Europe

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Libya has become a multipolar battleground unusual in the era since 1946. The UN-recognized General National Assembly (GNA) government in Tripoli is ranged against the forces of Benghazi-based Gen. Khalifa Haftar. Haftar is supported by the Russian Federation, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and diplomatically, France. The GNA is supported […]

Donald Trump

A Russia-China-Iran ‘Axis of the Sanctioned?’ Will Russia risk defying Trump to sell arms to Iran?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Russia risks facing severe US sanctions if it starts selling weapons to Iran after October 18, which is when the United Nations arms embargo on the Islamic Republic expires. Although the UN Security Council will likely decline to extend the bar on such sales, since Russia and China are […]

Christianity

Turkey Turned the Hagia Sophia back into a Mosque: Is it Consistent with Muslim Values, the Dialogue of Civilizations?

Abdullah al-Ahsan

(Special to Informed Comment) – Debates are currently going on regarding the destiny of the Hagia Sophia (literally “Divine Wisdom”, the sixth-century cathedral built by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian) in Istanbul. President Erdogan made a kicked off this dispute with his declaration a few days ago allowing Muslims to pray at the venue. This wide-ranging […]

Climate Crisis

Volkswagen Expects Electric Vehicles to Soar in wake of Pandemic

Clean Energy Wire

By Alex Dziadosz | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Volkswagen does not expect the pandemic to slow the introduction of its flagship e-car model ID.3, Carsten Germis writes in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The company’s e-mobility sales and marketing manager, Silke Bagschik, told the newspaper the coronavirus is “more likely to accelerate the transition […]

Donald Trump

Despite Saudi Atrocities in Yemen, Trump and Boris Johnson are Addicted to Arms Sales to Riyadh

Sandy Milne

Tokyo (Special to Informed Comment) – “There is not a clear risk that the export of arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia might be used in the commission of a serious violation of IHL [International Human Rights Law].” So says the Honorable Elizabeth Truss MP – the UK’s top exports expert, and wolf in […]

Afghanistan

Was there Really a Russian Bounty on US Troops in Afghanistan? A Story with Holes

Reese Erlich

(48Hills.org ) – On June 26, in a major front page story, The New York Times wrote that Russia paid a bounty to the Taliban to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan last year. The story quickly unraveled. While the military is investigating the allegations, Mark Miley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says there’s […]

Europe

Europe’s Tunisian Heritage: Common German, English Words Suggest Carthage was Present in the North

The Conversation

By Robert Mailhammer | – Remember when Australians paid in shillings and pence? New research suggests the words for these coins and other culturally important items and concepts are the result of close contact between the early Germanic people and the Carthaginian Empire more than 2,000 years ago. The city of Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia, […]

Germany

Over Half of Germany’s Power Use in 1st Half of 2020 was from Wind and Solar, as Coal Sank

Clean Energy Wire

By Julian Wettengel | – Renewables covered more than half of Germany’s power consumption in the first six months of 2020, according to a first estimate by think tank Agora Energiewende*. As coal use dropped and demand was low due to the coronavirus crisis and energy sector emissions fell significantly. Germany will most likely reach […]

Afghanistan

Trump Likely did Throw US Troops in Afghanistan under the Bus, but Why would the Russians have Targeted Them?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Charlie Savage; Eric Schmitt and Michael Schwirtz at the New York Times broke the blockbuster story on Friday that GRU 29155, a violent unit of Russian military intelligence accused of poisoning a double agent in Britain in 2018, had offered militants and criminals a bounty if they killed coalition forces […]