Over the past week, a standoff in a lawless city nestled in Libya's desert badlands has been taking place between the second-eldest son of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the father's one-time general, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's attempts to contest a ruling disqualifying him as a candidate for Libya's upcoming presidential elections have been thwarted by the general, who over the past week dispatched fighters to the southern city of Sabha to blockade the court where a legal review of Gaddafi's appeal was set to take place...

Civilian-Military Relations

Henry Tugendhat of the U.S.-based institute says the goal of Chinese lending in the continent is to build stronger relationships for soft power...

Economics & Environment; Global Policy

Chinese leaders are meeting this week with Africa’s political, military, and civil elites in Dakar, Senegal, for the eighth gathering of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). More African leaders have chosen to attend FOCAC than did the United Nations General Assembly, drawn to the former’s emphasis on cultivating partnerships based on national agendas...

Global Policy

A three member delegation of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), one of the premier US think tanks, visited Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) on November 18, Wednesday, for a roundtable session on Afghanistan situation and Pak-US relations. The US delegation was headed by Vice-President Asia Programs Dr Andrew Wilder, Director South Asia Program Tamanna Salikuddin, and Country Representative USIP Pakistan Dr Adnan Rafiq...

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Blinken arrived at the presidential complex in a motorcade on Thursday and is expected to have a meeting with Buhari in his office. The Nigerian leader and US top diplomat are also expected to discuss security issues facing Nigeria especially terrorism in the northern region...

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Global Policy

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

In September, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invited a representative from Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, to its virtual summit for political parties in South and Southeast Asia. The overture came shortly after Beijing’s special envoy for Asian affairs, Sun Guoxiang, paid a low-key visit to Myanmar, where he asked to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and was denied access by the authorities. Sun made another unannounced visit this month...

Civilian-Military Relations