Iran, in the latest of a series of incidents on its western and south-eastern borders, said it had disbanded a Pakistan-based cell of ant-Shiite militants in a clash this week on the Iranian side of the border. The clash, shrouded in mystery like similar past incidents in the ethnic Baloch province of Sistan and Baluchistan …
Continue reading The Battle for Iran: Policy or Regime Change?
Last month, the long-dreaded invasion of the port city of Hodeidah finally began. Although there is now a “pause” in fighting as UN envoy Martin Griffiths attempts to persuade the Houthis to give up the port, this is unlikely to last. The ceasefire probably came about because the western-backed coalition needed time to lick its …
Continue reading Yemen War: The Latest Chapter in Western Effort to Crush Independence
“I once rescued a friend from drowning when he was swept away by the force of the current as we were swimming in the Diyala river,” says Qasim Sabti, a painter and gallery owner in Baghdad. “That was 50 years ago,” he recalls. “I went back there recently and the water in the Diyala is …
"NATO" can be a rather elusive concept: Libya was a NATO operation, even though Germany kept out of it. Somalia was not a NATO operation even though Germany was in it. Canada, a founding NATO member, was in Afghanistan but not in Iraq. Some interventions are NATO, others aren't. But it doesn't really mean much because NATO is only a box of …
Iran’s ominous rhetoric about making the OPEC+ countries “pay” for their “treachery” to it and hinting at taking action to stop Gulf exports has had its desired effect in raising the oil price, and similar such statements in the run-up to the November reimposition of US sanctions against the country’s energy industry should also be …
Continue reading Iran’s Rhetoric Is Meant to Raise the Oil Price
Most westerners would typically have a hard time finding Mongolia on the map. Nevertheless, it’s a rather unique state that serves as home for well over 3 million people. It turns out that it has an incredibly rich history as well, that is closely tied to the two of its closest neighbors – Russia and China. …
Continue reading Mongolia’s “Third Neighbor” Is Trying to Push both China and Russia Out
There’s no better moment than now for Mexico to embrace multipolarity by teaming up with China and possibly constructing a Pacific-Caribbean rail corridor across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but such a project has its limitations and isn’t anything to get too excited about at this time, let alone blindly jump into just for the sake …
Continue reading Don’t Get Too Excited About the Mexican Silk Road
Three thousand, seven hundred and four. That's how many live ammunition gunshot injuries were inflicted by Israeli snipers on Palestinian demonstrators inside the Gaza Strip over a seven-week period beginning on 30 March. 3,704. In addition to 130 Palestinians killed during the same time frame. One million, three hundred thousand. That’s how many bullets were …
Once a family-owned business Forbes is well known for producing their annual list of the world’s richest billionaires. Launched in 1982 the original list ranked the top 400 Americans by net worth. Only 13 billionaires were included in that list, and their combined worth was the equivalent of 2.8% of GDP. In an era where …
