Deepened Joe Biden’s Iran nightmare amid the bloody struggle in Gaza between Israel and Hamas
Iran celebrated Hamas’s attacks and through its proxies threatened American interests. It also appears to be acting with the tacit co-operation of Russia, and even China, in a loose grouping of autocracies. That raises grave questions about whether Mr Biden can refashion a new strategy for the Middle East. Yet amid the bloody struggle in
Malaysia electric vehicle Ambition
Malaysia currently ranks 27th on the index, having climbed five spots from 32nd in 2022. Zafrul said Malaysia had ranked among the top 10 in the 1990s, but that was mostly due to the fact that the country had a first-mover advantage over most of its regional peers. A decades-old policy favouring local players over
China/ Russia to build of a widebody passenger jet called the CR929.
There have been media reports suggesting that Russian aerospace and defence company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has dropped out of a partnership with Comac to develop a widebody passenger jet. In 2017, the two companies set up a joint venture in Shanghai to focus on building a widebody passenger jet called the CR929. Chinese aerospace
China’s dominance over vital African minerals market
As the world transitions to green energy, the race is on to control the mining and refining of vital minerals such as cobalt, lithium and graphite. The current leader in that race, by far, is China – which controls the majority of the market. But that dominance is fast being challenged by the West.In Central
Ukraine president denies stalemate claims
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denied that the war against Russia has reached a stalemate. He hit back at claims that the conflict was becoming more static during a surprise visit by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. Officials from the United States and European Union have spoken to the Ukrainian government about potential
African X employees sacked and ghosted
Elon Musk, who took over the company last year, embarked on a massive global cull of employees, sacking more than 6,000 people. The African contingent, who number fewer than 20, had only just moved into X’s new office in Accra, Ghana, following about eight months of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sacked staffers
Pacific Island pacts to counter Chinese influence
On Thursday night, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a joint resolution to implement deals that President Joe Biden’s administration recently concluded with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. Congress must swiftly pass legislation to implement strategic pacts with Pacific Island nations and counter Chinese aggression towards the Philippines, US House representatives from Guam
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
By providing new market opportunities, AGOA has helped bolster economic growth by providing new market opportunities, promoting economic and political reform, and improving U.S. economic relations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty-five countries were eligible for AGOA benefits in 2023. In partnership with Prosper Africa, VentureLift Africa (VLA) has officially launched a new approach to facilitate greater
Large forest fire in eastern Spain
According to figures from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), various fires in Spain have affected almost 90,000 hectares this year, especially in the summer. The blaze erupted on Thursday in Montichelvo in Spain’s Valencia region and engulfed some 2,000 hectares in the last 24 hours . A major forest fire in eastern Spain
China’s weak link in the semiconductor supply chain
Citing national security concerns, the Biden administration’s latest rules, which tightened regulations issued last October, aim to undercut China’s artificial intelligence (AI) development by cutting off the country’s access to less-advanced chip-making equipment from ASML and data-centre chips from Nvidia. The US government’s stepped-up controls that target less advanced lithography systems have exposed China’s deficiency