Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Vladimir Putin: Stoi!
What do you do when the ruble is in free fall, and your panicky population is buying up consumer goods and foreign currency? If you are President Vladimir Putin, you get a facial, a manicure, a make-up artist and make a jingoistic video ahead of your Thursday press conference: The ruble has sold off like gangbusters and it is now down 45% since...
putins next throw of the dice – prepare for the unexpected
Singapore 17. December 2014. Putin’s next throw of the dice – prepare for the unexpected. By: Joergen Oerstroem Moeller The falling the oil price combined with sanctions push Russia’s President Putin into a corner. Do not expect him willingly to accept that. Judged by watching his actions over recent years it is likely almost...
Top 10 U.S. Conflict Prevention Priorities Going Into 2015: Survey
The intensification of the crisis in Iraq due to advances by the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is the top conflict prevention priority for U.S. policymakers in 2015, according to leading experts who took part in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) seventh annual Preventive Priorities Survey. This fall, CFR’s...
How Sustainability Can Guide German Foreign Policy
BERLIN — Sustainable thinking and action continues to gain increased importance in business and technology. Above all, it has become a political guiding principle. As such, it merits examination. The three pillars of sustainability — the economic, the environmental and the social pillar — are equal in importance. In terms of...
White House: Obama To Sign Russia Sanctions Legislation
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama will sign congressional legislation slapping new sanctions on Russia and providing aid to Ukraine. Spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama continues to have concerns about the bill but believes the legislation still gives him the flexibility he needs. The president is expected to sign the...
Why You Should Care About The Collapsing Russian Ruble
Plunging oil prices and economic sanctions have pushed Russia’s economy to the brink of collapse. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer dictator than Vladimir Putin,” you might be thinking, but it could have repercussions for all of us. Russia’s currency, the ruble, crashed to record lows against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday,...
Go West, Young Han
As Washington “Pivots” to Asia, China Does the Eurasian Pirouette Cross-posted with TomDispatch.comNovember 18, 2014: It’s a day that should live forever in history. On that day, in the city of Yiwu in China’s Zhejiang province, 300 kilometers south of Shanghai, the first train carrying 82 containers of export goods weighing more than...
Ukraine’s President Hails First Full Overnight Truce In Rebel East
(Adds report of soldier killed, military comments on truce status) KIEV, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s separatist east passed the night into Tuesday without any shooting, President Petro Poroshenko said, hailing the first such stretch of calm as a positive signal for the next steps in a peace plan. Army chief of staff Viktor Muzhenko...
Russia’s Ruble Slides To Historic Lows
MOSCOW (AP) — A massive interest rate hike by Russia’s Central Bank on Tuesday failed to stem the selling pressure on the ruble, which slid another 20 percent to new historic lows. The surprise Central Bank decision to raise the rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent came in the middle of the night on Tuesday and represented a desperate...
Congress Urges Obama To Sign Bill That Slaps New Sanctions On Russia, Gives Assistance To Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats spoke with one voice on Monday in pressing President Barack Obama to sign legislation that would slap new sanctions on Russia while providing weapons and other assistance to Ukraine. The widely popular legislation cleared Congress late Saturday, but the White House has remained non-committal about...
