US Elex, Putin’s Orbit, Blinken, War & Poetry

Vladimir Putin made every effort to show he was far from an international pariah, two and a half years on from Russia’s full-scale offensive in Ukraine. He personally greeted world leaders in the Russian city of Kazan, for the BRICS summit of emerging economies. A notable face at the table, Turkey’s leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the only NATO presence in the Room.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his 11th tour of the Middle East. The international hope for peace that increased after last week’s killing of Yahya Sinwar, Israel’s number one target in Gaza, appears to be ebbing away, with the continuation of a relentless bombardment in the north of the territory. Is anyone listening to Anthony Blinken? Is US influence in Israel on hold, until the outcome of the election there?