Messages of support for Russia and its “comprehensive collaborative strategic partnership” pour in from China President Putin’s massive election victory and the fallout from the Skripal case have provided Global Times – an English language newspaper published under the auspices of the People’s Daily, the official organ of China’s Communist Party, and therefore reflecting the views of China’s leadership – with the opportunity to give Russia strong backing as it comes under renewed Western pressure. China’s President Xi Jinping (L) is welcomed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (R) during the opening ceremony of “The Year of Chinese Tourism in Russia” in Moscow, on March 22, 2013. AFP PHOTO / POOL / SERGEI ILNITSKY (Photo credit should read SERGEI ILNITSKY/AFP/Getty Images) The  first editorial , published on 16th March 2018 under the title “West hopes to hurt, intimidate Russia”, makes clear that China sides with Russia over the handling of the Skripal case This new r

FILE IMAGE: FARAH ABDI WARSAMEH/AP Written by  Evgeny Satanovsky ; Originally appeared at  VPK In considering the situation in the Middle East, including the African part of the region, attention should be drawn not only to the external forces but also to the processes of the local elites, as demonstrated in the Sudan, and to the complex combinations in countries where the interests of the main regional and international centres of power intersect as in Somalia. The article is based on materials from experts of the l A. Bystrov and Yu. Schelgovin. Against the backdrop of rising tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa, as well as between the latter and Kharthoum, tensions in the ruling Sudanese elite are mounting after the completion of the “Revival” dam due to the disagreements over the Nile spillway. First and foremost, it is the crisis between President al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour. “Sudan Issue” The recall from Egypt in December 2017 of Ambassador