Russia may soon acquire ballistic missiles from Iran to replenish its dwindling stockpile, sustain strikes on critical Ukrainian targets and initiate a strategic bombing campaign to wear down Ukrainian resistance. The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources, Iran is preparing to send a first shipment of Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar short-range ballistic missiles to Russia with […]Continue Reading
Tracing the origins of the disastrous agricultural policy that was one of the factors that led to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster as president and downfall of the Sri Lankan economy, we can see his dynamism being displayed when he promised a “revolution” in fertilizer use in his election manifesto. But the fact is that this was […]Continue Reading
The key geopolitical protagonists in Ukraine are likely to draw disparate conclusions from the conflict. That is true whether their participation entails direct support, proxy involvement or a mix of the two. For the West, particularly NATO, Ukraine is a lesson in unity, shared values, collective security and resistance to aggression. It is also seen […]Continue Reading
The warning lights are blinking on the dashboard of the world economy. Germany has slashed its economic outlook for the next two years, predicting negative growth in 2022. Britain is also forecasting contractions as it struggles to stay on top of skyrocketing bond yields. Inflation in the US is at a four-decade high, and the […]Continue Reading
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen thought that by bringing charges of defamation against me in Paris he could silence criticism of his regime from abroad. The venture has had the opposite effect, with the court rejecting his claims on October 10. The prime minister brought the case against me in response to my public statements […]Continue Reading
Discoveries in the fields of human origins, paleoanthropology, cognitive science, and behavioral biology have accelerated in the past few decades. We occasionally bump into news reports that new findings have revolutionary implications for how humanity lives today, but the information for the most part is still packed obscurely in the worlds of science and academia. […]Continue Reading
On October 7, the US Department of Commerce expanded licensing requirements for exports of advanced semiconductors and the equipment that’s used to make them to cover all shipments to China and not just shipments to particular companies. The share prices of companies expected to be affected had already dropped, discounting previously announced sanctions and the […]Continue Reading
October 16 marks 60 years since the Cuban missile crisis – the 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union widely regarded as the closest we ever came to global nuclear war. On this anniversary, as we veer terrifyingly close to the brink of Armageddon once again, we should look to that crisis […]Continue Reading
Nippon Steel and ArcelorMittal, two of the world’s largest steel companies, have turned their attention to India and Thailand amid weakening demand in Japan and the energy crisis in Europe. The ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India joint venture (AM/NS India) has announced two new initiatives to expand operations in India: New construction and capacity expansion of […]Continue Reading
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen faces five security challenges that will test the depth of her political capital and possibly pit Taiwan’s military concerns against popular ones. These challenges include increasing the country’s self-sufficiency in weapons, strengthening popular support for the military, financing the defense budget and maintaining the will to fight through a credible defense […]Continue Reading