April, 2022

• 17 April

  Turkey to host Iraqi Kurdish PM as West looks for alternates to Russian gas

  Turkey, which has become a frequent destination of foreign dignitaries amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hosted another surprise guest today. Amberin Zaman broke the news that Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Masrour Barzani was visiting Turkey today. Barzani met with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in …

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• 17 April

  Russia renews attacks on Kyiv and fights to seize Mariupol

  Thunderous blasts echoed across Ukraine’s eastern battle zone and in its capital Friday as Russia intensified its attacks and experts predicted it could soon take control of the embattled port city of Mariupol, a crucial prize that would help it consolidate territorial gains. The Russian Defense Ministry said the targets …

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• 17 April

  Ukraine Says Seven Killed In Russian Attack On Evacuees

  Ukraine said on April 15 that seven people were killed and more than two dozen injured in a Russian attack on buses ferrying civilians from the war-torn east of the country. “On April 14, Russian servicemen fired on evacuation buses carrying civilians in the village of Borova in the Izium …

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• 17 April

  Regional Baath Party Leader Assassinated in Daraa

  The Secretary of the Baath Party in Daraa, Farid al-Amarin, assumed his position after the assassination of his predecessor, according to the Syria Times. The Secretary of the Baath Party in Daraa, Farid al-Amarin, was killed on Tuesday west of the governorate, south Syria, after being targeted by unidentified gunmen. …

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• 16 April

  Russia warns of nuclear, hypersonic deployment if Sweden, Finland join NATO

  

  One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in a European exclave. Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO …

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• 16 April

  Ukraine says fighting rages in Mariupol, blasts rattle Kyiv

  

  Ukraine said on Friday it was trying to break Russia’s siege of Mariupol as fighting raged around the city’s massive steel works and port, and the capital Kyiv was rocked by some of the most powerful explosions in two weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the military situation in the …

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• 15 April

  Democracy Digest: Aftermath of Hungary Election

  

  Following another overwhelming victory for the ruling Fidesz party, Viktor Orban continues his ‘peacock dance’ while the joint opposition, like Saturn, starts devouring its children.Hungary is coming to terms with the fourth consecutive landslide victory for the prime minister, Viktor Orban, and his nationalist-populist Fidesz party. For the opposition, the …

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• 15 April

  Behind Ukraine’s Turkish Drones, Erdogan’s Interests Home and Abroad

  

  Ukraine is using its Turkish-made armed drones to deadly effect against Russian forces. Turkey’s president benefits too. Given its effectiveness against Russian forces, it should come as no surprise that Turkey’s Bayraktar TB-2 armed drone has its own Ukrainian ‘war song’ on YouTube, with more than half a million clicks. …

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• 15 April

  In Serbia’s Electoral Simulation, the Leader Outstrips the Party

  

  Elections in Serbia are all about the Leader, the “boss.” The Party comes a distant second.Basking in the glow of another election win on April 3, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Serbs he was “the proudest man in the county.” The reason for such pride was the 59.3 per cent …

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• 15 April

  Why Won’t Iraq Ever Elect A President? – OpEd

  

  Will Iraq ever elect a president, everyone is asking? Locally, regionally and internationally many want to know! Although the job is ceremonial, apparently, the political system, or in the way it has evolved, depends on the man at the apex of that pyramid being sworn in. After that he can …

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