Author: Tamaz Kereselidze

The national football teams of Tajikistan and Pakistan have refused to play in friendly matches against Russia. A match against Tajikistan had been set to take place in December, but the federation declined, saying they already had matches booked for those dates. Pakistan has also cancelled an October game against Russia due to a lack of preparation time. However, the Pakistanis said they would play in December. When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Russian teams were barred from competing in any FIFA or UEFA championships. As a result, the team has had to settle for friendly matches. The Russians…

Saudi Arabia’s plan to increase crude production could seriously undercut Russia’s fossil fuel revenues needed for its war against Ukraine, Politico reported on Oct. 3. Riyadh plans to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 per barrel and drive up production to ensure its dominant position in the global market, even at the cost of dropping oil prices, the Financial Times reported last week, citing its sources. Russia is greatly reliant on oil and gas profits, which have represented almost one-third of the country’s total federal revenue in 2023 and 42% in 2022. Fossil fuel profits thus play a key role in funding Russia’s expensive war machine.…

Once worn by political prisoners in Nazi camps, the symbol has recently been associated with Hamas, but also with pro-Palestinian activism. Opinion is divided on whether Germany is justified in mulling a ban. A target, a sign of resistance, a badge of honor, a Nazi-era symbol — the inverted red triangle means many things to many people. The upside-down triangle appeared in videos released by the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, to mark potential Israeli military targets, such as tanks, shortly after the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The European Union as well as the United States, Germany and several other countries have…

Warner Music Group (WMG) has announced a new structure for its Recorded Music operations, with industry vet Simon Robson now in charge of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. According to the company, the move is to better support artists, connect local expertise with global opportunities, and drive growth. Robson, appointed as WMG’s president of international recorded music in 2020, began his Warner Music career in 1998 as director of finance for the Asia Pacific region. After working at Warner Music Japan, he became VP of operations and finance for Europe in 2004. He served as COO and CFO of…

‘The logic of retaliation had to be abandoned, and civilian populations had to be protected,’ Macron tells his Iranian counterpartFrance urged Iran on Wednesday to do everything in its power to avoid a new military escalation in the region.  French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his deep concern over the rising tensions in the region in a phone call to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to a statement by the French Foreign Ministry. Macron called on Pezeshkian “to do everything in his power to avoid a new military escalation, which would be in nobody’s interest, including Iran’s, and which would do…

China and Tajikistan on Friday announced the elevation of ties to comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ongoing state visit to Tajikistan, injecting new momentum and opening up a new chapter in bilateral ties and common development of the two countries. The visit, which saw Xi award Tajik President Emomali Rahmon the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China and the issuing of a joint statement detailing the blueprint for bilateral cooperation, is seen as a landmark event, underscoring the high-quality development and the elevation of bilateral ties led by head-of-state diplomacy, analysts said. It showed that the…

Singer Eden Golan qualifies for Eurovision final amid protests in Sweden over Israel’s war on Gaza. Israel has qualified for this weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest grand finale, defying thousands of demonstrators marching in host country Sweden over the Gaza war. Singer Eden Golan performed her song “Hurricane” in Thursday’s second semifinal in front of 9,000 spectators at the host city’s Malmo Arena and booked her place in the final thanks to viewers’ votes. “Well, I feel… I’m so overwhelmed with emotions. It’s truly such an honour to be here, on stage performing and showing our voice, and representing us with pride and…

Frankfurt, Paris (14/4 – 40) Relations between Russia and NATO have reached boiling point due the recent event: the claim that Serbia and Russia want to refight Kosovo; the closure of the border by Finland; and the statement by the President of France, Emanuel Macron, on March, 14. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, in a series of posts on social media, claimed that NATO, the EU, and the US government were targeting Kosovo and Serbia and destroying the relationship. Never mind a coalition with Italy and Russia, this is just another pipedream of Radio…

Berlin/London/Brussels (29/2 – 33.33). Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t really want a conflict with NATO because in that scenario Russia would quickly lose, the head of the UK’s armed forces said on Tuesday. Speaking at an event in London, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said that “the inescapable fact is that any Russian assault or incursion against NATO would prompt an overwhelming response.” He said that “the biggest reason that Putin doesn’t want a conflict with NATO is because Russia will lose. And lose quickly.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked new security concerns across Europe, prompting countries to spend more on defense…

On the first anniversary of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s deadliest border war, marked in September, irascible Kyrgyz national-security chief Kamchybek Tashiev aired his frustrations at the slow progress in talks aimed at demarcating the disputed frontier. Tajikistan, said Tashiev, was making “territorial claims” against Kyrgyzstan in the talks. “But our answer is that there should be no such claims,” Tashiev fumed, noting ominously that Kyrgyzstan had found “new documents” related to the border. “Based on those, we know that many parts of Kyrgyzstan had been given to Tajikistan,” he claimed. “If [Tajikistan] does not renounce its territorial claims against Kyrgyzstan then…