Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
‘Cessation Of Hostilities’ In Syria Lets Russia Keep Bombing
MUNICH, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Major powers agreed on Friday to a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria to begin in a week, doing nothing in the meantime to halt Russian bombing poised to give government forces their biggest victory of the five-year-old war.If implemented, the deal would allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged towns....
Did A Spy-Turned-Congressman Just Out His Role In Cyber War With Russia?
WASHINGTON — A former CIA operative who now serves as a member of Congress indicated at a recent public event that the U.S. has engaged in “offensive cyber operations” against Russia, a revelation that comes while the two countries are effectively squaring off in Syria and Ukraine. The disclosure of the operations, which are...
Animal Cruelty Is Part of the Fabric of the Former Soviet Union
Image: Stock Photo. FreeImages.com/Vee Bee Animals as well as humans have suffered from greed and neglect across the former Soviet Union, animals-rights activists say. Some of the worst offenders have been organizations owned by the government, such as zoos and circuses. A film made secretly in 2013 showing St. Petersburg State Circus trainers...
Foreign Affairs for a New President
Recent speeches of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz – the top four seeking the presidency – focus mainly on the turbulent and fascinating domestic issues in America: guns, gays, abortion, taxes, education and health care. However, the new president will likely find that the hot spots on his agenda demanding...
Resurgent Jokes Reflect Putin Russia’s Inevitable Untergang
Co-authored with Samuel RachlinSamuel Rachlin, an accomplished, independent Danish journalist, was born in the Soviet Union to a Danish mother and a Lithuanian father during his parents’ deportation to Siberia. He became the first Moscow, later the Washington correspondent for national Danish TV. After a stint as spokesman and advisor to...
The Great Christian Rapprochement, Cuban Style
Pope Francis’s dynamic papacy has been one of many firsts, the latest being the monumental meeting in Havana on February 12 with Russian Orthodox patriarch Kirill. A convergence of Francis’s great emphasis on ecumenism with the georeligious context of virulent persecution of Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic in Syria, and...
Geneva III: The Stillborn Conference and the Endemic Failure of the International Community
While approaching the fifth anniversary of the Syrian civil war on March 15 — which claimed more than 300,000 lives, approximately 700,000 wounded, 4 million fled the country, and another 6 million displaced within Syria — the international community has failed to put an end to bloodshed in this war-torn country. During the first days...
Pope Francis To Hold Historic Meeting In Cuba With Russian Orthodox Church Leader
VATICAN CITY, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba next week in what could be a historic step towards healing the 1,000-year-old rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity.The Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate announced on Friday that Francis will stop in Cuba on...
Predicting World’s Future Trouble Spots Will Not Be Easy, But U.S. Must Continue to Lead
In these early weeks of 2016, a thoughtful canvassing of world affairs and the challenges to our nation’s foreign policy engagement doesn’t paint a particularly pretty picture. Indeed, there are days when I consider the state of our planet and ask myself, “Can anything in the world go right?” Everywhere I look there seems...
Why the OSCE Is Indispensable for Security in Europe
We currently face what is perhaps the most serious threat to peace and security in Europe since the end of the Cold War. We are fully aware of what it means to assume the Chairmanship of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in these difficult times, and of the responsibility we will bear for Europe. The motto we have chosen...
