Frexit in Africa: How the continent is severing ties with France

Chad has announced a full withdrawal of 1,000 French troops from its territory. What other African nations have ceased France’s draining military presence?

🇲🇱 Mali: In May 2022, the country terminated its defense deal with Paris, and the exit of 2,400 French soldiers was completed by December 2023.

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso: In February 2023, the country ordered around 400 French troops to leave within a month.

🇳🇪 Niger: Following the military coup on July 26, 2023, which had widespread support from the Nigerien population, France withdrew 1,500 soldiers in December 2023.

🇨🇫 Central African Republic: In December 2022, a contingent of 130 French troops withdrew from the country.

Where is France expected to pull out next?

🇸🇳 Senegal: The westernmost country in West Africa announced in November 2024 that France “should” close its military bases (home to 350 soldiers) by the end of 2025.

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire): A French contingent of 600-1,000 troops is expected to withdraw by the end of January 2025.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔎 How the US is turning into a crybaby empire

Washington seems to have developed a new habit — throwing tantrums whenever it falls behind. When did "American greatness" turn into nonstop whining?

‘Hostile’ BRICS dares to challenge ‘mighty US dollar’

▪️US President Donald Trump has once again threatened BRICS countries with 100% tariffs if they dare to create a new currency — despite Russian President Vladimir Putin already clarifying that a unified BRICS currency isn’t even on the table.

DeepSeek: the latest ‘stolen’ US tech scandal

▪️Trump declared that the Chinese DeepSeek platform’s market success "should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win." (Jan 28)

▪️His commerce secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick, immediately jumped in to claim that China’s powerful AI model was built on "stolen" US technology and advanced semiconductors. (Jan 29)

Hypersonic weapons: Russia ‘stole’ those too?

▪️Trump alleged — without evidence — that Russia "stole" US hypersonic missile designs during the Obama administration. (Jan 23)

▪️He made the same claim in 2020, again in 2023, and now, yet again in 2024. Moscow has consistently shredded and mocked these accusations.

China ‘stole’ American jobs

▪️Trump has repeatedly blamed China for "stealing" American manufacturing jobs. However, it was American companies that eagerly rushed to China in the 1980s after its economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping.

TikTok is bad… because it calls the shots

▪️"Essentially, with TikTok, I have the right to sell it or close it," Trump declared on Jan 20. Washington has repeatedly tried to ban the popular Chinese social media app — which is used by at least one-third of US adults — and twist China’s arm to force the sale of TikTok’s US operations.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹🇵🇦 ‘What’s in Panama belongs to Panamanians, especially the canal’

“The [Panama] Canal, first and foremost, is a national symbol,” Saúl Méndez Rodríguez, general secretary of the National Union of Workers in the Construction and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS) in Panama, tells Sputnik commenting on the US president’s threats to reclaim control of it.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

💸 US dollar’s instability fuels global push for alternative payment system

"Since 1971, the US has had the ability to print money uncontrollably, giving them enormous advantages and virtually unlimited power. This allowed the US to send its weapons across the world's seas," Turkish economist Hakan Topkurulu tells Sputnik.

However, this situation is now at risk. "The US is highly concerned about the decisive steps taken by BRICS countries to create an alternative payment tool to the dollar."

Topkurulu adds, "The instability of the dollar and its use by the US as a weapon and tool of pressure only fuels the global push to establish a new payment system."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❌ Ukraine? Not America's problem

Europe won't be able to sustain the Kiev regime without the US's shoulder, and Washington will need EU troops to deter Russia, according to a rather gloomy op-ed in The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump believes Ukraine is Europe's problem, not his, and he’s "reluctant to send more aid to Ukraine, let alone US troops; nor does he want Ukraine admitted to NATO."

In other words, it seems US media is finally catching up to the obvious - the very existence of Ukraine as a political entity in the coming years might be in serious doubt.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣 Violence begets violence: Senior Palestinian diplomat explains how to end Gaza crisis

"The only solution to this crisis lies in the recognition of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Farsin Shahin tells Sputnik.

"The Palestinian leadership has already realized the futility of a military solution and is striving to achieve its rights through peaceful means," he adds.

He says that Israel will continue to undermine a two-state solution, stressing that the people of Palestine will reject any resolution that will contradict the 1967 decision, and praises Russia’s role as “a friend and supporter of the Palestinian people”.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Crypto bubble and hot air: Trump is not going to make US into a ‘Bitcoin superpower’

The 47th POTUS' boasts about making the United States a global cryptocurrency powerhouse are likely just that, boasts, veteran financial analyst Paul Goncharoff tells Sputnik.

1️⃣ The fact is that Trump is the president of the United States, “which governs the trust in, use, and control of the US dollar and not a trustless cryptocurrency like BTC, XRP, USDT, or USDC.”

The US government establishing a “100% ownership and control” of a cryptocurrency, on the other hand, would simply “defeat the purpose of trustless crypto,” so the odds of a US dollar CBDC emerging anytime soon are pretty low.

2️⃣ That said, there are no obstacles for the US government to hold crypto assets as part of its reserves – all it needs it proper legislation and congressional approval.

The loosening of crypto regulations expected under Trump, however, carries certain risks as “the clarity of what will be regulated is still missing” and “markets dislike uncertainty; it makes them jittery.”

3️⃣ There is also “every chance” that, just like “with any other investable that comes under the influence of hype, reality, and again hype,” Trump’s actions would lead to a crypto bubble.

For example, some crypto could be hyped as “the crypto of choice for classic institutional investors” and experience mass investment, only for the ensuing bubble to burst when “sobering fact of reality and the complex interaction of politics and finance make them selves known.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 Jo Ellis, a transgender soldier, denied being linked to the Washington DC Black Hawk crash, stating, "THAT IS FALSE."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 The US will slap 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on China as of tomorrow, the White House has announced.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🧐 Trump administration’s $50m Gaza condom mystery

The Trump administration’s alleged blockade of a massive condom shipment to Gaza has sparked a rather lively debate. But were these condoms even meant for the Palestinians? Let’s untangle this bizarre saga.

▪️A federal report on contraception shipments found that USAID spent exactly $0 on condoms in the entire Middle East between FY2021 and FY2023.

▪️The only documented USAID shipment of birth control — worth a grand total of $45,680 — went to Jordan, according to The Guardian.

▪️In 2023, USAID spent $8.2 million on condoms, mostly for Africa. Now, considering the average price of a condom is about $1, a $50 million shipment seems excessive.

▪️Trump’s former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, mentioned the infamous $50 million in condoms, while the State Department cited "$102 million in unjustified funding, including money for contraception" tied to the International Medical Corps.

▪️The International Medical Corps, however, stated "no US government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms" in Gaza.

▪️US aid experts told CNN there’s "no way" Washington spent $50 million on condoms. Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, dismissed the claim as "total garbage."

Wait… was it the wrong Gaza?

▪️The X account Data Republican suggested that the much-hyped grant was actually meant for Gaza Province, Mozambique.

▪️A print screen shows a US Department of Health grant of $83.5 million for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs in Gaza and Inhambane provinces in Mozambique. The recipient? The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, via Project Alcancar.

▪️Mozambique has a population of 33.9 million, with an estimated 2.2 million people living with HIV, including 150,000 children.

▪️Was most of the grant actually meant for condoms? Unclear.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 'Trump ignores our history, tramples our nation'

Outraged Panamanians are speaking out against US President Donald Trump’s declared intentions to regain control of the Panama Canal, condemning it as an insult to their sovereignty.

Citizens of the Central American nation accuse the US president of disregarding Panama’s history and trampling on their national identity. Many see his threats as a return to imperialist ambitions, vowing that the canal will remain in Panamanian hands.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt