2022

Is Afghanistan Balkanizing under the Taliban Rule? On the one-year anniversary of their seizure of power, the Taliban now face a wholly different threat.

By Atal Ahmadzai ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – In the year since the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan has endured rapid and agonizing setbacks. Two decades of socio-economic and political gains have vanished under the dystopian rule of the Taliban. Furthermore, while peace is far from being realized, political violence, including the Taliban’s extrajudicial executions, […]

Natural Disasters

Shelling of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant exposes multiple risks – a nuclear expert tells us what they are

The Conversation

By Ross Peel, King’s College London | – Shelling has recently intensified at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising international safety concerns. Ukrainian staff continue to operate the massive plant under strict control and stressful conditions. Both Russia and Ukraine are blaming one another for the continued attacks, and damage. Disinformation and fake news […]

Climate Crisis

With Biden’s IRA, Why Homeowners are Costing themselves Money if they don’t Install Solar Panels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has established a 10-year 30% tax credit for installing solar panels on your roof.It is a worthwhile thing to do if someone is planning on being in their house for the long term. And it isn’t only the panels themselves that the IRA subsidizes through […]

Mass Extinction

Even a ‘limited’ Nuclear War would starve Hundreds of Millions of People, new Study Reveals

The Conversation

By Ryan Heneghan, Queensland University of Technology | – Even a relatively small nuclear war would create a worldwide food crisis lasting at least a decade in which hundreds of millions would starve, according to our new modelling published in Nature Food. In a nuclear war, bombs dropped on cities and industrial areas would start […]

Cryptocurrency

Why Cryptocurrencies Are No Digital Cure-All For Iran, Russia, Other Sanctioned States

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Michael Scollon | – ( RFE/RL ) – Cryptocurrencies are being eyed by Iran, Russia, and other sanctioned states as a way to evade punitive barriers to international trade — but the dependence of “crypto” on banking systems makes it anything but a safe haven for illicit payments. Crypto enjoys a reputation of being […]

Arab World

Opening of shipping Routes from Ukraine will not Lessen Commodity and Food pressure on the Middle East and North Africa

Global Voices

By Roman Shemakov | – Russia and Ukraine are two of the most essential pillars of the global food trade, producing 25 percent of the global wheat supply. More than 160 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, food, commodity, and energy shortages have plunged many economies across the world into recessions, particularly in the Middle East, […]

Featured

Why the Iran Nuclear Deal would benefit America, regardless of whether Tehran is in other ways a Bad Actor

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – There appears to be some movement in the indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States over the reentry of the United States into the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and a return to full compliance with it by Iran. The European countries directly talking to Iran presented what they called […]

Climate Crisis

“The Elbe River Gasps for Breath:” Rivers’ ecosystems across Germany threatened by low Water, O2 Levels and high Temperatures

Benjamin Wehrmann

Citing Hamburger Abendblatt / Süddeutsche Zeitung / Rheinische Post ( Clean Energy Wire ) – German rivers are suffering from extreme heat and drought, ringing the alarm for the stability of their ecosystems all over the country. Like many other parts of Europe, Germany has seen recurring heatwaves since late spring, which coupled with little […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Final ISIS Kidnapper sentenced to Life for Role in Kayla Mueller’s Death

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Ryan Knappenberger | – ( Cronkite News ) – ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A second ISIS militant was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the kidnapping and killing of Prescott native Kayla Mueller, a relief to her parents who pledged to continue fighting for her memory. “Now we can set this behind us,” Carl […]

Archives for 2022