Author: M Barbu

The Extrajudicial Killing of General Soleimani, and the Right to Life under International Law

Abstract

On 3rd January 2020, Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in Baghdad under the orders of Former President Donald Trump. Trump argued that Iran was planning an imminent attack, although till today no proof of this claim has been provided by the US. Experts in international law have highlighted that the targeted killing of Soleimani was neither legal, nor necessary. The US failed to prove that Soleimani was a threat, that he was involved in terror operations, or that killing Soleimani was necessary to avert other terror attacks. This paper will examine the arguments presented by Trump, analyse the right to life under International human rights law, and explore the challenges presented by America’s war on terror campaign with respect to human rights and state sovereignty.

Ukrainian neutrality: a ‘golden bridge’ out of the current geopolitical trap

It may just be the ultimate agreement that neither the US or Russia can refuse.

Whether deliberately or not, the Russian government has left the United States and NATO a perfect “golden bridge” out of the trap that is developing in Ukraine. In diplomatic parlance, this means finding the other side a way of abandoning an untenable position without excessive loss of face or sacrifice of truly important interests.

In the present crisis between Russia and the West, the golden bridge is Ukrainian neutrality, along the general lines of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, by which Western and Soviet occupying troops withdrew from that country, allowing it to develop as a successful free-market democracy. The Biden administration, either directly or through German and French mediation, should seek to “own” the idea of Ukrainian neutrality as its response to Russia’s demands.

China’s Soft-Power Advantage in Africa

Beijing Isn’t Just Building Roads—It’s Making Friends

When U.S. policymakers consider China’s influence in Africa, they often think of big-ticket infrastructure development programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past two decades, Beijing has spent billions building dams, highways, railways, and ports in countries from Egypt to South Africa.

But those sorts of projects are only part of the story. China’s evolving presence in Africa, including the BRI, is based as much on investment in building social and human capital as it is on giant infrastructure projects. Since the beginning of this century, Beijing has invested heavily in cultivating political,

Russia Is Playing With Fire in the Balkans

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Yugoslav wars, Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. Although the Balkan states moved toward democratic governance and integration with NATO and the European Union in the immediate aftermath of the wars, consistent neglect on the part of the West has contributed to a dramatic backsliding in recent years. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is seizing his opportunity and using the former Yugoslav states as the next battlefield to weaken NATO and the European Union.

4,400 migrants lost at sea bound for Spain in 2021, double previous year

More than 4,400 migrants, including at least 205 children, were lost at sea trying to reach Spain in 2021, a monitoring group said on Monday – more than double the figure from the previous year and the most since the group began counting in 2018.

The group, Walking Borders, or Caminando Fronteras, blamed increasingly dangerous routes, inferior boats and the fear of some vessels to help migrants at sea for the surge in deaths, Reuters reported. According to Spanish official statistics, 39,000 undocumented migrants successfully reached Spain by sea or land last year, a similar figure to the previous year.

General Qassem Soleimani: ‘The living martyr’

Iran and Muslims, indeed even non-Muslims worldwide, have observed and continue to observe a somber second anniversary of the assassination of General Qassim Soleimani.

I happen to share my birthday with the most horrific crime ever committed by the US in the assassination of Al Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020.

One’s birthday is fantastic but I will remember, honor, and make it a day for the martyrs, the resistance movement, and all those killed through police brutality.

10 Conflicts to Watch in 2022

Troubling undercurrents in 2021 – from the U.S. to Afghanistan, Ethiopia or the climate emergency – didn’t send battle deaths soaring or set the world ablaze. But as our look ahead to 2022 shows, many bad situations round the world could easily get worse.

” Foreign involvement in conflicts creates the risk that local clashes light bigger fires. “

After a year that saw an assault on the U.S. Capitol, horrific bloodshed in Ethiopia, a Taliban triumph in Afghanistan, great-power showdowns over Ukraine and Taiwan amid dwindling U.S. ambition on the global stage, COVID-19, and a climate emergency, it’s easy to see a world careening off the tracks.

The Great Reset Is Actually A Great Purge Against Humanity

In a recent Op-Ed, I had outlined the causes and ramifications of a looming supply chain crisis. Shortfalls in fundamental goods and services, however, are just the surface symptoms of a silent, protracted war against human merit.

Throughout history, the most universal and indispensable asset has been human resource. Civilizations were built on human ingenuity. Yet, despite the 21st century hoopla over smart cities, smart workers and smart futures of every kind, it is ironic that talent shortages persist in nearly every critical sector. In the United States alone, labour productivity recently hit a 40-year low even as unemployment claims dropped. How does one explain this anomaly? Perhaps, the “no jabs no jobs” mandate has crushed worker morale?

Russia’s ‘Gas Pivot’ To China Poses Challenge For Europe

Gazprom, Russia’s giant state-owned energy company, is slated to finalize an agreement in 2022 for a second huge natural gas pipeline running from Siberia to China, marking yet another stage in what energy analysts and Western diplomats say is a fast-evolving gas pivot to Asia by Moscow.

They see the pivot as a geopolitical project and one that could mean trouble for Europe.

Known as Power of Siberia 2, the mega-pipeline traversing Mongolia will be able to deliver 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to China annually. It was given the go-ahead in March by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and when finished it will complement another massive pipeline, Power of Siberia 1, that transports gas from Russia’s Chayandinskoye field to northern China.

2022 Or 2020, Too? (Of The West And Its Self-Annihilation) – Analysis

The power of writing is that the dialogue is not only held with the contemporaries. Writing can reach future generations, too. Great poet Mak says: “when nobody listens, write”. How will we reflect on events of 2020-21 in about 5 or 10 years? How will we explain our indifference, silence and retreat? What will we say to our children?

Back to the pre-Christmas days of 2019, I wrote a short text about the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and our careless joy of unselective deployment of this technology that might irreversibly change social fabrics like never before in history of humankind. Under the title “Future filled with empty choices – Tomorrow (n)ever AI-ies” the text soon after appeared in the Brussels-based New Europe and from there was taken to different outlets all over. Good old pre-Corona times.