Diplomacy & Crisis News

« C'est le dernier dimanche du mois », un jour de sirocco où l'on étouffe. Rosa la Milanaise revient avec sa compagne dans la ville de sa jeunesse, Palerme, assister à un mariage. Une découverte pour son amie. Un retour sur le lieu de souvenirs refoulés pour elle. Embarquée avec Clara dans une voiture (...) / Littérature, Fiction, Italie - 2025/04

A F-35 fighter jet moves past Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet parked on tarmac during the “Aero India 2025” air show at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Canada and Portugal look to be moving away from adopting the F-35 Stealth Fighter into their military as a response to Tariffs put on by the United States on various other industries in many countries. Portugal currently uses earlier versions of the F-16, which still hold tremendous value and would have likely found their way to Ukraine when Portugal replaced their current air fleet. The F-16s in Ukraine are considered top of the line fighters, and are a great concern for Russian forces in the region. While the F-16s could likely be made effective for Portugal for years to come or be of great use in Ukraine, they are also more susceptible to being shot down by even older dated Soviet anti-aircraft systems littering the countryside in Ukraine and Russia.

The initial idea of the F-35 was to equip NATO and their allies with a common, modern system that would be able to be networked together and have radar suppressing technology to make missions more effective and keep pilots out of danger. The F-35 was designed to not be picked up by Russian anti-aircraft radar systems on the ground or on other aircraft, so threats would be greatly reduced. With most of NATO being equipped with the F-35, the use of the system en masse would keep them equally protected via stealth technology. While the F-35 was not the first time the idea of a common NATO fighter was produced, it did look to be the one that would have truly achieved the objective of a common, modern allied fighter jet.

Part of the initial F-35 production was planned to be coordinated between different countries that took part in the program. While much of the plane would be constructed in the United States, there was a plan to have it produced in parts between many of the NATO and non-NATO participating countries. When Canada initially joined the early program, some production was set to take place in Canada in order to utilise their already skilled aircraft industry. Experience building their licensed CF-18s (Canadian F-18As) could be adapted to the new program, but Canada backed out of the project years ago, only to rejoin it much later on, removing the production benefits for Canada for the F-35. Canada’s F-18A models were buoyed by purchasing retired Australian F-18As before recommitting to purchasing F-35s, now to be backing out again to the detriment of Canada’s future pilots. While Canada has its own CF-18s as well as Australia’s old F-18s, without new equipment, Canadian pilots will become the first target on the radar when flying alongside other NATO F-35 allies.

While Canada and Portugal look to be cancelling their F-35 purchases, the process of cancellation is not a simple one. As with many large industrial contracts with long term production, there will likely be a financial penalty for the cancellation. The financial and legal details of the cancellations should be made public as the loss of tax dollars in voiding the contracts are likely significant. Without any actions to compensate the losses to the producers of the F-35, Canada and Portugal will likely have to pay a penalty for voiding/cancelling their contracts.

In a move that might produce positive results for many parties, the US and India decided to make an agreement for F-35s for India. Traditionally, India’s adversaries in its region often were the ones to obtain US aircraft, with India being a major export market for Soviet, and now Russian arms. Moving India and the United States closer together by way of their defense industries is a benefit for both nations. Using the F-35 as a point of agreement between India and the United States not only moves the countries closer together via a defensive posture, it also displaces the Russian made military equipment that makes up much of India’s military. Having American, Russian and French arms in India’s Armed Forces will match up well with India’s role as a future major international power broker, with modern equipment and the technology transfer to expand their own advanced industries and interests. The cancellations of F-35s may also get India their production models faster, to the detriment of NATO pilots who will now be settled with older technology.

« Blues grec », « cousin du fado », il reste difficile de définir le rébétiko. Une petite anthologie offre une introduction à ces chansons urbaines du premier XXe siècle. Issu du peuple, le rébétiko célèbre l'amertume de l'amour, les douceurs du haschich et les manguès, ces « mecs », ces « durs », jamais (...) / Musique, Grèce - 2025/04

« La plupart des mondes vivent sous une occupation ontologique », affirme l'anthropologue colombien Arturo Escobar. À l'Occident, fait d'un seul monde, « notion aussi impérialiste et coloniale que séduisante », il oppose le « plurivers », un ensemble de mondes imbriqués les uns dans les autres, même si (...) / Décolonisation, Idées - 2025/04

De la photographe Gisèle Freund (1908-2000), on connaît d'abord les portraits : le jeune André Malraux, cigarette au bec et cheveux au vent ; James Joyce ou Walter Benjamin, bésicles de taupe sur le nez ; François Mitterrand dans la bibliothèque de l'Élysée… Mais son travail ne se résume pas à ces (...) / Personnalités, Photographie - 2025/04

Après la carte « Médias français, qui possède quoi ? », confectionnée avec Acrimed, Le Monde diplomatique s'associe aux éditions Agone et au site Le Vent se lève pour passer au crible l'univers de l'édition. Là aussi, quelques grandes fortunes se partagent l'essentiel de la production, tout en exerçant (...) / France, Capitalisme, Livre - 2025/04

Il arrive que le monde flirte avec l'abysse sans même s'en rendre compte. La télévision française vient ainsi de passer à deux doigts de la catastrophe, dans la plus grande discrétion. / Tibet, Censure, Audiovisuel, Désinformation - (...) / Tibet, Censure, Audiovisuel, Désinformation - 2025/04

Dépense ou enrichissement ? Émancipation pour tous ou plaisir pour privilégiés ? La baisse des subventions dans nombre de collectivités territoriales, accompagnée parfois de la remise en cause de leur principe, permet d'interroger l'évolution ambiguë du sens de la culture comme politique publique. / (...) / France, Culture, Service public - 2025/04

/ Groenland, Environnement, Matières premières, Eau - Environnement - Biodiversité / Groenland, Environnement, Matières premières, Eau - Environnement - Biodiversité

Forum universel de 193 pays, l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies révèle les lignes de fracture d'une nouvelle géopolitique. Ainsi le vote des résolutions concernant l'Ukraine montre-t-il une Afrique divisée et réticente à suivre les choix occidentaux. Le renouveau des relations du continent avec la (...) / Relations Nord-Sud, Diplomatie, Conflit russo-ukrainien 2022-, Afrique - 2023/02

En six décennies, Agatha Christie a écrit 66 romans policiers, 6 autres non policiers et près de 150 nouvelles. Elle est traduite dans plus d'une centaine de langues et, avec plus de deux milliards de livres vendus, ne serait surpassée que par William Shakespeare et la Bible, selon les (...) / Littérature, Personnalités, Fiction - Médias

Lorsque l'axe Washington-Londres-Varsovie décide en janvier dernier de contraindre l'Allemagne et la France à livrer des chars lourds à Kiev, il bénéficie d'une chambre d'écho médiatique haute-fidélité. On en apprécie le caractère grossièrement propagandiste en imaginant un instant que le débat porte sur (...) / Conflit russo-ukrainien 2022-, Médias, Presse, Armement, Relations internationales - 2023/02

À l'en croire, c'est pour des raisons d'abord esthétiques et plastiques que Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) commença à peindre le monde ouvrier : « Le beau, c'était pour moi le portefaix de Königsberg, les mariniers polonais sur leurs bateaux, la générosité des mouvements dans le peuple. Les gens du monde (...) / Art, Mouvement de contestation, Allemagne, Peinture - 2023/02

Nous autres anciens devons accomplir notre devoir de transmission. Témoigner auprès de la jeunesse qu'une planète Terre sans téléphone portable a été possible. Délicate mission. Il faudra être singulièrement persuasif pour que les digital natives conçoivent que longtemps, au bout des bras, il y eut (...) / Société, Technologie, Électronique, Informatique - 2023/02

Le 14 janvier dernier, le premier ministre britannique Rishi Sunak annonçait la fourniture de chars Challenger 2 à l'Ukraine. Londres ouvrait ainsi la voie à la livraison d'armes lourdes à Kiev : depuis le début de l'invasion russe, le Royaume-Uni donne le « la » à l'Europe, au diapason des (...) / Royaume-Uni, Relations internationales, Géopolitique - 2023/02

Tariffs have now been applied on Mexico, Canada and additionally on China by the United States. The recent tariff news seemed to have not been expected in Canada, despite it being a top local news story over the past few months. In Mexico, the President’s daily briefings detail how actions to prevent tariffs are now seen as fruitless and demotivating in addressing common issues for both countries. Whether the recent news of tariffs will remain as a long term policy, or whether it can be bargained away for another month will be an answered in time. The focus on North American trade will always be tied in with security however, and all trade and relations will be taken in the light of community safety.

Responding to tariffs by tying trade policy in North America with the US response to Ukraine is likely best left for Europe. Any resolutions from the US-Ukraine negotiations will resolve themselves apart from North America. Including Ukraine as a policy issue in challenging the US will linger after their spat has ended, to the detriment of Canada’s and Mexico’s negotiating team. Actions to remove the burden of local taxes and restrictions inside each of their separate economies should come with an expansion of infrastructure to increase trade and development, costs that equal and often exceed foreign tariffs. While the pre-NAFTA era allowed both Canada and Mexico to operate in a healthy economic environment with tariffs in place, each country should do their utmost to keep their economy strong, and work to the benefit of their own population.

Ignoring safety and security as an issue in the new tariff era will never result in a resolution for ending tariffs. While robust actions against cartel issues have taken shape in Mexico, the enormity of the issue will not have a simple solution. As for the northern border, using statistics to manage expectations when there is continual evidence of an ongoing problem demonstrates little effort to eliminate a problem when acknowledgment is suppressed in discussions. In reality, safety and security issues do not simply harm American citizens, but is a major issue within communities in Mexico and in Canada. As someone who has connections with both countries, it is evident living in many communities.

In recent years, diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have been decent for the most part, with cooperation in various fields. Although Azerbaijan is an ally of the West and Russia is an ally of Armenia, neither country in recent years has let this interfere with having a positive diplomatic relationship. However, recently, the two countries seem to be speaking different languages. Azerbaijan and Russia have been tense with each other lately due to several events that led to a diplomatic crisis. It seems that everything began with the downing of an Azerbaijani plane by a Russian missile, which killed 38 people and injured 29 others.

When a country causes the death of so many citizens of another country (even if accidentally and without malice) and does not apologize for it, it creates cracks even in the closest of relationships. However, when the two countries are just partners and not allies, the damage caused by such an action is even greater and Azerbaijani-Russian relations have not recovered since. Initially, after the crash, Russian officials denied the event had even occurred and later tried to cover up the details and the reason Russia attacked the Azerbaijani plane.

After the crash, and as the cloud of uncertainty began to lift in Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev demanded an apology from Russia for this tragedy. In contrast to the Azerbaijanis, the Russians were unwilling to make public statements, let alone admit a mistake, and refused to apologize. Although an apology was eventually issued (after insistence from the President of Azerbaijan), this unfortunate incident left lasting scars and undermined trust between the countries.

Azerbaijan’s trust in Russia was so shaken by this event that the Azerbaijanis could not just sit by and leave the situation as it was. They realized that Russia was much stronger than Azerbaijan in terms of its media power. In the tragedy of the Azerbaijani plane crash, Russia began spreading lies loudly, denying its involvement in the incident—a move not typical of an ally. Therefore, Azerbaijan decided to weaken Russia’s media influence and simultaneously strengthen its own, aiming to create parity between the two countries in this field, as well as in diplomacy and humanitarian representation.

As a practical step, Azerbaijan decided to match the number of journalists from the Russian news agency “Russia Today” operating within its borders to the number of journalists from the Azerbaijani news agency “Azertag” working in Russia, which currently stands at just one. Additionally, Azerbaijan decided to shut down the “Russian House” in Baku, also known as “Rossotrudnichestvo,” which has been another point of contention in the relations between the two countries. The “Russian House” was established in 1925 by the Soviet Union’s security services and supposedly aimed to promote Russian culture and language in various countries. In practice, the “Russian House” served as a cover for Russian intelligence activities and the creation of a local network of contacts for Russia in a covert manner.

Not only did Azerbaijan close the “Russian House” operating on its territory, but other countries, such as France, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Poland, and many others, have done the same. The Danish newspaper “Information” expressed the issue: “The ‘Russian House’ in Denmark, presented as a center of science and culture, has served as a cover for Russian intelligence for many years. Journalists who examined photo and video materials of events held here have identified some of the expelled spies.” Azerbaijan openly declared that the closure of the “Russian House” was intended to protect its national interests.

Alongside the diplomatic crisis unfolding between the two countries, and perhaps as a result of it, there have been claims of discrimination and threats against Azerbaijani citizens living in Russia. After Russia began tightening its immigration laws, especially the Azerbaijani residents of Russia felt the intensification of the regime’s attitude toward immigrants. The pressure on the Azerbaijanis only grew, especially after various Russian entities, including Russian Telegram channels, painted a false image suggesting that only Azerbaijani migrants live in Russia.

 Even Azerbaijanis with Russian citizenship became targets. “Surprisingly,” the whole process of “Azerbaijani hatred” in Russia began after the closure of the “Russian House” in Baku. Responses in Russia included economic threats and anti-Azerbaijani statements from politicians and public figures. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the remarks made by Nikolai Valuev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Tourism Committee, which included hate speech and threats toward Azerbaijan, and in addition, Valuev’s entry into Azerbaijan was banned.

There were also threats from Russian figures, such as Telegram channels controlled by the government, to revive separatist ethnic organizations in Azerbaijan, such as the “Sadval” organization, which had previously promoted separatist ideas among minority groups. Azerbaijan is well aware of Russia’s attempts to create ethnic conflicts and use separatism as a weapon against other countries. In the past, Russia supported separatists in Karabakh and the creation of the fictional “Talysh-Mugan Republic”.

For Azerbaijan, Russia has been a partner in recent years, but since the tragedy of the Azerbaijani passenger plane, something has changed. Azerbaijan must be cautious, know who its friends are, and always stay vigilant. If Russia has begun threatening the use of separatist forces in Azerbaijan, who can guarantee that Russia will not cooperate with Iran against Azerbaijan? The relations between these two countries are important, but the lives of Azerbaijanis are more important.

The Trump administration has gone way past revising the transatlantic alliance.

Technological change has produced a surprising stalemate.

A reminder—including for Syria’s new rulers—that tyranny ultimately fails.