Conflict and Peace

Throughout the world, people on Saturday are marking the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, and paying tribute to the 2,977 people who lost their lives. President Biden is set to lead commemorations on Saturday and will visit the three attack sites with the first lady, Jill Biden. There will also be six moments of silence to correspond with the times the two World Trade Center towers were struck and fell, and the moments the Pentagon was attacked and Flight 93 crashed.

Negotiations around the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute between the Nile basin countries has been stalled since Ethiopia completed the second filling of the dam. Contrary to Egypt’s fears, the dam is yet to be fully constructed and filled. Meanwhile, Algeria is preparing to begin a round of mediation between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. 

"It is likely that Armenia and Turkey are close to making an official announcement about the launch of a new normalisation process. It may result in establishing diplomatic relations, and in Turkey deciding to open its border with Armenia", says Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed.

Hours before Grundberg assumed office authorities in Saudi Arabia announced they had intercepted three ballistic missiles targeting the country’s oil-rich eastern region as well as the cities of Najran and Jazan in the south.

The Ethiopian army said on Friday (3 September) that it stopped an attempted attack by forces aligned with Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that attempted to disrupt construction work on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The Taliban are close to announcing the formation of their new government. They seek the recognition of the international community but this will come with conditions. Over the next weeks and months both the Taliban and the international community will be testing each other's intentions and resolve.

The casualties came on the fifth consecutive day of heavy fighting as the group intensified its attacks on government positions in an attempt to break through defenses and capture the city of Marib. Backed by Arab coalition warplanes, Yemeni army officials said government forces had succeeded in fending off the latest assaults. The Saudi newspaper Arab News said non-stop fighting over the past 24 hours, coupled with more than 41 sorties by coalition jets targeting dozens of enemy reinforcements and equipment, had resulted in major losses for the militant group.

Amid increasing violence in the fighting between the Ethiopian government  and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), who also have the support of other regional forces, civilians continue to bear the brunt of the suffering due toi difficulties with distributing humanitarian aid.

"We’re engaged in a serious competition with China. We’re dealing with the challenges on multiple fronts with Russia. We’re confronted with cyberattacks, and nuclear proliferation. We have to shore up America’s competitiveness to meet these new challenges in the competition for the 21st century."