Blandonn
@blandonn.bsky.social
A keen interest in foreign policy, affairs, & international relations with an appreciation for a nice cup of coffee and a quality tailored shirt.
Historic yet ominous: Paul #Biya, at 92 the world’s oldest serving head of state, has been declared winner of #Cameroon’s #presidential election with 53.66% of the vote—securing his 8th term amid youth unrest and allegations of #fraud. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
World’s oldest serving head of state declared winner in Cameroon election
Paul Biya, 92, said to have won 53.66% of vote after volatile two weeks since election when opponent claimed victory
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Historic yet ominous: Paul #Biya, at 92 the world’s oldest serving head of state, has been declared winner of #Cameroon’s #presidential election with 53.66% of the vote—securing his 8th term amid youth unrest and allegations of #fraud. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Incumbent Alassane #Ouattara declared winner of the #IvoryCoast #election with approximately 89.8% of the #vote, amid low turnout (~50%) and exclusion of major rivals. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Incumbent President Ouattara declared winner of Ivory Coast election
In power since 2011, 83-year-old Alassane Ouattara secures fourth term in vote that excluded two main rivals.
www.aljazeera.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Incumbent Alassane #Ouattara declared winner of the #IvoryCoast #election with approximately 89.8% of the #vote, amid low turnout (~50%) and exclusion of major rivals. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Power grab in #HornofAfrica: #Djibouti’s parliament unanimously voted to scrap #presidential age cap, clearing the path for President Ismail Omar #Guelleh — in power since 1999 — to run yet again in 2026. #Democracy #ConstitutionChange #Authoritarianism www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Djibouti lifts presidential age limit, paving way for sixth Guelleh term
Ismail Omar Guelleh could seek re-election in 2026 after parliament votes to removes age restriction for candidates.
www.aljazeera.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Power grab in #HornofAfrica: #Djibouti’s parliament unanimously voted to scrap #presidential age cap, clearing the path for President Ismail Omar #Guelleh — in power since 1999 — to run yet again in 2026. #Democracy #ConstitutionChange #Authoritarianism www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
A crucial moment in the #Sudan war: the Rapid Support Forces (#RSF) claim to have captured #ElFasher, the last government-held city in #Darfur. If #confirmed, this marks a major turning point in the conflict. #WarNews www.france24.com/en/africa/20...
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claim capture of key Darfur city
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday said that it had taken control of the city of El-Fasher, the last major urban centre in western Darfur still outside its control. Local pro-ar...
www.france24.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:35 AM
A crucial moment in the #Sudan war: the Rapid Support Forces (#RSF) claim to have captured #ElFasher, the last government-held city in #Darfur. If #confirmed, this marks a major turning point in the conflict. #WarNews www.france24.com/en/africa/20...
Violence erupts in #Cameroon, at least four killed as #protests flare ahead of disputed #election results. Tensions rise amid claims of #fraud and repression. #Democracy’s test grows harder. #Africa #BreakingNews www.bbc.com/news/article...
Four killed in Cameroon protests as results due in contested election
An opposition candidate is challenging the incumbent president's 43-year hold on power.
www.bbc.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Violence erupts in #Cameroon, at least four killed as #protests flare ahead of disputed #election results. Tensions rise amid claims of #fraud and repression. #Democracy’s test grows harder. #Africa #BreakingNews www.bbc.com/news/article...
#Azerbaijan is fast becoming the key bridge between the #Caucasus and the #MiddleEast - leveraging #energy routes, #trade corridors, and strategic #alliances to reshape regional #geopolitics. #Connectivity www.eurasiareview.com/24102025-aze...
Azerbaijan And Caucasus-Middle East Reconnection – Analysis
By Kamran Bokhari (Eurasianet) -- Azerbaijan’s expanding role on its southern flank highlights the deepening strategic fusion between the Middle East and the Caucasus, two regions long treated as dis...
www.eurasiareview.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:34 AM
#Azerbaijan is fast becoming the key bridge between the #Caucasus and the #MiddleEast - leveraging #energy routes, #trade corridors, and strategic #alliances to reshape regional #geopolitics. #Connectivity www.eurasiareview.com/24102025-aze...
Major headline alert: Kim Jong Un just publicly praised the deepening military alliance with #Kursk-region combat efforts alongside #Russia — calling it “invincible” and pledging ties will “advance nonstop.” #NorthKorea #MilitaryAlliance #Geopolitics www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Kim Jong Un hails military alliance with Russia, honours Kursk ‘liberators’
Kim marked one year since North Korean troops deployed to fight against Ukraine with the opening of a museum.
www.aljazeera.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Major headline alert: Kim Jong Un just publicly praised the deepening military alliance with #Kursk-region combat efforts alongside #Russia — calling it “invincible” and pledging ties will “advance nonstop.” #NorthKorea #MilitaryAlliance #Geopolitics www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Historic moment in #Budapest: Viktor #Orbán led nationalist rally while opposition surged in challenge — both marking the 69th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. 2026 elections are heating up. #Hungary #Election2026 www.france24.com/en/video/202...
Hungary's Orban seeks to boost support, opposition holds rival rally on 1956 anniversary
www.france24.com
October 24, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Historic moment in #Budapest: Viktor #Orbán led nationalist rally while opposition surged in challenge — both marking the 69th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. 2026 elections are heating up. #Hungary #Election2026 www.france24.com/en/video/202...
Escalating unrest in #Dublin: 23 arrested after 2nd night of clashes outside a hotel housing asylum seekers. #Protesters pelted police with fireworks and bottles following an alleged sexual assault tied to one resident. #Ireland #Immigration #PublicOrder www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Irish police arrest 23 people in second night of anti-immigration unrest
Clashes with police follow arrest of man accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.
www.aljazeera.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Escalating unrest in #Dublin: 23 arrested after 2nd night of clashes outside a hotel housing asylum seekers. #Protesters pelted police with fireworks and bottles following an alleged sexual assault tied to one resident. #Ireland #Immigration #PublicOrder www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
#Drone #strike rocks #Khartoum International Airport area just hours before its planned reopening after 30 + months of #war-lockdown. The Rapid Support Forces may be sending a clear signal: peace is fragile. #Sudan #DroneAttack #Reconstruction #Conflict www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
Eye on Africa - Drone attack hits Khartoum airport area ahead of reopening
In tonight's edition: Khartoum international airport's vicinity suffers a drone strike, just one day before domestic flights were set to resume. Also, the crisis at a phosphate processing plant in the...
www.france24.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
#Drone #strike rocks #Khartoum International Airport area just hours before its planned reopening after 30 + months of #war-lockdown. The Rapid Support Forces may be sending a clear signal: peace is fragile. #Sudan #DroneAttack #Reconstruction #Conflict www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
#Gunfire erupted outside the #parliament in #Belgrade and a tent camp caught fire — the attack has been labelled a “#terrorist act with political motives” by Aleksandar Vučić. One injured, one detained. #Serbia #PoliticalViolence #TerrorAlert en.ilsole24ore.com/art/shots-fi...
October 22, 2025 at 12:18 PM
#Gunfire erupted outside the #parliament in #Belgrade and a tent camp caught fire — the attack has been labelled a “#terrorist act with political motives” by Aleksandar Vučić. One injured, one detained. #Serbia #PoliticalViolence #TerrorAlert en.ilsole24ore.com/art/shots-fi...
Flights grounded in #Vilnius overnight. Dozens of smugglers’ balloons breaching airspace force closure of Vilnius Airport & border checkpoints—4,000+ passengers impacted amid escalating #Baltic-#Belarus tension. #Lithuania #Smuggling #AirSecurity www.politico.eu/article/lith...
Helium balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes shut down Lithuania’s main airport
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė points the finger at Belarus over airspace incident.
www.politico.eu
October 22, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Flights grounded in #Vilnius overnight. Dozens of smugglers’ balloons breaching airspace force closure of Vilnius Airport & border checkpoints—4,000+ passengers impacted amid escalating #Baltic-#Belarus tension. #Lithuania #Smuggling #AirSecurity www.politico.eu/article/lith...
Historic shift in #Tokyo: Sanae #Takaichi elected as #Japan’s first female Prime Minister, leading a new hard-right coalition after last-minute deal. Power play meets gender milestone—and political risks. #FirstWomanPM #Politics #Asia2025 www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Japan’s parliament confirms hardliner Takaichi as country’s first female PM
Appointment clinched via a last-minute coalition deal, but government remains without a majority.
www.aljazeera.com
October 21, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Historic shift in #Tokyo: Sanae #Takaichi elected as #Japan’s first female Prime Minister, leading a new hard-right coalition after last-minute deal. Power play meets gender milestone—and political risks. #FirstWomanPM #Politics #Asia2025 www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
The political winds shift in #Madagascar: Michael #Randrianirina, a military colonel, was sworn in as #president after the army ousted the previous leadership. #Coup #MilitaryRule #AfricanPolitics #GenZUprising www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Military leader Randrianirina sworn in as Madagascar’s new president
Mass demonstrations in recent weeks over power and water shortages have killed more than 20 people.
www.aljazeera.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The political winds shift in #Madagascar: Michael #Randrianirina, a military colonel, was sworn in as #president after the army ousted the previous leadership. #Coup #MilitaryRule #AfricanPolitics #GenZUprising www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
#Ethiopia’s FM Gedion #Timothewos heads to #Moscow for high-level talks with #Lavrov & a tech tour at Skolkovo. Strategic ties deepen after recent nuclear #cooperation & Putin’s invite to Addis 🇪🇹🇷🇺 #EthiopiaRussia #Diplomacy #TechTour #Geopolitics en.sputniknews.africa/20251020/107...
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Heads to Moscow for High-Level Talks & Tech Tour on Monday–Tuesday: Embassy
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Heads to Moscow for High-Level Talks & Tech Tour on Monday–Tuesday: EmbassyGedion Timothewos is expected to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ...
en.sputniknews.africa
October 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM
#Ethiopia’s FM Gedion #Timothewos heads to #Moscow for high-level talks with #Lavrov & a tech tour at Skolkovo. Strategic ties deepen after recent nuclear #cooperation & Putin’s invite to Addis 🇪🇹🇷🇺 #EthiopiaRussia #Diplomacy #TechTour #Geopolitics en.sputniknews.africa/20251020/107...
Border fire hits pause — Doha-brokered #ceasefire between #Pakistan and #Afghanistan after days of deadly #clashes along the #border. Can the #truce hold? #BorderConflict #PeaceTalks www.eurasiareview.com/20102025-pak...
Pakistan, Afghanistan Reach Ceasefire Agreement In Doha After Fierce Clashes
By Shahjahan Khurram Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif announced on Sunday that Islamabad had reached a ceasefire agreement with Kabul in Doha, after days of fierce clashes between the...
www.eurasiareview.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Border fire hits pause — Doha-brokered #ceasefire between #Pakistan and #Afghanistan after days of deadly #clashes along the #border. Can the #truce hold? #BorderConflict #PeaceTalks www.eurasiareview.com/20102025-pak...
A major shift in #Bosnia: #RepublikaSrpska installs an interim #president as Milorad #Dodik steps aside after a state court bans him from #politics. Stability vs. separatism at a tipping point. #Balkans www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Bosnia’s Republika Srpska installs temporary president as Dodik steps aside
Bosnia’s Serb entity names an interim president after separatist Milorad Dodik is barred from politics by a state court.
www.aljazeera.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:40 AM
A major shift in #Bosnia: #RepublikaSrpska installs an interim #president as Milorad #Dodik steps aside after a state court bans him from #politics. Stability vs. separatism at a tipping point. #Balkans www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
#CentralAsia #rail corridor now a chessboard between U.S. & China #Kazakhstan upgrades Soviet-era lines with U.S. tech, China leads CKU route with stakes in Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan. Big shift in transit power. #Geoeconomics #Connectivity timesca.com/central-asia...
Central Asia’s Rail Corridors: U.S. and Chinese Partnerships in Perspective - The Times Of Central Asia
Kazakhstan’s railways are modernizing with a U.S. supplier, while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are advancing a new trans‑mountain link with China. On September
timesca.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:46 AM
#CentralAsia #rail corridor now a chessboard between U.S. & China #Kazakhstan upgrades Soviet-era lines with U.S. tech, China leads CKU route with stakes in Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan. Big shift in transit power. #Geoeconomics #Connectivity timesca.com/central-asia...
Tragic #blast in #Bucharest: 2 dead, 12 injured after an apartment block #explosion collapses two floors and shatters nearby windows. #Rescue efforts continue. #Romania #UrbanDisaster #BreakingNews www.reuters.com/world/two-ki...
www.reuters.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Tragic #blast in #Bucharest: 2 dead, 12 injured after an apartment block #explosion collapses two floors and shatters nearby windows. #Rescue efforts continue. #Romania #UrbanDisaster #BreakingNews www.reuters.com/world/two-ki...
New #landmines likely sparked the #Thai-#Cambodia clashes — experts say PMN-2 #mines appeared freshly laid, not relics of old war. Tensions along the #border now boil. #BorderConflict #Security www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
www.reuters.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:04 AM
New #landmines likely sparked the #Thai-#Cambodia clashes — experts say PMN-2 #mines appeared freshly laid, not relics of old war. Tensions along the #border now boil. #BorderConflict #Security www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Syria’s al-Sharaa seeks to ‘redefine’ Russia ties in first Moscow visit www.aljazeera.com#flips-638281... via @ajenglish.bsky.social
Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
News, analysis from the Middle East & worldwide, multimedia & interactives, opinions, documentaries, podcasts, long reads and broadcast schedule.
www.aljazeera.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Syria’s al-Sharaa seeks to ‘redefine’ Russia ties in first Moscow visit www.aljazeera.com#flips-638281... via @ajenglish.bsky.social
An elite military unit in #Madagascar claims control after parliament #impeached the president — chaos now rules the streets as the future of democracy hangs in the balance. #Coup #GenZRevolt #PowerGrab #Africa www.france24.com/en/video/202...
🇲🇬 Military unit seizes power in Madagascar after president impeached
www.france24.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:31 PM
An elite military unit in #Madagascar claims control after parliament #impeached the president — chaos now rules the streets as the future of democracy hangs in the balance. #Coup #GenZRevolt #PowerGrab #Africa www.france24.com/en/video/202...
#Kremlin fires back: #BRICS isn’t waging a war on the #USdollar — it’s about shared development, not chess over currencies. #BRICS #DollarDebate #Geoeconomics #Russia #Multilateralism www.reuters.com/world/china/...
Kremlin rejects Trump's assertion that BRICS targets the dollar
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the BRICS group of nations has never targeted third countries or their currencies, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that the bloc was designed to undermine the dollar.
www.reuters.com
October 15, 2025 at 11:20 AM
#Kremlin fires back: #BRICS isn’t waging a war on the #USdollar — it’s about shared development, not chess over currencies. #BRICS #DollarDebate #Geoeconomics #Russia #Multilateralism www.reuters.com/world/china/...
#NorthKorea parades its new Hwasong-20 #ICBM, flaunting a “most powerful” #nuclear #weapon before the world—bluster or breakthrough? #NorthKorea #Hwasong20 #ICBM #NuclearAmbitions #SecurityRisk #Geopolitics www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
North Korea holds military parade, shows off new intercontinental missile
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a large military parade displaying its new intercontinental ballistic missile in front of visiting international dignitaries, state media KCNA said on Saturday.
www.reuters.com
October 15, 2025 at 11:17 AM
#NorthKorea parades its new Hwasong-20 #ICBM, flaunting a “most powerful” #nuclear #weapon before the world—bluster or breakthrough? #NorthKorea #Hwasong20 #ICBM #NuclearAmbitions #SecurityRisk #Geopolitics www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
#Madagascar spirals deeper: President #Rajoelina dissolves the National Assembly via decree even as #protests mount and legitimacy crumbles. #PoliticalCrisis #GenZUprising #Africa #ConstitutionUnderFire www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
Madagascar's president dissolves National Assembly, escalating crisis
Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina said on Tuesday he had dissolved the lower house of parliament, escalating a standoff with youth-led protesters and the military that forced him to flee the island.
www.reuters.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:57 AM
#Madagascar spirals deeper: President #Rajoelina dissolves the National Assembly via decree even as #protests mount and legitimacy crumbles. #PoliticalCrisis #GenZUprising #Africa #ConstitutionUnderFire www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...