"Poor-quality democracy”

United Arab Emirates has announced its withdrawal from OPEC from 1 may, a move that analysts say reflects a combination of economic priorities, geopolitical recalibration and growing tensions within the producer group, and could have far-reaching implications for oil prices and the cohesion of the broader OPEC+ alliance.

For several years, Russia has steadily expanded its presence across Africa, stepping into the vacuum left by Western powers and offering military support to governments facing international isolation, often without political conditions. Yet the events unfolding in Mali over recent days suggest that this strategy may be encountering deeper constraints than previously assumed.

When American aircraft carriers begin converging toward the narrow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, it is rarely just a signal. It is a language of power — understood simultaneously by allies, adversaries, and markets. Today, that language is звучит especially loudly.

Wars often begin with loud promises and end with quiet compromises. The conflict surrounding Iran, which until recently seemed like a prelude to a wider confrontation, increasingly resembles precisely such a war — one whose objectives are limited not by the weakness of the parties, but by their calculations.