Author: M Barbu

The West Must Stop Blocking Negotiations Between Ukraine And Russia – OpEd

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. This war has been horrendous, though it does not compare with the terrible destruction wrought by the U.S. bombardment of Iraq (“shock and awe”) in 2003. In the Gomel region of Belarusthat borders Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian diplomats met on February 28 to begin negotiations toward a ceasefire. These talks fell apart. Then, in early March, the two sides met again in Belarus to hold a second and third round of talks. On March 10, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia met in Antalya, Türkiye, and finally, at the end of March, senior officials from Ukraine and Russia met in Istanbul, Türkiye, thanks to the initiative of Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On March 29, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, “We are pleased to see that the rapprochement between the parties has increased at every stage. Consensus and common understanding were reached on some issues.” By April, an agreement regarding a tentative interim deal was reached between Russia and Ukraine, according to an article in Foreign Affairs.

Why The UN Must Evolve To Fight Modern-Day Terror – Analysis

Terrorism remains one of the most critical issues for India’s national security, and the global security architecture in general, despite setbacks both on the tactical and diplomatic fronts in recent times. China’s move to block the blacklisting of members of Pakistan-backed terror groups such as Lashkar-e-taiba and Jaish-e-mohammed, even as recently as last week, shows the glaring limitations of the United Nations (UN) to build a broad consensus on such issues, with countries using these gaps to achieve personal goals. Coincidentally, this move by Beijing came on the same day as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said in India that no reason or pretext could justify an act of terrorism.

Iran’s Cities And Towns Erupt In Major New Surge Of Anti-Regime Protests – OpEd

Thursday marked the 42nd day of Iran’s nationwide protests. On Thursday morning the people of Mahabad in northwest Iran took to the streets on the 42nd day of the nationwide uprising. Locals initially took part in the burial ceremony of Ismail Moloudi who was killed by the regime’s security forces during last night’s protests in this city. Reports from local activists indicate units of the regime’s security forces opened fire on people in the Gomrok neighborhood, where Moloudi lived.

HTS, Turkey, and the future of Syria’s north

During the second week of October, unprecedented full-fledged military confrontations broke out in northern Syria between factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) subsequently intervening in support of some factions over others. The escalation began when members of the al-Hamzah Division (HD) assassinated the political activist Muhammad Abu Ghanoum and his pregnant wife in al-Bab in eastern Aleppo on Oct. 7. In response, the Third Legion, which is dominated by the Levant Front (LF) and Jaysh al-Islam (JI), launched multiple attacks against HD and its ally, the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade (SSSB), driving them out of their military bases in Turkish-influenced rural eastern Aleppo and Afrin, known as the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch areas, respectively.

Turkey: Hundreds of Refugees Deported to Syria

EU Should Recognize Turkey Is Unsafe for Asylum Seekers

(Istanbul) – Turkish authorities arbitrarily arrested, detained, and deported hundreds of Syrian refugee men and boys to Syria between February and July 2022, Human Rights Watch said today.

Deported Syrians told Human Rights Watch that Turkish officials arrested them in their homes, workplaces, and on the street, detained them in poor conditions, beat and abused most of them, forced them to sign voluntary return forms, drove them to border crossing points with northern Syria, and forced them across at gunpoint.

Turkey’s New UAV “Deli” Introduced

Turkey’s new kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Deli, which continues to take important steps in the field of defense industry, has also been added to the inventory. Taking its name from the Deliler League, which was at the forefront of the war in the Ottoman Empire, and coming from above like a missile, Deli shatters the enemy where he falls.

Russian War Report: Heavy fighting expected in Kherson as Prigozhin aims to boost Wagner operations

As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) is keeping a close eye on Russia’s movements across the military, cyber, and information domains. With more than seven years of experience monitoring the situation in Ukraine—as well as Russia’s use of propaganda and disinformation to undermine the United States, NATO, and the European Union—the DFRLab’s global team presents the latest installment of the Russian War Report.

After Neoliberalism

All Economics Is Local

For most of the last 40 years, U.S. policymakers acted as if the world were flat. Steeped in the dominant strain of neoliberal economic thinking, they assumed that capital, goods, and people would go wherever they would be the most productive for everyone. If companies created jobs overseas, where it was cheapest to do so, domestic employment losses would be outweighed by consumer benefits. And if governments lowered trade barriers and deregulated capital markets, money would flow where it was needed most. Policymakers didn’t have to take geography into account, since the invisible hand was at work everywhere. Place, in other words, didn’t matter.

Iran’s elite technical university emerges as hub of protests

The aging brick campus of the Sharif University of Technology, Iran’s elite technical school, has long been a magnet for the nation’s brightest minds, with a record of elevating its students to the highest reaches of society.

Thousands of Sharif University alumni power Iran’s most sensitive industries, including nuclear energy and aerospace. One of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s closest advisors has taught there for decades.