Recent Posts

Can Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections Bring Change?

Despite new electoral system and process, elections may deliver far more modest outcomes than the people demand and need. On October 10, Iraq will hold national parliamentary elections, the fifth national elections since Iraq adopted its 2005 constitution. And despite waning expectations about what these elections might accomplish, they remain …

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LUKOIL Ups Stake In Shah Deniz Project In Caspian Sea

PJSC LUKOIL announced Thursday the conclusion of an agreement on acquiring 15.5% interest in the Shah Deniz natural gas project in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea from PETRONAS. The value of the transaction will amount to $2.25 billion, and the completion is subject to fulfilment of conditions precedent, …

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Socialism, Free Enterprise, and the Common Good

In chapter 21 of St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus proposes a moral dilemma in the form of a parable: A man asks his two sons to go to work for him in his vineyard. The first son declines, but later ends up going. The second son tells his father he will …

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The Middle East Is No Longer A Top US Priority – OpEd

Where the US goes, much of the Western world follows – willingly or reluctantly, depending on circumstances. From the first days of his presidency Joe Biden started implying that the Middle East did not feature among his top concerns. As a consequence the region has been sinking down the policy …

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