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Somalia's Constitutional Changes Widen Rifts at Home and Abroad

AssessmentsApr 16, 2024 | 18:59 GMT

A protracted increase in tensions between Somalia's federal government and the state of Puntland over changes to the Somali Constitution will likely widen the rift between Somalia and Ethiopia and could enable al Shabab to expand its jihadist activity. On March 30, Somalia's bicameral federal parliament approved changes to the first four revised chapters of the country's 15-chapter provisional constitution, with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signing off on the changes on March 31. The revisions strengthen the president's authority and sanction the adoption of direct universal suffrage, among other changes. However, the state of Puntland responded by withdrawing its recognition of the federal government on March 31, claiming that Mogadishu had not appropriately consulted its government about the changes. Puntland added that it would act independently from the federal government until the Somali public approves the constitutional changes in a nationwide referendum. Ethiopian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mesganu

Situation ReportApr 16, 2024 | 18:09 GMT

Ghana: Government Pauses Debt Restructuring Talks After IMF Warns Draft Deal Is Insufficient

Ghana announced that it had halted talks to restructure $13 billion in dollar-denominated bonds with two bondholder groups, Reuters reported on April 15.

Ghana

Somalia: MV Abdullah Liberated After Ransom Paid, but Puntland Arrests 8 Pirates

Situation ReportApr 15, 2024 | 15:34 GMT

Pirates liberated the Bangladeshi-flagged MV Abdullah bulk carrier after its owner paid a $5 million ransom, Reuters reported April 14.

Somalia

Military & Security

AssessmentsApr 12, 2024 | 19:03 GMT

2024 Elections: India

India's 2024 general elections, which will be held from April 19 to June 1, will likely result in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party retaining control of the government.

India

Ecuador, Mexico: Mexico Files Complaint With ICJ to Remove Ecuador From UN

Situation ReportApr 12, 2024 | 17:15 GMT

On April 11, Mexico submitted formal proceedings against Ecuador in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), arguing that the latter "violated Mexico's rights under customary and conventional international law" by raiding the Mexican embassy in Ecuador on April 5, and therefore should be suspended from the United Nations, according to an April 11 press release from the International Court of Justice.

Ecuador

Mexico

The Impact of Pakistan's Delayed Senate Formation

SnapshotsApr 9, 2024 | 18:48 GMT

People gather outside the provincial legislature of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly in Peshawar on Feb. 28, 2024.

Delays in forming Pakistan's Senate and allegations of electoral irregularities may mar the upper house's credibility and cause political instability, but they are unlikely to significantly impact the South Asian country's current International Monetary Fund (IMF) program or obstruct legislation. Following Pakistani President Asif Zardari's call for a session of the upper house, on April 9, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) leader Saidal Nasir Khan were elected as the Senate chairman and deputy chairman. This follows Senate elections on April 2, where members of Pakistan's provincial and national assemblies voted to appoint 48 of the 96 members of the country's upper house of parliament. Final results show that the coalition government secured most of the seats, with the PP winning 14 seats, PML-N winning 13 seats, and the Muttahida Qaudmi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) securing 1 seat out of the 48 available.

Pakistan

Switzerland: Europe's Top Human Rights Court Rules Against Bern in Landmark Climate Change Case

Situation ReportApr 9, 2024 | 15:25 GMT

The European Court of Human Rights issued a landmark ruling that the Swiss government had violated some of its citizens' human rights by not doing enough to curb climate change in a case brought by more than 2,000 elderly women, Reuters reported on April 9.

Switzerland

The Weekly Rundown: The Threat of Iranian Retaliation Against Israel, Polish Local Elections

AssessmentsApr 6, 2024 | 13:00 GMT

People attend an April 5, 2024, funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in an Israeli strike in Syria.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

SnapshotsApr 5, 2024 | 16:06 GMT

A rendering of Earth from space at night with abstract 5G connection zones.

The U.S. and U.K. Ramp Up Innovation-Focused AI Collaboration

Despite a recent joint initiative to assess risks from artificial intelligence, the United States and the United Kingdom will maintain their pro-innovation approaches to AI that will keep regulations less robust than those in the European Union, although London's AI laws may grow stricter after the country's upcoming general election. The United States and the United Kingdom signed a first-of-its-kind agreement on AI safety on April 1, becoming the first countries to formally initiate bilateral cooperation on AI testing and risk assessments for emerging AI models. The agreement lays out how the two governments will share technical knowledge, information and talent on AI safety, as well as how they will evaluate private AI models via the United Kingdom's new AI Safety Institute, or AISI, and its U.S. counterpart of the same name. The bilateral agreement and the formation of these two institutes follow the November 2023 AI Safety Summit, which

Iran's Response to Israel's Audacious Damascus Strike Will Not Deter Escalation

AssessmentsApr 4, 2024 | 21:25 GMT

Emergency and security personnel search rubble at the site of an April 1, 2024, strike on the Iranian Consulate in Syria's capital of Damascus.

Iran's likely retaliation against Israel will focus on minimizing the risk of further escalation, but in so doing, its response is unlikely to deter Israel from further attacks on Iranian targets in the region -- deepening regional turmoil and potentially expanding the conflict.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Military & Security

Italy: Lega Leader Rejects Cooperation Agreement With Russia Ahead of No-Confidence Vote

Situation ReportApr 3, 2024 | 18:22 GMT

Italy's right-wing co-ruling Lega party reneged on a 2017 collaboration agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in a statement published just ahead of a no-confidence vote against Lega leader Matteo Salvini, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on April 2.

Italy

Russia

Europe's Green Hydrogen Future, Part 1: Hopes and Constraints

AssessmentsApr 3, 2024 | 18:16 GMT

A glass-like hydrogen molecule is superimposed over a green background.

The European Union is betting on green hydrogen to help reach its 2050 net-zero targets while maintaining industrial and economic competitiveness thanks to the fuel's potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate productive sectors of the economy, but significant constraints cast doubt over this strategy's viability. The European Union considers green hydrogen, which is hydrogen produced entirely using renewable energy resources, a pivotal element of its decarbonization strategy. This is primarily because green hydrogen could significantly reduce the carbon emissions of so-called hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industries (such as cement, steel and chemicals) and activities like heavy-duty transport (such as trucking, shipping and aviation). For this reason, in 2020 the European Union adopted its hydrogen strategy, which aims to scale up and decarbonize hydrogen production in the bloc with the ultimate ambitious goal of producing 10 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030. In 2022, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,

Europe

Energy

What Ukraine's Mobilization Law Will Mean for the War With Russia

AssessmentsApr 2, 2024 | 19:39 GMT

First-year cadets of the Military Institute of the Taras Shevchenko National University take their oaths on Sept. 8, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

While the law will bolster Kyiv's ability to continue resisting Russia's invasion, it carries political risks and will not let Ukraine deal a decisive blow against Russia.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

PodcastsApr 2, 2024 | 09:00 GMT

RANE Insights: Broaching the Topic of Data Privacy in Today's Technological Environment

In this episode of RANE Insights, RANE co-founder David Lawrence speaks with investigative reporter Byron Tau about his new book, "Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State."

United States

Cyber

Romania, Bulgaria: Countries Join Europe's Passport-Free Schengen Area for Air and Sea Travel

Military & Security

Situation ReportApr 1, 2024 | 17:16 GMT

Bulgaria and Romania joined Europe's passport-free Schengen area for air and sea travel, 13 years after their application, according to a March 31 press release by the European Commission.

Situation ReportMar 29, 2024 | 17:21 GMT

Senegal: Faye Government Confirms Plans To Renegotiate Energy Contracts

Oil adviser to Senegal's President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ngagne Demba Toure, confirmed plans to renegotiate Senegal's existing energy contracts with international oil and gas companies, Bloomberg reported on March 28.

Senegal

Energy