Sudan's army needs a Russian lifeline to avoid collapse in the ongoing civil war. The price is a naval facility in Port Sudan, giving Moscow access to the Red Sea.
The Gulf states are showing that their security is indivisible and that they will pursue their defence from any that offer it, creating a new 'strategic autonomy' borne of the Trump era.
The experienced French envoy had front-row seats as relations between Beijing and Moscow blossomed, but as she recalls from her days studying in China: it wasn't always so.
There are signs that a new Pacific-Atlantic trade corridor financed by Beijing to bypass any US naval blockade of the Panama Canal will reorient Latin America towards Asia.
Gone are the days when Washington could wax lyrical about democracy while toppling governments and supporting authoritarians. With Venezuela and others, it needs a new playbook.
In rainy season, living in a wobbly structure is a step up from a tent that can flood. But while it offers some relief, it could also collapse over the heads of those seeking refuge behind its walls.
There was visible warmth when the US and Syrian presidents met in the Oval Office last month, with some even speculating a Trump visit to Damascus. But there is much to do before that happens.
When Israel killed a Hezbollah military chief in late November, one GBU-39 bomb failed to detonate, leaving Washington worried that its adversaries could reverse engineer it
The US is poised to use Israeli gas as a lever to keep Iran on the backfoot following its regional setback, and it could even use it to undercut Russia's economy
Washington seems to have changed its tone after the RSF committed atrocities in October, putting increasing pressure on the foreign backers of a paramilitary that now controls Darfur. What next?