ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Messages of support for Russia and its “comprehensive collaborative strategic partnership” pour in from China President Putin’s massive election victory and the fallout from the Skripal case have provided Global Times – an English language newspaper published under the auspices of the People’s Daily, the official organ of China’s Communist Party, and therefore reflecting the views of China’s leadership – with the opportunity to give Russia strong backing as it comes under renewed Western pressure. China’s President Xi Jinping (L) is welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (R) during the opening ceremony of “The Year of Chinese Tourism in Russia” in Moscow, on March 22, 2013. AFP PHOTO / POOL / SERGEI ILNITSKY (Photo credit should read SERGEI ILNITSKY/AFP/Getty Images) The  first editorial , published on 16th March 2018 under the title “West hopes to hurt, intimidate Russia”, makes clear that China sides with Russia over the handling of the Skripal case This new r

FILE IMAGE: FARAH ABDI WARSAMEH/AP Written by  Evgeny Satanovsky ; Originally appeared at  VPK In considering the situation in the Middle East, including the African part of the region, attention should be drawn not only to the external forces but also to the processes of the local elites, as demonstrated in the Sudan, and to the complex combinations in countries where the interests of the main regional and international centres of power intersect as in Somalia. The article is based on materials from experts of the l A. Bystrov and Yu. Schelgovin. Against the backdrop of rising tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa, as well as between the latter and Kharthoum, tensions in the ruling Sudanese elite are mounting after the completion of the “Revival” dam due to the disagreements over the Nile spillway. First and foremost, it is the crisis between President al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour. “Sudan Issue” The recall from Egypt in December 2017 of Ambassador

FILE IMAGE On March 25 night, Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system was mistakenly activated and interceptors were launched along the border with the Gaza Strip. However, no rocket were fired in the area and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was forced to admit that the system was activated by “by machine gun fire in Gaza.” According to local sources, multiple launches of missile interceptors near Ashkelon took place as a result of the false alarm. Israeli sources speculate that the incident was caused by the March 25 live-fire drill conducted by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. An IDF spokesperson said the military would investigate the technical reason behind the situation in order to ensure that such an event does not repeat itself. A day earlier, the  Israeli Air Force conducted a raid against a Hamas compound in Gaza responding to a border breach and an arson attack against an IDF engineering vehicle.

Written by  Paul Craig Roberts ; Originally appeared on  paulcraigroberts.org I agree with Stephen Lendman (below) that the Russian government’s efforts to deal with the West on the basis of evidence and law are futile.  There is only one Western foreign policy and it is Washington’s.  Washington’s “diplomacy” consists only of lies and force.  It was a reasonable decision for Russia to attempt diplomatic engagement with the West on the basis of facts, evidence, and law, but it has been to no avail.  For Russia to continue on this failed course is risky, not only to Russia but to the entire world. Indeed, nothing is more dangerous to the world than Russia’s self-delusion about “Western partners.”  Russia only has Western enemies. These enemies intend to remove the constraint that Russia (and China) place on Washington’s unilateralism. The various incidents staged by the West, such as the Skirpal poisoning, Syrian use of chemical weapons, Malaysian airliner, and false charges, such

A video has appeared online showing Russian warplanes coducting airstrikes on militant targets in Syria from Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft-carrying missile cruiser. The video was filmed in 2016 when Admiral Kuznetsov particiapted in Russia’s coounter-terrorism campaign in Syria.

SLF fighter, Illustrative image On March 24, the Syrian Liberation Front (SLF) repelled another attack by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on its positions in the village of Mklbis in the western Aleppo countryside, the SLF-linked news agency Midad Press reported. The media outlet said that SLF fighters had destroyed a battle tank and an armored vehicle belonging to HTS. HTS attacked the SLF in the village of Mklbis on March 23  but and failed to penetrate the SLF defense lines around the village. According to Syrian opposition sources, HTS lost more than 25 fighters in this attack. In a related development, hundreds of civilians took at the streets in the town of al-Atarb, near the village of Mklbis, to protest against HTS members that had killed a civilian in the town a day earlier, according to Syrian opposition sources. Syrian opposition activists reported that the protestors had attacked the Regiment 46 base, which had been used by HTS as a base for its artillery and heavy