In a speech in 2016, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei stated that the term ‘Middle East’ was a result of Western colonialism and that the term ‘West Asia’ should be used instead. The decision of Iran and Saudi Arabia to normalize the relations is, from Khamenei’s perspective, a step that speeds up the Middle East’s becoming West Asia. The impact ...

By Rodolfo Pablo Treber * The collapse of Silvergate Capital (cryptocurrency bank) and Silicon Valley Bank, both North American banks, is just one more symptom of the loss of predominance of the United States Dollar in the global concert. It happens that the main reason for the bankruptcies was the volatility (price fluctuations), until now unusual, in the financial assets ...

By Michael Roberts * As I write, US regional banks stock and bond prices are diving. And a major international Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, is close to bankruptcy. A financial crisis not seen since the global financial crash of 2008 appears to be unfolding. What will be the response of the monetary and financial authorities? Back in 1928, the then US treasury ...

The US invasion of Iraq is one of the most significant examples of Washington’s lawlessness and violations of international law. The US carried out this invasion entirely through lies and black propaganda. And the Western media’s current stance, the policy of presenting facts as lies and lies as facts, operated at full throttle during the invasion. 20 days before the ...

By Orçun Göktürk * China’s annual “Two Sessions”, which began on Saturday 4 March, was successfully completed last weekend. The newly elected deputies of the Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPC) held the first meeting of the five-year (2023-2027) term. The National People’s Congress unanimously approved Xi Jinping’s third term as President. At ...

Representatives and Senators in the United States’ Congress want to turn the Black Sea into a prolonged conflict zone. On March 16, a bill called the “Black Sea Security Act of 2023” was introduced to the US Senate. Introduced by the Republican Mitt Romney and the Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, the bill received bipartisan support by cosponsors from both parties. U.S. ...

By Oumar Sidibe * Who could have imagined in 1985, when the war between Mali and Burkina Faso broke out, that these two countries would be forming a federation today? Mali and Burkina are two border countries with strong cultural and linguistic connections.  They have similar relations as with Senegal, with which Mali has already formed a federation between 1959 ...

By Michael Roberts * On Friday, Californian bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis. In a sudden collapse that shocked financial markets, it left billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors stranded.  SVB took deposits from and made loans to companies in the heartland of America’s tech sector. The US Federal Deposit ...

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in the Chinese capital Beijing to resume diplomatic relations that were severed seven years ago. Thus, the two major countries of West Asia and North Africa repaired their relations, disrupted in 2016, in Asia. The meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which began on March 6 and were hosted by China, concluded. In a joint ...

Belarus is probably the country most openly siding with Russia in the war in Ukraine. As such, Belarus is the subject of much debate and assessments. In recent years, Belarus and the President Alexander Lukasenko have gone through the accusations of authoritarianism, protests which the government claimed to be a ‘Color Revolution’ organized by the West, sanctions and discussions on ...

Western Eurasia is witnessing intensive diplomacy traffic. US Chairman of Chief of Staff, Mike Milley visited the – illegally deployed – US troops on Syrian soil, and the US Secretary of Defense toured West Asia. China has mediated the mutual reopening of the Iranian and Saudi Arabian embassies, while Israel faces domestic turmoil. Again Beijing has taken on the scene ...

UWI’s editorial note: Türkiye has entered the process of electing a new president and parliament. Therefore, we will concentrate our weekly review of main political events on incidents connected to the elections. UWI will inform about main developments, describe leading politicians, analyse the competitor’s political programs and provide background analysis on Türkiye’s elections, which have global importance. Joint statement by ...