Africa

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Kuhaneetha Bai Kalaicelvan
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Mar 11 2026 (IPS)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich speech last month seemed to seduce the European elite behind President Trump, against the ‘Rest’, especially the resource-rich Global South.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

New international order?
Recognising the deliberate ‘wrecking-ball’ demolition of the post-1945 world order, February’s 62nd Munich Security Conference theme was ‘Under Destruction’.

Billed as the world’s leading forum for international security, the conference programme made clear whose interests and security were prioritised.

In its first year, Trump 2.0 bombed ten nations, besides threatening aggression against four other Latin American nations, but none were represented at Munich!

The Munich conference shed all pretence of objectivity and diplomacy on Iran, applauding Israeli-led military intervention to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised the world’s return to great power competition after the post-Cold War ‘unipolar moment’, making his loyalty clear.

At Davos in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney noted that Trump 2.0’s geopolitical “rupture” had forced many to abandon earlier illusions.

Dangerous new trends have been emerging, hardly any ‘order’. Trump insists US supremacy must be even more dominant, isolating rather than confronting rivals.

K Kuhaneetha Bai

In January 2026, the US withdrew from dozens of mainly multilateral organisations. Old rules, even those revised during his first term, are out, alarming many accustomed to them.

Trump’s predecessors’ ‘rules-based order’ had offered a legal and diplomatic fig leaf to subordinate other states to US supremacy.

Now, Washington repudiates the very framework it demanded others accept, instead of the ostensibly universal but sometimes inconvenient ‘rule of law’.

Instead of diplomatic and commercial negotiations, economic and military threats prevail. Without velvet gloves of soft power, the mailed fists of military force and economic weaponry are exposed.

Reuniting the West
Rubio welcomed this “new era in geopolitics”, urging better transatlantic relations while reiterating Trump 2.0’s demands for Europe to pay more, albeit more gently.

After the end of the Cold War, Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations urged defending the ‘Judaeo-Christian’ West against the ‘Rest’, including Catholic Latin America.

In Munich, Cuban-American Rubio reinvented himself as a White Christian European, warning his European audience that the West is under threat.

For Rubio, “the West had been expanding” to “settle new continents, build vast empires extending out across the globe” over the last five centuries.

His history obscured Western imperialism’s dispossession, exploitation and slaughter of indigenous peoples worldwide, especially in the Global South.

Praising the superiority of European civilisation and values, he lamented setbacks to these “great Western empires” due to “godless communist” and “anti-colonial” uprisings after the Second World War.

Rather than progress inspired by the 1776 US Declaration and War of Independence, for Rubio, national self-determination was a civilisational setback.

“We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline”. For Rubio, no more ‘liberal’ human rights, freedom and democracy rhetoric.

He did not hesitate to invoke racist, white supremacist mythology and crusader ideology to demand stronger militaries to defend Western civilisation.

The renewed Western alliance will share their common civilisational identity, bound by “Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry”.

Ethno-chauvinistic beliefs about race, religion and culture are the new bases for solidarity and authority. ‘Defending Christians’ became the pretext for the US 2025 Christmas Day bombing of Nigeria.

Another Western century?
Rubio appealed for pan-European Western unity against multilateralism and other threats, calling for increased military spending and immigration controls.

He urged Europe to “take back control” of ‘Western’ industries and supply chains. After all, NATO allies have joined the US in seizing foreign assets at will.

Vassal-like and desperate for reassurance after a year of Trump’s blatant contempt and threats, the audience welcomed his speech with a standing ovation.

Fearing Washington might negotiate with Moscow over Ukraine without them, European leaders have intensified demands for all-out war against Russia.

Rubio is working to secure critical minerals supplies against “extortion from other powers”, including Europe, through opaque bilateral agreements secured with threats.

Trump 2.0 is making military threats for profit, including post-war ownership, mining and other rights. For many, NATO’s US-Europe divide is not over peace, but rather sharing Ukraine war costs and spoils.

While funding for European welfare states and other ‘social’ purposes continues to fall, military budgets continue to spike, as demanded by Trump.

Meanwhile, Merz has invoked military Keynesianism to justify Germany’s largest-ever military budget since the Cold War, aimed at strengthening NATO.

Ostensibly to strengthen national security, the Trump administration has cut social programmes. Instead, US military spending is being prioritised.

Meanwhile, the US Congress has shown support by approving a larger War Department budget than the Pentagon requested.

Armaments contracts have mainly benefited established companies, while the ‘tech bros’ increasingly supply newer weapons and related systems using artificial intelligence.

Following Trump, the European elites are strengthening their already powerful militaries and securing commercial deals for their own advantage, rather than defending the peaceful multilateral cooperation they once advocated.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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With Bellarmine Mugabe due in court we look at what has happened to Zimbabwe's ex-first family.

Die USA und Israel haben dem Iran den Krieg erklärt. Seither befindet sich der Nahe Osten unter Beschuss. Im Ticker halten wir dich über die neusten Entwicklungen auf dem Laufenden.

BMW startet diesen Sommer im Leipziger Werk ein Pilotprojekt mit humanoiden Robotern. Die KI-basierten AEON, entwickelt von Hexagon Robotics in der Schweiz, sollen monotone und belastende Arbeiten übernehmen – und so die Autoproduktion revolutionieren.

À l'occasion de la 21ème édition du Tour cycliste du Bénin et du Grand Prix de la ville, la circulation sera fortement perturbée à Cotonou les 27 avril, 2 et 3 mai prochains.

La municipalité invite les usagers de la route à la patience et appelle les populations à venir encourager les coureurs le long d'un parcours traversant les artères vitales de la capitale économique.
Dans un communiqué rendu public par le maire de la ville de Cotonou, Luc Gnacadja, les dates clés ou la fluidité routière sera mise à l'épreuve ont été indiquées.
Pour permettre le passage sécurisé du peloton, les axes concernes seront restreints à la circulation de 06h à 18h lundi 27 Avril 2026, samedi 02 Mai 2026, et dimanche 03 Mai 2026.
Le tracé de la course impactera une grande partie de la ville, formant une boucle complexe entre le centre-ville et les quartiers périphériques.
Les tronçons majeurs concernés sont :
• Les zones de la Place Amazone, Zongo, Xwlacodji et Ganhi.
• Les carrefours stratégiques comme l'Étoile Rouge, Saint Jean et les Pattes d'Oies.
• Des axes très fréquentés incluant la Haie Vive, Gbégamey, le Novotel et le secteur menant vers Sèmè City.
Pour encadrer l'événement et minimiser les désagréments, un dispositif spécial sera mis en place. La Police Républicaine, épaulée par les scouts, sera déployée sur les principaux tronçons pour réguler le trafic et assurer la sécurité des cyclistes et des spectateurs.
Au-delà de l'aspect logistique, l'autorité municipale mise sur l'esprit patriotique et le sens civique des Cotonois. Le Maire encourage d'ailleurs les habitants à sortir massivement pour transformer ces journées de compétition en une véritable fête populaire, en soutenant les athlètes tout au long du parcours.

Abdoul Warissou Ossan (Stagiaire)

L'Ambassade des Émirats arabes unis auprès de la République du Bénin a supervisé, ce 10 mars 2026, la mise en œuvre du programme Iftar du Ramadan ainsi que la distribution d'aides alimentaires au profit de plusieurs familles démunies dans différentes villes du Bénin.

Cette initiative a été réalisée en coopération avec la Fondation Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pour les œuvres caritatives et humanitaires, et en coordination avec l'Union islamique du Bénin, la municipalité de Lokossa et le Roi de la communauté haoussa musulmane au Bénin.

Elle s'inscrit dans l'approche humanitaire constante des Émirats arabes unis visant à soutenir les actions caritatives et humanitaires à travers le monde, ainsi qu'à renforcer les valeurs de solidarité et d'entraide entre les peuples, en particulier durant le mois sacré du Ramadan.

Plus de 300 familles nécessiteuses ont bénéficié de cette initiative humanitaire, à travers la distribution de paniers alimentaires contenant des produits de première nécessité pour les aider à subvenir à leurs besoins pendant le mois béni.
Les bénéficiaires ont exprimé leur profonde gratitude pour le rôle joué par les institutions émiriennes dans le soutien aux communautés locales au Bénin, et pour leurs efforts visant à assister les populations les plus vulnérables et à promouvoir les valeurs de solidarité et d'action humanitaire.

La route des Balkans reste toujours l'une des principales voies d'accès l'Union européenne, pour les exilés du Proche et du Moyen Orient, d'Afrique ou d'Asie. Alors que les frontières Schengen se ferment, Frontex se déploie dans les Balkans, qui sont toujours un « sas d'accès » à la « forteresse Europe ». Notre fil d'infos en continu.

- Le fil de l'Info / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Albanie, Kosovo, Bulgarie, Questions européennes, Populations, minorités et migrations, Migrants Balkans, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Turquie, Grèce, Moldavie, Macédoine du Nord, Monténégro, Slovénie, Roumanie, Serbie, Gratuit, Grèce immigration

MEPs in plenary on Tuesday approved the nomination of Boris Vujčić to become Vice‑President of the European Central Bank.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Imeteo.sk: Kedden (3. 10.) délelőtt röviddel 9:00 óra után ismét megmozdult a föld Pozsony környékén. Ezúttal feltehetően a magyarországi Rajka közelében volt a 9:02-kor bekövetkezett 3,1 magnitúdójú földrengés, amelynek 10 kilométeres mélységben volt az epicentruma. Somorja és Dénesdtorcsmisérd (Dunajská Lužna/Szenci járás) környékéről is számos, gyenge rengésekről szóló észlelést jeleztek.

Az ukrán Oscsadbank a magyar hatóságok által múlt héten elkobzott készpénz és arany azonnali visszaszolgáltatását követeli – közölték a bankot Magyarországon képviselő ügyvédek az Euronews-szal.

Ma.hu: Kedd (3. 10.) hajnalban 6,0-es magnitúdójú földrengés rázta meg Olaszország déli részét, a rengés központja Nápoly közelében volt. A földmozgás azonban a vártnál jóval kisebb hatást okozott a felszínen. A szakértők szerint ennek oka a rengés szokatlanul nagy, körülbelül 373 kilométeres mélysége volt. A beszámolók alapján a térségben élők ugyan érezték a földmozgást, de komoly károkról vagy sérülésekről nem érkezett jelentés.

President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock

By Annalena Baerbock
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 2026 (IPS)

We have heard it all:
• When a woman raises her voice, she’s too emotional.

• When she stands her ground, she’s too difficult. • When she leads, she’s too ambitious.
• If she wears dark suits they whisper ‘why does she always look like a man’
• But oh my gosh! if she shows up in a colorful dresses and high heels….

• When women lead nations through crises they are lucky.
• Yet if they stumble, it becomes the biggest crisis on earth.
Yes, we have heard it all.

As have generations of women before us – even more directly, and with this tone:

“You act like a woman”. “You run like a girl”.
As if it is something to be ashamed of. Yet history has proved otherwise.

The facts are crystal clear.
We don’t have to negotiate them again.

• When girls remain in school, economies grow, all over the world.
• When women participate in the workforce, productivity rises all around the world.
• When women sit at peace tables, agreements last longer, all around the world.
• When women lead institutions, they are more resilient.

So, ladies, it’s time to flip the narrative. Today we are reclaiming #Likeawoman, boldly and proudly.

As sports star Serena Williams once said: you call us crazy, we’ll show you what crazy can do.

Especially in the midst of backlash, when it can feel as though, we are forced to fight the same old battles again and again.

Battles from 80 years ago when another so called “difficult woman” Dr. Hansa Metha from India showed what #ChangeLikeA Woman can achieve.

By insisting to change one word in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she changed the whole meaning of it – affirming that “all human beings” and not only men are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Especially, dear girls out there.
Next time they tell you again that gender sensitive language or standing up for our reproductive rights is something “woke” Resist like women.

Resist #Like Hansa Metha and remind them that women`s rights are nothing new but have been embedded in the DNA of this institution from the very beginning.

And marking International Women’s Day in 2026 #LikeAWoman means that we will not stop fighting for equal representation and women’s rights – indeed #LikeAwoman: empathetic and ambitious – in suits, and in colorful dresses.

Until the women of Afghanistan are free, and girls worldwide are not being forced anymore to marry before they finish school.

Until we see justice for survivors of sexual abuse, whether it occurs at home or as part of exploitative sexual slavery networks, as exposed in the Epstein files.

Until women are equally paid and represented, whether in newsrooms, in boardrooms, in governments, and yes, at the helm of this institution – our United Nations.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Col Randrianirina, who seized power last year, did not give a reason for dissolving his government.

US-Präsident Donald Trump kündigt an, dass die USA notfalls Tanker durch die Strasse von Hormus eskortieren werden. Gleichzeitig stellt er Lockerungen von Öl-Sanktionen in Aussicht, um die Preise zu senken.

Credit: UNDP Ukraine

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 2026 (IPS)

The ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia—which began February 2022, with no visible signs of ending—has triggered major arms transfers to Europe.

According to the latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the volume of major arms transferred between states increased by 9.2 per cent between 2016–20 and 2021–25.

And states in Europe more than trebled their arms imports, making it the biggest recipient in the region.

Total exports by the United States, the world’s largest arms supplier, increased by 27 per cent. This included a 217 per cent increase in US arms exports to Europe, according to new data published by SIPRI, available at www.sipri.org.

The increase in global arms flows was the biggest since 2011–15—and was “overwhelmingly due to the growth in transfers to Ukraine” (which received 9.7 per cent of all arms transfers in 2021–25) and other European states.

Besides Europe and the Americas, arms imports to all other world regions decreased.

Dr M.V. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security, and Director pro tem, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, told IPS the continued increase in the arms trade, with some European countries and the United States engaging in the vast majority of such trade, is deeply concerning.

It should be seen in the backdrop of growing military expenditure around the world (reaching an estimated $2.7 trillion in 2024), an intensified round of great power competition, as well as the collapse of arms control, and new technologies like AI-based targeting systems and drones being used in warfare, he said.

“These weapons and other technologies are not merely sold and stored by recipient militaries, but used in attacks on civilian populations—the last few years have seen major attacks in innocent people in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Ukraine, and Iran”.

Although some of these imports are being rationalized as responses to various perceived threats, he pointed out, these actions in turn will increase threat perceptions in other countries, leading to a feedback loop resulting in more and more arms being sold and used.

“Much of this money flows to companies that profit from making weapons and facilitating death. Just in the United States, during roughly the same period covered in SIPRI’s report, from 2020 to 2024, private firms received $2.4 trillion in contracts from the Pentagon, approximately 54% of the department’s discretionary spending of $4.4 trillion over that period,” said Dr Ramana.

The United States supplied 42 per cent of all international arms transfers in 2021–25, up from 36 per cent in 2016–20, according to the SIPRI report, released March 9.

The US exported arms to 99 countries in 2021–25, including 35 in Europe, 18 in the Americas, 17 in Africa, 17 in Asia and Oceania and 12 in the Middle East.

For the first time in two decades, the largest share of US arms exports went to Europe (38 per cent) rather than the Middle East (33 per cent). Nevertheless, the top single recipient of US arms was Saudi Arabia (12 per cent of US arms exports).

‘The US has further cemented its dominance as an arms supplier, even in an increasingly multipolar world,’ said Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

‘For importers, US arms offer advanced capabilities and a way of fostering good relations with the USA, while the USA views arms exports as a tool of foreign policy and a way of strengthening its arms industry, as the Trump administration’s new America First Arms Transfer Strategy once again makes clear.’

Dr. Natalie Goldring, who represents the Acronym Institute at the United Nations on conventional weapons and arms trade issues, told IPS the SIPRI report is in effect a snapshot of a continually changing world situation.

SIPRI, she said, uses five-year periods to help reduce volatility, but even so, intense geopolitical swings can be difficult to capture. This period reflects the Ukraine arms buildup after the Russian invasion in 2022 as well as Israel’s nearly-complete destruction of Gaza following the Hamas attack in 2023.

“Since the most recent US and Israeli attacks on Iran are taking place in 2026, they’re not covered in the SIPRI report. Those attacks may result in even more arms transfers from the US to Israel, in addition to substantial domestic resupply in both countries”.

The dependence of Israel’s military on US arms transfers, she said, is neither secret nor new. But SIPRI’s statistics make the point quite strongly.

From 2021-2025, the United States was responsible for 68 percent of the value of major weapons transferred to Israel. Germany supplied an additional 31 percent.

That could give those two countries tremendous influence over Israel and its ability to continue carrying out attacks in Gaza and elsewhere – if they chose to exercise it.

“Unfortunately, thus far, the US and German governments have shown little interest in restraining their weapons transfers, despite the enormous numbers of Palestinians who have been wounded or killed by the Israeli military, and the economic devastation the Israeli military continues to cause in Gaza and elsewhere,” said Dr Goldring.

The US share of the world’s arms market is likely to increase going forward if US President Donald Trump’s recent plans are implemented. In February 2026, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Establishing an America First Arms Transfer Strategy.”

The stated intent of this policy is to increase US arms sales – there’s no attempt at subtlety. Instead, the policy calls for development of “a sales catalog of prioritized platforms and systems that the United States shall encourage our allies and partners to acquire.”

As is so often the case, the US policy fails to demonstrate understanding of the complexities and potential negative consequences of arms transfers.

Instead, it’s focused on short-term economic factors and benefits for military contractors. The policy also assumes that this year’s weapons recipients will retain stable governments for the lifetime of these weapons systems.

This approach increases the risk of US military personnel being forced to fight our own weapons if the recipient governments turn out not to be stable, declared Dr Goldring.

Middle East arms imports fall

Meanwhile, according to SIPRI, arms imports by states in the Middle East shrank by 13 per cent between 2016–20 and 2021–25. Three of the world’s top 10 arms importers in 2021–25 were in the region: Saudi Arabia (6.8 per cent of global imports), Qatar (6.4 per cent) and Kuwait (2.8 per cent).

More than half of arms imports to the Middle East came from the USA (54 per cent), while 12 per cent came from Italy, 11 per cent from France and 7.3 per cent from Germany.

‘Gulf Arab states shape arms import trends in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia having been the region’s largest importer since 2011–15 and Qatar now its second largest after more than doubling its imports between 2016–20 and 2021–25,’ said Zain Hussain, Researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

‘With a number of regional tensions and conflicts, Gulf Arab states are working to strengthen relations with long-standing suppliers like the USA and France while also seeking new suppliers.’

Israel was the world’s 14th largest arms importer in 2021–25, with its imports rising by 12 per cent between 2016–20 and 2021–25.

In 2021–25 the USA supplied the largest share of Israel’s arms imports (68 per cent), followed by Germany (31 per cent).

Throughout the multi-front war stemming from Israel’s large-scale military offensive in Gaza beginning in October 2023, Israel continued to receive arms from various suppliers, including F-35 combat aircraft, guided bombs and missiles from the USA.

https://www.sipri.org/publications/2026/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-international-arms-transfers-2025

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Remarks by Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis on macroeconomic developments in the euro area, digital finance (including tokenisation and stablecoins), and energy prices and their implications for the euro area economy in the context of heightened geopolitical instability.

Cellou Dalein Diallo accuses the junta-leader-turned-president of erasing political threats.