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Articles by Joseph Hammond
Bolsonaro victory could bring Brazil’s rare-earth riches closer to Washington
Voters will decide Sunday whether Brazil will be the latest South American nation to embrace closer ties with the U.S. and President Trump, who is backing conservative, pro-Washington Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in the presidential runoff race against the leftist incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro victory could bring Brazil’s rare-earth riches closer to Washington
Voters on Sunday will decide if Brazil will be the latest South American nation to embrace closer ties with the U.S. and President Trump, who is backing conservative, pro-Washington candidate Flavio Bolsonaro in the presidential runoff race against the leftist incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Africa’s LNG boom giving Asia an alternative to Hormuz
When the Iran war closed the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year, about 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas supply stopped flowing almost overnight. Roughly 90% of the LNG that moves through the strait goes to Asia, so the continent has absorbed the worst of it. Gulf producers have had few good responses. Saudi Arabia cut prices for Asian buyers to soften the blow, but buyers have already begun de-risking and diversifying away from Middle Eastern supplies toward African ones.
America formally ends military presence in Iraq after 2 decades
The last remaining American troops and equipment on Wednesday pulled out of Erbil Air Base in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the final U.S. military outpost there. The departure officially signaled the conclusion of Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security,” Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday in a statement.
Trump, Burnham clash over oil, islands and Britain’s maritime power
LONDON — President Trump and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham — increasingly at odds over energy, sovereignty and strategic control — are expected to meet Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The British prime minister, in office less than three months, is set to address the annual gathering of world leaders the same day.
Iran war revives U.S. energy bet in Mozambique despite Islamic State threat
LONDON — ExxonMobil is betting billions that Mozambique can become one of the world’s next great sources of liquefied natural gas — and one far removed from the strategic vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz. ExxonMobil announced that it and its partners had awarded $1.1 billion worth of pre-investment contracts as part of the Rovuma liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado region.
Somaliland’s Uncertain Rise from the Ashes
Few pieces of real estate have as dark a history as the grounds of Hargeisa’s Edna Adna University Hospital. Over the course of its history, it has served as a colonial military parade ground and the site of some of the worst excesses of the Siad Barre regime that ruled Somalia with an iron fist between 1969 and 1991. A regime whose end sparked the country’s brutal civil war.
Latin Americans lured by Russian, Ukrainian job offers end up on war’s front lines
LONDON — Latin American governments have begun taking more forceful action against Russia-linked recruitment networks drawing their citizens into the war in Ukraine. On Sept. 5, Colombia’s new Trump-aligned president, Abelardo de la Espriella, formally asked both Moscow and Kyiv to stop enlisting its nationals. Meanwhile, Peruvian authorities are prosecuting an alleged recruiter accused of directing Peruvians into Russian military service under false pretenses.
Russian forces active in uranium-rich West Africa
Russia is doubling down on its military role in Africa despite the growing demands of its war in Ukraine, with the latest example featuring a direct intervention in recent days by Russian military forces to help Niger’s military junta suppress a mutiny. The intervention on Aug.
New Peruvian president could be key U.S. ally against drug cartels, Chinese influence
The Trump administration desperately needs Western Hemisphere partners to help battle powerful drug cartels and stem the tide of Chinese influence across the Americas. It may have a new one in Keiko Fujimori, Peru’s recently inaugurated president. The election of Ms. Fujimori, the latest conservative to rise to political power in Latin America, was driven largely by her focus on security and crime, which have become central concerns for voters across the region.
New Peruvian president could be key U.S. ally against drug cartels, Chinese influence
Add us as a preferred source on Google - Special to The Washington Times - A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday. The Trump administration desperately needs Western Hemisphere partners to help battle powerful drug cartels and stem the tide of Chinese influence across the Americas. It may have a new one in Keiko Fujimori, Peru’s recently inaugurated president.
Mexican cartel in Europe sought mortars, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades
LONDON — Washington is striking back at a powerful Mexican cartel that federal prosecutors say sought to treat Europe as a safe base for drugs and weapons deals. Alleged cartel operatives attempted to exchange drugs bound for the United States for battlefield weaponry in Eastern Europe. Federal prosecutors charged four men arrested in the Czech Republic with offenses connected to the alleged scheme. Two have been extradited to the United States, while two remain in Prague awaiting extradition.
U.S. aid cuts, Ebola crisis in Africa open door to Beijing’s bid for influence in Congo
LONDON — When a team of Chinese medical experts landed Saturday at the airport in the capital city of Kinshasa, health officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo were on hand to greet them with open arms. The central African nation of 116 million is struggling to contain the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak it’s ever seen, with more than 3,400 cases and over 1,600 deaths reported since May 15.
Burnham touts ‘warm’ call to Trump, but says he won’t put U.S. interests ahead of Britain
LONDON — Britain’s untested new prime minister, Andy Burnham, said he would stand up to President Trump “if it is right for Britain” in his first major interview since taking power. Mr. Burnham, who has little foreign-policy experience, now faces the need to repair relations with Washington while managing a series of security tests.
Starmer’s Waterloo? : Andy Burnham emerges as Labor’s answer to Reform Party surge
MANCHESTER, England — A parliamentary election Thursday in a working-class district on the outskirts of Manchester has become a surprisingly critical referendum on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership — and perhaps the future of British politics. The Labor Party’s Andy Burnham, the charismatic, liberal mayor of Greater Manchester, is the leading candidate in the race to fill a seat vacated by a member of Parliament.
Innovative rare-earth minerals project could reset South Africa’s rocky relationship with Trump
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A proposed U.S.-backed investment in a South African rare-earth project is emerging as an unlikely bright spot in relations strained by disputes over Israel, refugee policy and South Africa’s growing ties to China.
African terror groups expand beyond Sahel as death toll nears 24,000
LONDON — Terrorism is skyrocketing across the troubled African continent, with almost 24,000 deaths in 2025 blamed on terror-related violence —a 24% increase over the previous year, according to recently released statistics. According to Pentagon-backed research from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies released in April, there were 23,968 terrorism-related fatalities across Africa in 2025, with almost every region seeing a marked increase.
Ukraine launches renewed attacks on Russia’s oil facilities
LONDON — Ukraine is ramping up its assaults on oil-rich Russia’s energy infrastructure in a bid to dampen the windfall Vladimir Putin stands to gain as prices and demand skyrocket in the wake of the U.S. blockade of the Persian Gulf. Russia has benefited economically from the U.S.-led conflict in the Middle East, replenishing coffers drained by the war with Ukraine, which has raged since 2022.
Rival opposition groups jockey for primacy in a post-regime Iran
LONDON — Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment to succeed his father as Iran’s supreme leader is unlikely to settle the question of who ultimately holds power in post-war Tehran. For Iran’s divided opposition groups — many based outside the country — the decisive struggle is not clerical succession but whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime’s enforcers, can be dislodged. Some analysts say Mr. Khamenei is a figurehead with the real power held by IRGC leadership.
The Kurdish Question in Iran’s War Moment: A Conversation with Abdulla Pashew
As conflict between Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition reshapes the strategic landscape of the Middle East, long-suppressed national questions are re-emerging across the region. Among them is the future of Iran’s Kurds, a community that has faced decades of political repression, cultural marginalization, and violent crackdowns under the Islamic Republic. Abdulla Pashew (born 1946 near Erbil) is one of the most prominent voices of modern Kurdish poetry.
Kurdish militias move to strike back at Tehran despite U.S. hesitation
Add us as a preferred source on Google - Special to The Washington Times - LONDON — U.S. President Trump said over the weekend he doesn’t want the well-armed militias of the Kurds — the northern Iran and Iraq ethnic group that has often aligned itself with the U.S. in the past — to join the fight against the regime in Tehran. But the Kurds, who have their own longstanding grievances against Iran’s ruling clerics, may not be waiting for permission.
Trump blasts Starmer after Iran U-turn as U.K. leader navigates domestic pressure from Muslim voters
Add us as a preferred source on Google - Special to The Washington Times - President Trump took aim at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer again over the weekend, even as the U.K. backpedaled from earlier efforts to distance itself from the ongoing war in the Middle East. American warplanes began arriving in the United Kingdom over the weekend, visible evidence of London’s shift to a more Trump-friendly stance on a conflict the U.S. and Israel appear to be winning handily.
Cape Town conference highlights rising tensions over U.S. moves to secure rare earth deals in Africa
Add us as a preferred source on Google - Special to The Washington Times - CAPE TOWN, South Africa — President Trump’s push to create a critical minerals trading bloc is forcing African nations to take sides in a widening geopolitical contest over resources essential to the global economy. The Trump administration has made reducing Chinese dominance of critical mineral supply chains a national security priority.
Moscow talking tough on Iran, but Russia's grip on the Middle East has slipped
LONDON — As the Trump administration weighs the possibility of new military action against Iran in support of anti-regime protesters, Moscow has issued a sharp warning against any external intervention. But the tough talk from Russia comes at a time when the Kremlin’s influence in the region is at its lowest point since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Once a key power broker from Algeria to Iran, Russia is now reduced to transactional diplomacy and largely symbolic military posturing.
From Canada to China, fall of Maduro is transforming global oil market
– Special to The Washington Times LONDON — Reverberations from the most consequential U.S. intervention since the 1989 invasion of Panama — the stunning Jan. 3 capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro — are reshaping energy calculations around the globe, including pipeline politics in Canada and investment strategies in China.
From Canada to China, fall of Maduro is transforming global oil market
LONDON — Reverberations from the most consequential U.S. intervention since the 1989 invasion of Panama — the stunning Jan. 3 capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro — are reshaping energy calculations around the globe, from pipeline politics in Canada to investment strategies in China.
People of faith face growing climate of violence, fear in Nigeria
LONDON — Christmas in Nigeria saw people of faith in the strife-torn African nation giving thanks for blessings — the release this week of kidnapped schoolchildren — while mourning yet another tragedy, the Wednesday night bombing of a mosque that killed five. The attack on worshippers at a mosque in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri was likely carried out by a suicide bomber, according to police, and left 35 injured in addition to those killed.
Somali pirates stage comeback with Houthi support
Somali pirates are again stalking commercial shipping in the Indian Ocean, but this time they are not operating alone. U.S. and regional security officials warn that pirate gangs are coordinating with Iran-backed Houthi militants and terrorist groups operating in the Horn of Africa. “Some of the Somali pirate groups have received GPS devices and weapons from the Houthis or Houthi-aligned actors in Yemen,” said Mohamed Muse Abulle, deputy intelligence director of the Puntland Maritime Police Force.
A Stable Indo-Pacific Is Key to Indonesia’s National Security
Joseph Hammond December 17, 2025 | 12:41 pm SHARE Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and President Prabowo Subianto interact at the APEC Summit in Gyeongju on Oct. 31, 2025. (Photo Courtesy of Presidential Press Bureau) Last month, Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono and Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin met in Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi as part of the bilateral 2+2 mechanism.
Trump remarks aside, U.S. forces, Somali allies hunting terrorists in Africa
LONDON — President Trump’s scornful dismissal last week of Somali immigrants — they’ve “contributed nothing” to the United States, he said — created a stir in Washington, but in the long-troubled African nation itself, officials brushed off the controversy. They’re focused instead on the country’s surprising new partnership with the U.S. Somalia has quietly re-emerged as one of America’s most vital security partners in Africa.
Dubai Air Show underscores renewed U.S. and world interest in Middle East
DUBAI – This year’s Dubai Air Show drew robust attendance and displays from U.S. defense industry companies large and small, as well as participation from more than 150 other nations in a sign that the Mideast market continues to be a core focus of the global aerospace industry.
NATO's 5% defense mandate exposes Europe's creative accounting
Under the terms of a new agreement, NATO members are on the hook to spend 5% of their GDP on defense. For the Trump administration, the agreement reached at a NATO Summit in the Hague marks the most serious push in decades to get Europe to shoulder its own security. European leaders, however, are scrambling to meet — or at least appear to meet — the new benchmark. Many have already signed on to the larger budgets in principle, but the reality is far murkier.
Estimated 7,000 Cuban mercenaries, soldiers fighting for Russia in war on Ukraine
No country other than North Korea has contributed more manpower to Russia’s armed forces than the estimated 7,000 Cuban mercenaries fighting and dying in the war in Ukraine. “There was a time when Cubans, after the Chernobyl disaster, provided free and humanitarian treatment to thousands of Ukrainian children (for which Ukraine remains profoundly grateful),” said Ruslan Spirin, Ukraine’s special representative to Latin America.
France is becoming the Sinaloa drug cartel’s ‘new Mexico’
Last month saw police raids in France and Belgium meant to crack down on Europe’s vast illegal drug problem. The large-scale raids led to the seizure of luxury goods, some €30,000 in cryptocurrency, and the arrest of 16 individuals. The biggest surprise in the arrests: A Mexican-American suspect with deep connections to the notorious Sinaloa cartel. The Sinaloa is one of the world’s most brutal organised operations, with ties across nearly 50 countries from Africa to New Zealand.
Giorgia Meloni's dreams of new energy ties in the Mediterranean
By Joseph Hammond - InsideSources.com | Jan 9, 2025 Print Subscriber? Sign Up for Full Access! Please sign up for as low as 36 cents per day to continue viewing our website. Unlimited access to all stories from nashuatelegraph.com on your computer, tablet or smart phone. Access nashuatelegraph.com, view our digital edition or use our Full Access apps.
What The Return Of David Cameron Means For America
By Joseph Hammond David Cameron is again. Cameron now Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton, is now the overseas minister of the UK. It’s a transfer that can possible result in an extra deepening of the UK-US particular relationship at a time. His lengthy tenure as a Prime Minister additionally provides some hints at his management fashion and certainly how he’ll act in workplace. Cameron’s efficient management is unflappability and willingness to tust his instincts.
Meloni has a plan which may both develop Africa and supply Europe with abundant clean energy
Agreements between national oil companies rarely change the world. Yet, the signing of an obscure deal in Rome earlier this year could signal an important geo-economic shift in the European Union’s approach to Africa. Often painted as a Right-wing firebrand in international media and even labeled as a fascist, Meloni in power has ruled from the moderate center.
Cuba is deeply involved in the Ukraine War on Russia’s side - and that’s cause for concern
Cuba has been flying under the radar among a small axis of nations who have supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. However, the revelation this summer that Cuban troops are now fighting in Ukraine should be a cause for concern. News reports downplayed the involvement, stating that the Cubans are fighting as mercenaries. However, in reality, Cuban professionals have long been treated as mercenaries by the Communist dictatorship.
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