Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Ukraine: In the Midst of War, Debate Swirls Around Soviet-Era Famine
Even as the conflict with Russian-backed separatists smolders, Kiev has ratcheted up a no less ferocious public relations war. Hoping to bolster its case against Moscow, Ukraine as well as the country’s foreign Diaspora have zeroed in on the so-called Holodomor or Stalinist-induced famine of 1932-33. In an effort to force Ukrainian peasants...
Double-Dip Oil Rout
Why an Oil Glut May Lead to a New World of EnergyCross-posted with TomDispatch.comThe plunge of global oil prices began in June 2014, when benchmark Brent crude was selling at $114 per barrel. It hit bottom at $46 this January, a near-collapse widely viewed as a major but temporary calamity for the energy industry. Such low prices were expected...
Why the European Union is a Big Winner from the Iran Deal
On July 14, 2015, Iran and six world powers agreed to a landmark deal to suspend Iran’s nuclear program. The deal offered Iran sanctions relief and an end to its international isolation, in exchange for Iran’s pledge to stop its quest for a nuclear bomb. After the conclusion of this deal, the European Union’s High Commissioner...
2030 Will Surprise Us
In the United States as in Europe, the dictatorship of immediacy, combined with the preference for conceptual analyses have brought about a real failure of anticipation. The World in 2030, published by the National Intelligence Council [LINK], has been unable, for example, to imagine the world within 15 years. The reason is simple: this report...
Russian-Made Missile Fragments Possibly Found At MH17 Crash Site, Say Prosecutors
AMSTERDAM, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Dutch prosecutors from a joint international criminal investigation into the 2014 downing of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine say some of the debris recovered from the site may belong to a Russian-made missile system.The Netherlands’ national prosecutor’s office said that the fragments, possibly from...
Ceasefire In Jeopardy? U.S. Warns Of Sharp Rise In Ukrainian Rebel Attacks
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States says Ukrainian rebels launched more attacks over the last three days than any similar time period since February, in what may be an escalating effort by Russian-backed militants to destabilize Ukraine’s Western-backed government.State Department spokesman John Kirby says the attacks include a heavy...
How America’s Global Financial System Blocks Development
NEW YORK — The Third International Conference on Financing for Development recently convened in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The conference came at a time when developing countries and emerging markets have demonstrated their ability to absorb huge amounts of money productively. Indeed, the tasks that these countries are...
U.S.-China Cooperation on Iran Signals a New Day in Global Governance
SHANGHAI — When the historic agreement was reached between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States (“P5+1”) over the Iranian nuclear issue in July, President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama highlighted their nations’ cooperation in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, which may herald a new...
Mali Hotel Siege Ends With 12 Dead
BAMAKO, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Malian security forces on Saturday stormed a hotel used by United Nations staff and freed four hostages held there by suspected Islamist militants during a nearly 24-hour siege in which 12 people died. The gunmen had seized the Byblos Hotel in the town of Sevare, around 600 km (400 miles) northeast of the west...
A Plague of Locusts
In the Biblical Book of Exodus, the eighth plague that Yahweh inflicts on Egypt is one of locusts: “They covered the surface of the soil till the ground was black with them. They devoured all the greenstuff in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. No green was left on any tree or plant in the fields throughout the...
