TODAY:
- AROUND THE WORLD
- RUSSIA – UKRAINE (impact, reactions, consequences)
AROUND THE WORLD
Europe – Tunisia
- Europe can show it cares for democracy by helping Tunisia, April 11. By Lorenzo Marsili, Al Jazeera. Barely two months after US President Joe Biden convened a “democracy summit” to rally the world’s democracies against rising authoritarianism, authoritarian Russia invaded democratic Ukraine. Since then, talk of a new cold war became ubiquitous. Many claim a new, global struggle between democracy and authoritarianism is under way, and demand everyone take a side. Such talk is dangerous – the scale of planetary challenges facing humanity does not afford us the luxury of such ideological fanaticism. (read more)
Nigeria
- Nigeria: VP Yemi Osinbajo to run for president in 2023, April 11. By Al Jazeera. Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has declared he will run for the country’s top job next year, when incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to step down. Osinbajo becomes the latest figure from the two main parties to join the race to lead Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy. (read more)
Pakistan
- Ousted Pakistani PM Khan’s party resigns from lower house of parliament, April 11. By Reuters. Legislators from ousted Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s party announced they are resigning en mass from the lower house of parliament on Monday in protest against the formation of a new government by his political opponents on Monday. (read more)
Serbia
- Serbian Spy Agency Denies Swiss Report of Assassination Plot April 11. By Milica Stojanovic, Balkan Insight. Dick Marty, who authored an explosive 2010 report on the alleged crimes of Kosovo Albanian guerrillas, says Swiss intelligence agencies believe he is the target of an assassination plot hatched in Serbia. (read more)
Syria
- In north Syria, business hub hopes to drive recovery from war, April 11. By Khalil Ashawi, Reuters. In an industrial zone in northern Syria’s rebel-held city of Al-Bab, Abu Omar al-Shihabi’s smelter churns out iron bars he says can compete with any produced in Syria and beyond. The industrial zone is an unlikely business hub. It is located on the edge of a city which was once occupied by Islamic State and now sits between a Turkish border wall to the north and a frontline with Syrian government forces to the south. (read more)
Taiwan
- Taiwan Mulls Lengthening Military Service, April 11. By Erin Hale, VoA. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought renewed attention to whether Taiwan’s civilian population would be ready to defend the island democracy if it ever faced an invading force from China. (read more)
RUSSIA – UKRAINE (impact, reactions, consequences)
- Criticising Russia, UK Sanctions Bosnian Serb Leaders, April 11. By Hamdi Firat Buyuk, Balkan Insight. Britain sanctioned two top Bosnian Serb leaders on Monday for actively undermining the Bosnian state, and accused Russia’s Putin of encouraging them. (read more)
- Vandals Scrawl Russian War Symbols on Romanian Cemetery in Moldova, April 11. By Madalin Necsutu, Balkan Insight. Moldovan authorities have condemned in the strongest terms the desecration of a Romanian WWII cemetery in northern Moldova with apparent Russian war symbols. (read more)
- South Africa’s $2 Billion Citrus Industry Sours With Lost Exports to Russia, April 11. By Linda Givetash, VoA. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left a sour taste for South Africa’s citrus farmers, who are facing millions of dollars in losses due to sanctions that have closed off the Russian market. South Africa is the world’s second largest citrus exporter and farmers are scrambling to find other markets before the fruit spoils. (read more)
- Russia looms large before Biden, Modi virtual meet, April 11. By Al Jazeera. United States President Joe Biden is set to meet virtually with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is expected to urge New Dehli to take a harder line on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. India’s neutral stance towards the war has raised concerns in Washington and earned praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who lauded India this month for judging “the situation in its entirety, not just in a one-sided way”. (read more)
- Can India keep the shine on Russia’s diamond industry?, April 11. By Charu Sudan Kasturi, Al Jazeera. The sparkle is missing for the world’s biggest diamond miner these days. Russian giant Alrosa’s share prices have dropped by more than 17 percent since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February, triggering sanctions that have also targeted the company and Russia’s diamond industry. (read more)
- Russia says it struck S-300 systems given to Ukraine by EU state, April 11. By Al Jazeera. Russia says it had destroyed anti-aircraft missile systems supplied to Ukraine by a European state, without specifying which country provided the equipment. Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Monday Russian Kalibr missiles destroyed on Sunday four S-300 launchers concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of the central-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, hitting 25 Ukrainian soldiers in the attack. (read more)
- Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats to review party policy on NATO, April 11. By Reuters. Sweden’s ruling Social Democrat party, which has until now rejected membership of NATO, is reviewing its international security policy in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it said on Monday. (read more)
- Canada imposes sanctions on Russian defence sector over Ukraine invasion, Reuters. Canada said on Monday that it was imposing sanctions on companies in the Russian defence sector and that it was studying options for additional measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (read more)
- Croatia tells 24 Russian embassy staff to leave over Ukraine invasion, April 11. By Reuters. Croatia on Monday told 24 Russian embassy staff to leave over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “brutal aggression”, the foreign ministry said in a statement, following similar moves by other EU countries. (read more)
- Lithuania wants NATO to expand Baltic battalions into brigades, April 11. By Andrius Sytas, Reuters. Lithuania wants the NATO battalions in the Baltic countries to be expanded into brigades, the country’s defence ministry said on Monday. (read more)
- Russia will not pause military operation in Ukraine for peace talks, April 11. By Reuters. Russia will not pause its military operation in Ukraine for subsequent rounds of peace talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. (read more)
- Ukraine says tens of thousands killed in Mariupol, accuses Russia of slowing evacuations, April 11. By Pavel Polityuk, Reuters. Ukraine said on Monday that tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia’s assault on Mariupol and Russian forces have slowed down evacuations from the besieged southeastern city, where conditions are desperate. (read more)
