Beijing, China | AFP | Thursday 4/27/2023 by Jing Xuan TENG From Ukraine to the Middle East, Beijing is positioning itself as a mediator with a leading role in solving the world’s crises. Xi Jinping’s phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday was the Chinese and Ukrainian presidents’ first contact since Beijing’s strategic ally Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. AFP answers some key questions about China’s diplomatic ambitions and its plans for Ukraine: – What […]
Tag: Q&A
Why is India so thirsty for Russian oil?
by Nivrita GANGULY Agence France-Presse MUMBAI, India (AFP) — India is snapping up discounted crude from Russia, refining it and selling it, becoming a key supplier to Europe as it reshapes global fuel flows more than a year into Moscow’s war in Ukraine. New Delhi has resisted Western pressure to freeze out Moscow, opting instead to strengthen trade ties with its long-standing ally — with the added benefits of tempering inflation while saving money. – […]
Why is Kim firing so many missiles? US-South Korea drills, experts say
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | by Claire LEE North Korea has fired more missiles in the last 24 hours than it did during the whole of 2017 — the year of “fire and fury” when leader Kim Jong Un traded barbs with then-US president Donald Trump. What has triggered the record-breaking blitz of weapons tests? Analysts say ongoing US-South Korean military exercises are a key factor, and warn that Kim is building up to […]
North Korea’s tactical nukes: Five things to know
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea announced Monday that its recent spate of missile launches were “tactical nuclear” drills that simulated striking airports and military facilities across the South. Leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the exercises, state media said, adding that they showed the country’s nuclear combat forces were “fully ready to hit and wipe out” the enemy. Here is what we know: What are tactical nukes? Tactical nuclear weapons are designed […]
Dying of hunger: What is a famine?
Nairobi, Kenya (AFP) by Simon VALMARY On Monday, the UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths warned that Somalia was on the brink of famine for the second time in just over a decade. Here is an exploration of a term that evokes the very worst of human suffering. – What is a famine? – “Famine” is a word freighted with dread of hunger and privation, dating back to the dawn of humanity. More recently, though, […]
New Covid variant raises fears of next delta, or worse
by Paul RICARD Agence France Presse It is, scientists say, the most worrying Covid-19 variant since delta and perhaps ever. Here is what we know — and what we don’t — about the strain thought to have originated in Southern Africa. – How worrying? “This one is worrying and I’ve not said that since delta,” British virologist Ravi Gupta said on Twitter, about the variant labelled B.1.1.529. Concerns among disease experts stem from the variant’s […]





