Category: Blogs

3,000 Miles from Paris Climate Talks, Drought Threatens to Overshadow Progress in Ethiopia

World leaders met this week for the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) with an ambitious agenda to tackle warming global temperatures and reduce carbon emissions. At the same time, Ethiopian officials revised their predictions of the number of people affected by the ongoing drought upward by nearly two million. They now estimate that more than 10 […]

Russia Could Block Access to Baltic Sea, US General Says

By Defense One, Defense News, and Army News Service

From Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One:  Russia has moved ballistic missiles to and conducted nuclear strike drills from its Kaliningrad exclave, prompting Pentagon fears that Moscow could block access to the Baltic Sea.

Top News: ISIS Retakes Key City in Homs Province From Syrian Forces

By MENASource

Syrian activists say the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) has retaken a strategically important town in the central province of Homs from government forces.

Top News: Egypt Frees Israeli Held For Spying in Prisoner Swap

By EgyptSource

Egypt has freed an Israeli-Arab held in its jails for 15 years on espionage charges in exchange for the release of two Egyptians held in Israel, Egyptian and Israeli officials said on Thursday.

EconSource: Fitch Issues Negative Outlook for GCC Banks

By EconSource

The prospects of an extended decline in oil prices and higher US interest rates are putting fresh strain on debt markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Fitch ratings agency said, issuing negative 2016 outlooks for GCC banks.

Russian Truckers Take to the Roads to Protest Tax, Declining Living Standards

By Sergey Aleksashenko

Hundreds of long-haul truck drivers have blocked Russia’s roads to protest a new national toll. The protest may cause changes in Russia’s political landscape and economic policy in the long-run, though its impact will be limited in the short-term. Even still, the protests are significant because they demonstrate an awakening of the Russian population and […]

NATO Moves Forward with Montenegro

By Janusz Bugajski & Srdjan Darmanovic, American Interest

Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin has been adamantly opposed to further NATO enlargement. Following NATO’s invitation to Montenegro, Russian officials immediately asserted that they would be forced to react.

Russian Military and Mercenaries Directly Implicated in Torture of Ukrainian Prisoners

By Halya Coynash

Ukrainian human rights activists believe that over 87 percent of Ukrainian soldiers and half the civilians who have been taken prisoner by Kremlin-backed, pro-Russian militants in the Donbas have been subjected to torture or ill treatment. Additionally, in over 40 percent of the so-called “interrogations,” key roles were played by mercenaries from the Russian Federation […]