Politics

When it comes to estimating the health of China’s economy, including its exports, most Western political and economic pundits tend to look at Chinese trade and economic relations with the West (the US and the EU) mainly. In making these assessments, these pundits quite often ignore China’s trade ties with the ‘Global South’ (ASEAN, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, etc.) and the impact this trade has on the growth of China’s political and economic influence worldwide.

Following India’s general elections in April-May, a new government led by the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi was formed in early June. The first days India’s “new” government have been marked by a number of notable foreign policy developments.

In the last week of June 2024, Ukraine carried out what appeared to be another unsuccessful ATACMS strike on Crimea. Of the several missiles launched, all but one were intercepted. The last missile was initially reported to have been defected where it detonated over a beach, killing several civilians, including children, and injuring many more.