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☆ Opinion: It doesn’t take an Agatha Christie detective to work out something’s up in Xi’s China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The latest to vanish from view is China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu. But anti-corruption campaigns are an ideal vehicle for political crackdowns, and in the opaque world of China’s regime, with no official explanation, there’s much that doesn’t meet the eye. (Rahm Emanuel, dripping with sarcasm, joked that the unemployment rate among Xi’s ministers might exceed that of China’s young people.) But China, of course, still promotes its system as a superior alternative to western-style democracy; tries to pretend that it’s not a dictatorship.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Li Shangfu, “ I’m, Nobody, Rahm Emanuel, ”, Xi’s, Agatha Christie’s, Li, China’s, Qin Gang, Qin, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Qi, Xi, Mao Zedong, didn’t, Joe Biden, “, Hu Jintao, Hu, chastened, Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, China’s Defense, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Twitter, Qin, Street Journal, PLA’s, Force, United Nations General Assembly, Communist Party Congress Locations: China, Japan, Denmark, Vietnam, Beijing, Washington, Russia, Ukraine, Germany

☆ Opinion: Putin’s team of tyrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Already last year North Korea was providing artillery shells and rockets to Russia, according to US officials. North Korea leader Kim Jong Un waves from his armoured train in Pyongyang as he leaves for Russia on September 10. For North Korea, the growing links with the Kremlin afford the opportunity to tacitly pressure Beijing — its one other friend — for more support. Just a few weeks ago, North Korea said it had launched a “scorched earth” simulation of a nuclear attack and was rehearsing an occupation of South Korea. Sullivan said North Korea will “pay a price” if it makes an arms deal with Moscow.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Putin, It’s, vaingloriously, Peter the Great, Kim, Kim Jong, —, Sergei Shoigu, ”, Shoigu, Stalin, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Facebook Kim Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, North, Ukraine, Frida Ghitis CNN, Putin, Kremlin, UN, Russia, Washington, Twitter, Facebook Locations: North Korean, Russia’s Far, Russia, Ukraine, Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, Iran, China, Moscow, Beijing, Russian, South Korea, United States, East Asia

☆ Opinion: Putin, Trump, and a remarkable split-screen moment in world history
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. First, that Prigozhin had openly challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin, and second, that countless others who had defied Putin have met untimely, violent deaths. In different ways, both Putin and Trump are key players in that phenomenon. Neither Trump nor Putin are novices at the art of conjuring major victories by going to war against the truth. Putin launched the full-scale war in Ukraine around the 8th anniversary of his 2014 invasion of Crimea.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Alexander Solzhenitzyn, Robert Mueller’s, indicting Prigozhin, ” Prigozhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Facebook Putin, Boris Nemtsov, Alexei Navalny Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Soviet Union, Kremlin, Internet Research Agency, Ukraine, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Atlanta, Soviet, United States, “, Crimea

☆ Opinion: Russia’s uneasy neighbors
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“All of Russia’s neighbors are under threat,” he said, “if Ukraine does not prevail.” He will find few who disagree among those neighbors. It’s why Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, one of the most eloquent proponents of the need to support Ukraine, says Ukraine is Estonia’s own front line. Here, the exterior of Russia’s embassy has become a showcase for the contempt Estonians feel for their former master. As in Estonia, Russia’s 21st century assault on Ukraine brought echoes of Russia’s 20th century subjugation of Latvia. Genuine normalcy, a permanent sense of safety, Russia’s neighbors have discovered, will have to wait until peace returns to a secure Ukraine.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Latvia CNN —, it’s, Lithuania —, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Vladimir, Putin, Raivis, “, It’s, Kaja Kallas, Michal Fludra, Ukraine —, ” Janis Melnikovs, Radio Maria, Melnikovs, there’s, Russia —, Toomas, Margit Raud, Margit, —, Galina Domenikovska, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Russia’s Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Latvia CNN, Frida Ghitis CNN, Estonian, Russian Embassy, Ukraine Independence, NATO, Catholic, Radio, Ukraine, Kremlin, People Fleeing, Authorities, Soviet Army, Twitter Locations: Riga, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, Netherlands, Soviet Union, Tallinn, Estonian, Finland, Helsinki, People Fleeing Ukraine, Viru, Baltics, Russia’s, Baltic, Republic of Georgia, Crimean

☆ Opinion: Here’s what America’s allies think about a potential Trump second term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

They thought Trump was history. But a second term might be different. I’ll predict that anyone who thought the Trump presidency was disastrous — and polling shows that includes many Americans and most citizens of America’s allies — will find Trump 2.0 even more cataclysmic. Trump now has a strong operation in developing meticulous plans for a possible second term. Before the 2020 election, I wondered if Taiwan might survive a second Trump term.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, —, ”, thrall, “, Vladimir Putin —, Putin, Biden, Xi Jinping, Hong, Kim Jong Un, reelect Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Republican, GOP, Trump, Department of Justice, Capitol, Congress, Republican Party, NATO, Twitter, Facebook, White, America Locations: Netherlands, Europe, South, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Crimea, NATO, Taiwan, Beijing, China, Koreans, North Korean, South Koreans

☆ Opinion: As NATO shows unity, Putin has himself to thank
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

One was taking control of Ukraine, which he claimed has no right to exist; the other was weakening NATO. Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor strengthened Ukrainians’ sense of nationhood and led to the expansion of NATO on Russia’s border. Putin can still take some solace in the intense disagreements inside NATO prior to the summit over whether or not Ukraine should be granted membership. There’s a strong case to be made that if Ukraine joins while Russia’s invasion continues, NATO allies could be required to enter the war. The argument that Ukraine should not be allowed into NATO because it would provoke Putin holds little sway.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine “, Volodymyr Zelensky’s, “ We’re, Joe Biden, ”, Zelensky, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Biden, That’s, outlast Putin, “ Putin, Erdogan’s, Erdogan, Turkey’s, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, NATO, Frida Ghitis CNN, Nordic, European, Kremlin, Kyiv, US, Zelensky, Twitter, Azov Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, Turkish, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Russia’s, Ukrainian, Russian, Kyiv, Moscow, Central Europe, Kremlin, Istanbul, Turkey, Mariupol

☆ Opinion: Putin faces a challenging task that threatens his power
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Russian president needs to restore his image of a man in full command of his country to audiences at home and abroad. Speaking at the summit, Putin tried to reinforce the message he had delivered to the Russian people, the claim that all Russians had stood with him. It wasn’t just his use of “alternative facts” that undermined Putin’s effort to leverage the SCO summit into a place to restore his standing as Russia’s czar for the foreseeable future. In fact, in the aftermath of the Prigozhin uprising, Putin has echoed the traditional strongman’s playbook of buying loyalty. Putin now faces a triple task: reclaiming the mantle of invincibility in Russia, rebuilding that image abroad and winning his calamitous war in Ukraine.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin —, —, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Putin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, ”, “, Modi, Ebrahim Raisi, Xi, Dmitry Peskov, India’s Modi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wagner Group, Belarussian, Indian, Biological Safety, Twitter, Financial Times, Russian Locations: Russia, China, India, Russian, Moscow, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Ukraine, Iran, Rostov, New Delhi, Iranian, Republic, Dagestan, Kremlin, Asia, Washington, Beijing

☆ Opinion: Biden is taking a calculated risk on India’s Modi
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Indeed, Biden will likely be accused of hypocrisy for playing down issues of human rights and democracy erosion under Modi, both accusations that Modi claims are false. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden meet at the Oval Office, in September 2021. Though Modi’s administration denies it, human rights organizations say discrimination against Muslims has worsened under Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Officials say Biden will raise the issue of India’s human rights record and democracy backsliding, but it’s likely they will be downplayed. After all, putting human rights publicly at the heart of relations with Saudi Arabia did little more than open the region’s door to China.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Narendra Modi, Modi, Joe Biden, Biden, Sarahbeth Maney, Rahul Gandhi, “ Modi, Gandhi, It’s, “, Vladimir Putin, State Anthony Blinken, ” Biden, Facebook Modi – Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Indian, Frida Ghitis CNN, United Nations, White House, White, Bharatiya Janata Party, Journalists, Freedom House, State, Twitter, Facebook, Capitol Locations: United States, India, France, South Korea, Washington, Gujarat, Ukraine, China, Australia, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pacific, New York

☆ Opinion: How a 13-year-old saved her 3 siblings in a snake-infested jungle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. One of the heroes of the mission was Wilson, the search dog, who has gone missing in the jungle. The children say they spent several days with Wilson, and their drawings of their time in the jungle show him. Jacobombaire Mucutuy had guided her siblings toward water. Ranoque said his children survived because Jacobombaire Mucutuy knew what to do.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Mucutuy, Donald Trump, I’m, Jacobombaire Mucutuy, –, Cristin, Tien Ranoque, Rescuers, Manuel Ranoque, Wilson, Ranoque, ” Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Marxist, Wilson, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Guaviare, Ukraine, United States, Colombian, Bogotá, Colombia

☆ Opinion: The Ukraine dam disaster demands accountability
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow engaged in an intense round of finger pointing over responsibility for the unfolding environmental disaster. The dam’s collapse is not just devastating for those who reside in the immediate environs — it is a nationwide disaster for Ukraine that could reverberate across the globe. Stalin’s goal in the midst of World War II was to prevent Nazi armies from sweeping across Ukraine, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. The dam collapsed as Ukraine stepped up operations in anticipation of a much-awaited counter-offensive. The broken walls of the Nova Kakhovka dam, and its destructive rushing waters, should strengthen the resolve of Ukraine’s backers.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Joseph Stalin, Dmitry Peskov, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky’s, Andriy Yermak, Ursula Von der Leyen, “, Antonio Guterres Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Soviet Union, EU, ”, UN, UN Security Council, United Nations General Assembly, Human Rights, Twitter, NATO, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine’s, Dnipro, Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow, Soviet, Russia, “ Russia, Geneva, Ukrainian, Vilnius, Lithuania, Baltic, Nova

☆ Opinion: The Russian official with a none-too-subtle message from the boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The world awoke Wednesday morning to the latest threat from Russia’s former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev. He’s like the fictional figure who appears out of nowhere, stares ahead with a blank face and slowly runs his finger across his throat: a none-too-subtle message from the boss. Or is he speaking for the Russian president? Shortly before he died, he had called Russia’s war against Ukraine “a fascist invasion.” The cause of death remains unexplained. With the war in Ukraine – a pivotal moment in Russia’s history – Putin remains at the center of the mafia-like government he has built.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, James, “, –, Venance, Putin, Xi Jinping, ”, ” Medvedev, Sen, Lindsey Graham of, Vladimir Putin toasts, Sergei Surovikin, Kirill Kuryavtsev, Pyotr Kucherenko, Ukraine “, Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Kara, Navalny, embarrassingly, Putin’s, couldn’t, Ukraine – Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Twitter, Russia’s Security, Russia, Foreign, Getty, London, Telegram, Kremlin, Ukraine, Facebook, Navalny’s, Corruption Foundation, YouTube Locations: United Kingdom, Moscow, Ukraine, ”, Russia, Russian, London, France, AFP, Crimea, Poland, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Syria, Cuba, Kara, West, Italy

☆ Opinion: What happened to Elon Musk?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Appalled, Enes Kanter Freedom, the Turkish-born former NBA player, a fierce critic of Erdogan, told CNN, “I don’t want to hear about Elon Musk talking about free speech ever again. It turns out Musk’s free speech absolutism is less than absolute. Absurdly, he now says, “By ‘free speech,’ I simply mean that which matches the law.” So, if a tyrant makes a law banning criticism, will Musk believe that muzzling its critics conforms with free speech? Beyond his free speech hypocrisy, there’s the vanishing aura of Musk as the thoughtful futurist concerned about humanity’s fate. Soros, Musk wrote – to almost 140 million Twitter followers – “wants to erode the very fabric of civilization.

☆ Opinion: Whatever happened in the skies over Putin’s fortress, one thing is certain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. (The following day, the Kremlin also accused the US of involvement in the alleged attack, which the US denies). What exactly happened over the presumably heavily fortified Kremlin – a word that means fortress in Russian – the seat of government and home to the president? Russia’s credibility, particularly concerning its war against Ukraine, has been crushed by its persistent lies. In the Immortal Regiment parade, hundreds of thousands of Russians take to the streets, many holding up photographs of their relatives who served the nation in World War II, the Great Patriotic War, as it is known there.

☆ Opinion: How Putin’s ‘cat’s paw’ sunk into Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

International sanctions complicated Russia’s finances, so the Kremlin used the Wagner Group to get its hands on Sudan’s gold mines. It wasn’t the first time Wagner, Putin’s cat’s paw, had moved deep into mineral-rich Africa. It wanted one on the Mediterranean, which was one of the reasons it intervened – with a strong Wagner Group presence – in the Syrian civil war. But his credibility is in tatters (asked about Wagner’s massacres in Mali a few years ago, he answered “the Wagner Group does not exist”). And all for the sake of two men’s quest for power, aided by the machinations of the Kremlin and the maneuvers of its Wagner Group.

☆ Opinion: The world just tilted in India’s favor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. CNN —Imagine a world in which the world’s most populous country is a democracy. The United Nations Population Fund announced Wednesday that, according to its calculations, India’s 1.4 billion have already surpassed mainland China’s population, and will exceed all of China’s – including Hong Kong’s population – by the middle of this year. In addition to shrinking, China’s population is growing older. Today, after decades of breakneck economic growth, China’s population is much wealthier than India’s.

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