Taiwan and China on a knife-edge. Xi Jinping moderates his tone
International talks are taking place between China and the EU and between China and the US. The bone of contention is Taiwan. The country, de facto independent, is not officially recognised by any state. But, due to Beijing‘s worsening international relations, Taiwan has more informal contacts with the EU and the US. As the crisis grows, Xi Jinping softens his tone. He also has to tend to China’s internal crisis.
Central Europe builds walls, sends EU into crisis
Not only the Visegrád countries, former European members of the Warsaw Pact, but also the Baltic countries, Austria, Greece, Cyprus and Denmark: when twelve EU countries ask to erect physical barriers against illegal immigration, Brussels doesn't know how to respond. Yet the Western countries most affected by the phenomenon, are still aiming for inclusion
The anti-malaria vaccine, success after failure
The new vaccine against malaria was approved by the WHO on 6 October. In Africa, where the disease still claims the highest number of victims, everyone is hoping its distribution will be immediate. It could save tens of millions of lives. But ironically, this renowned success is proof of defeat: the policies aimed at eradicating malaria in Africa have failed so far.
China’s war games against Taiwan, test the West
The repetitive air strikes that China has conducted in recent days in Taiwan's airspace, are the signal of a dangerous military escalation which involves all countries in the region and the United States. While an all out war between China and Taiwan is unlikely at the moment, the risk of the Chinese conducting lightning operations against Taiwan-controlled islands is instead a real danger to test whether the US and the West intend to fight for Taiwan.
Who lost the war in Afghanistan? The blame game proceeds
Top American military brass has admitted defeat in Afghanistan. According to General Milley, the Biden administration bears political responsibility, while General McKenzie blames Trump for signing agreements with the Taliban in Doha. But it was Obama who first announced U.S. plans for withdrawal.
Whipping at the border, Catholic Biden's welcome
The first striking images of the latest migration crisis on the US-Mexico border are those of horse-mounted officers using lassos as whips to drive masses of migrants away from the US side of the Rio Grande. Wasn't Biden the Catholic president who opposed the man 'of the wall'? Serious reflection is needed on the voting criteria. And on the morality of migration policies.
Guinea: Cardinal Sarah's letter to coup plotters
Hoping and wishing that a military coup would bring peace, justice and prosperity may seem unbelievable, but not in Guinea. After more than half a century of disappointment, poverty, corruption and two other past coups, Cardinal Robert Sarah, former Archbishop of Conakry, wrote a letter to the military junta leaders, begging them to show respect for the country.
France's cold war against the Anglophone Pacific alliance
The Aukus Treaty that was struck between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States for technological cooperation between the three powers in the Pacific is infuriating France. Without being informed, Paris saw its mega-contract cancelled for supplying submarines to Australia. The new treaty reshapes alliances while marginalising NATO.
9/11: 20 years later, the moral surrender of the West
Twenty years after September 11, we remember the day 'that changed the world', as many commentators write. But, actually, what we should try to understand is why 9/11 did not change the world at all. Al Qaeda is still there, Isis was born, jihadism is still expanding, even the Taliban, defeated then, are back in power. What has happened? The US and its allies have never suffered military defeats. It is politics that has decided to stop fighting. And it has done so driven by three real powers of contemporary thought: materialism, relativism and Third Worldism.
The Afghanistan that persists: tribal practices adopted into Islamic religion
The Taliban might allow women to study, but their husbands of arranged marriages, will forbid it. The Taliban could also not impose the burqa by law, but families will require it to be worn. The Taliban might refrain from reintroducing the stoning of adulterous women, but it will be their families to kill them. These are the ancient, tribal traditions that Islam has reinforced in Afghan society.
Biden bragging about the withdrawal from Kabul is indefensible
Joe Biden publicly boasts, he’s ended the war in Afghanistan, even though the scenes of the disastrous withdrawal are there for all to see. Biden has probably made use of the behavioral scientist Sunstein, theorist of the "nudge" to tailor his rhetoric. But, the Americans are not fooled and the president has lost credibility.
European countries build walls to protect their borders
Along the length of Europe’s borders, no one intends to wait for the next wave of migrants. Spain already has its wall with Morocco, Lithuania has built one on the border with Belarus, Greece on the border with Turkey, and Turkey on the border with Iran. Only Italy welcomes everyone from the Mediterranean.
