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Thanks everyone for your comments in the chat about how to make Sinocism better and more relevant in the age of AI. The discussion is still ongoing and I welcome your feedback. Thanks to AI, some services I use for my…
Middle East & Africa
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With the shifting geopolitical situation, Africa is still struggling to attain its economic sovereignty while consistently fighting to abandon outdated and ineffective bilateral and multilateral cooperation and…
Analysis
Education secretary Lucy Powell has announced a crackdown on the pro-Palestine speech and activism of teachers and pupils. Powell is a long-time member of the ‘Labour Friends of Israel’ (LFI) pressure group, voted for…
Americas
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Commitments With a Date Stamp On 13 October, after Houthi missiles hit Saudi infrastructure, Donald Trump sent Riyadh a promise on Truth Social: “I’ll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!” (Al Jazeera)…
Health
For everyone who has worked in and around North Korea, Kathi Zellweger has been a role model. As the director of international operations at the Catholic charity Caritas, she oversaw food aid to North Korea in the 1990s…
In Brief
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In September, fighting broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), effectively collapsing the 2022 peace deal. In October, Ethiopian forces…
Guinea-Bissau
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Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’ The US-backed hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns that drew global backlash was halted, the…
Crime & Justice
Estado Zulia - Venezuela. Credit: Breddyjgalvis, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons By Francisco R. Rodríguez DENVER, Colorado, USA, Oct 21 2026 (IPS) If you’ve been around Venezuelans for long enough, you know that we…
EDA
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At SEMICON West 2026 I sat down with John O’Donnell, founder and CEO, and Gillian O’Donnell, Director of Growth , to talk about how yieldHUB Live is transforming the semiconductor test floor from a blind spot into a…
EU politics
This proposed settlement—designed to help end a conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and carries a continuing risk of confrontation—addresses the causes of the war rather than only its symptoms. Jeffrey…
Economics
Four graphs that tell a bigger story Ian Proud was a member of His Britannic Majesty’s Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. He served as the Economic Counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow from July 2014 to…
Economics
The Woodford New Keynesian models do not include the key investment driver, which is not a natural rate of interest or forward guidance, but profitability. Michael Roberts is an Economist in the City of London and a…
Middle East & Africa
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Israel’s upcoming election may change its leadership, but experts believe its strategic approach will largely remain the same, with Iran continuing to be its primary enemy. Military action will likely remain the…
Military
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With polls showing Democrats in good position to retake at least one chamber of the US Congress, several Pentagon insiders are reportedly lining up to offer up damaging information about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in…
External
Photo by Emily Xie on Unsplash I’ve got a lot going on, so my writing will happen when I’ve got something to say, and luckily, I’ve got something to say today. It seems that Cornell decided to look at their own…
comment
Portuguese-British-Angolan singer DDB has issued a statement condemning Israel’s theft of her likeness for an AI ‘ slopaganda ‘ video. The video, which tries to deny that the colony is a colony, was posted by the…
Opinion
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US President Donald Trump has begun speaking about Russia in increasingly complimentary terms, signalling a departure from the confrontational rhetoric of earlier stages of his presidency and acknowledging Moscow's…
War & Peace
In July, the Pentagon announced that it had paid nearly $3 million to personnel affected by Havana Syndrome and renamed its investigating team the Directed Energy Bio-Effects Cross-Functional Team . The government is…
China
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The West’s bid to isolate Moscow has backfired, as Russia reclaims its place at the negotiating table while China emerges as an indispensable power in a shifting world order. A potential G-3 summit could herald a new…
Behind The Headlines
Iran’s IRGC have implemented an intensive strike strategy in the Strait of Hormuz, changing the nature of their conflict with the United States, while working alongside their regional allies to create new conditions on…
Analysis
The Israel lobby won’t allow itself to be constrained by facts or reason in its attempts to support Israel and smear its critics – and the same applies to the latest attempted moral panic. Pro-Israel ‘mainstream’ media…
Media
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In honour of Claudia Jones’ memory, I reflect on how diasporic reporting provides community and avoids being defined by the western white experience - Don’t get The Long Wave delivered to your inbox? Sign up here This…
Art and design
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Fondation Cartier, Paris Ibrahim Mahama put an entire factory in this exhibition exploring Ghana before and after it was ripped to shreds by colonialism. And it’s just one dazzling installation in a show full of hope…
Analysis
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French president Emmanuel Macron wants to proscribe – ban as terrorists – French left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI). The deeply unpopular Macron sees the move as a lifeline, blaming the left for the mass protests…
Archive
A former detective chief inspector with the Metropolitan Police told a court in Belfast this week that 10 Downing Street knew, as long ago as 1973, that the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) – once the British Army’s largest…
Overseas-bases
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the United States deployed almost 5,000 troops to Poland, doubling the number that had already been stationed there. The reinforcements were sent mostly to southeastern Poland, close…
Biodiversity
The Sámi, Europe's last recognised Indigenous community, continue to have their livelihood and lifestyle threatened. Credit: Johan Mikaelsson/IPS By Johan Mikaelsson SÁPMI, Norway, Oct 21 2026 (IPS) The Sámi, Europe’s…
External
Show Notes: On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with a raft of proposed export controls from Beijing on AI-related technologies, solar-related technologies, and machinery, as well as continued angst surrounding Japan’s…
Cogs of War
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Militaries have spent more than a century operating with fuel and ammunition as limits of combat endurance. They are only beginning to treat batteries with the same operational seriousness, as small unmanned systems move…
Commentary
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The Tehran that the world knew is gone. It died in the fires with former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war in February. His son and new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — wherever he is and in…
Opinion
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The war in Ukraine can be ended permanently on terms that protect Ukraine’s statehood, meet Russia’s security concerns, and lay the foundation for a durable European security order. As another round of negotiations gears…
Middle East
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In “The Muqaddimah”, the 14th-century historian Ibn Khaldun wrote that “great dynasties often decline after three generations because they fail to produce capable successors.” Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman…
Middle East
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Britain’s prime minister, Andy Burnham, has said the recent suspected terror plot targeting RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire was “almost certainly” directed by Iran. The allegation has centered attention on how Iran…
World
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Samarkand on October 19 with nearly 300 American business leaders, seeking to deepen US commercial ties with Central Asia. Washington’s renewed interest will matter less for…
Strait-of-hormuz
During the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States, the Arab Gulf states have borne the brunt of Iranian drone and missile strikes while incurring mounting economic costs. With limited prospects for a…
Europe
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On 19 February 2027, the mandate of the European Union Mission in Armenia expires. The date has attracted little attention outside Yerevan and Baku, yet it marks a decision point for European strategy in the South…
Africa
By James Alix Michel VICTORIA, Seychelles, Oct 21 2026 (IPS) When you grow up on a small island, the ocean is not scenery. It is your neighbour, your livelihood, and the measure of time itself. For decades, as I walked…
Uncategorized
If you get your picture of the war in Ukraine from the Institute for the Study of War, you could be forgiven for thinking Russia has spent 2026 standing still. According to reporting on ISW’s latest assessments, Russia’s…
Poland
These days, barely a week goes by in Europe without a drone sighting, a fire or a power outage being blamed on Russia. We’re told that these incidents are all part of a relentless, and escalating, “hybrid war” that…
Ebola
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Case in Africa’s most populous country was detected in a woman who had travelled from Uganda Nigeria has confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus…
Uncategorized
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Israel’s 2026 election is occurring in a highly polarized and incendiary political atmosphere that recalls 1995. Then, the Oslo process had split Israeli society between an increasingly radicalized right and a…
External
The paid version of Sinocism turned nine a few days ago. I am struggling with how to keep it useful and relevant in the age of AI. I have started a chat to hear ideas on how to make it better. Please give me your…
Analysis
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Stocks of the new Palestine poppy have sold out despite – or more likely because of – a huge backlash among right-wing media. Media attacks on the ‘poppy’ – a badge shaped like the flower but in the colours of the…
Analysis
It is an open secret that establishment Democrats loathe the left of their own party more than they oppose Republicans. You can see it in corporate Democrats trying to sabotage populist Democratic nominees and vilifying…
Americas
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A Promise With an Expiry Date On 8 October, Donald Trump made a promise with a date attached. “We will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the midterm elections,” he wrote on Truth Social. In the same week…
Guinea-Bissau
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Police seize doses of hepatitis B vaccine from people at center of dispute over research on African newborns Controversial vaccine researchers who have been praised by Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US Department of Health and…
Solutions
All empires fall from within. Jorge Majfud is an Uruguayan-American writer and an associate professor at Jacksonville University. Cross-posted from Common Dreams Picture by Lechat This week, a student—a former US…
Racism
People can obviously interpret ideology in various ways, but the facts are that Zionism as an organised political movement has always been racist. Joseph Massad is professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual…