger candidates,
Ukraine corruption scandal
Zelensky has called on all public officials in the country to disclose their incomes and he opted to lead by example, revealing his family’s financial assets and liability for the fiscal years of 2021 and 2022. On January 28th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published two years worth of his income in an effort to improve
Egypt Ecovomic crisis amid Gaza wars
Egypt’s economic problems predate the war in Gaza, but the conflict and its overspill in the Red Sea are threatening to tip it over the edge. At the same time, they are boosting its negotiating power.Egyptians abroad, nervous of transferring money into a tanking currency, are withholding remittances. In the third quarter of 2022 they
The Middle East Crisis
The Houthis in Yemen are attacking cargo ships, aggravating a financial crisis in Egypt and triggering retaliation by America and Britain. The killing of three gis in Jordan on January 28th by militias in Iraq could spark a clash between America and Iran. In the months after Hamas committed the worst atrocity against Jews since
El Salvador Strongman- Nayib Bukele
Gang violence, largely fuelled by the drugs trade, is a huge problem in Latin America. In some countries gangs can challenge the authority of the state, corrupting officials, victimising citizens and crippling the legitimate economy. Leaders everywhere must decide, in tackling gangs, what is the right balance between respecting civil liberties and protecting the public.