November 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The Biden administration has made it clear to Iraq’s new prime minister that it will not work with ministers and senior officials who are affiliated with Shiite militias the U.S. has designated as terrorist organizations, two sources briefed on the issue told me. Why it matters: Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became the …
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November 18, 2022 Eurasia, Middle Orient, Turkey
Turkey’s skies remain open to Russian airlines and its doors remain open to hundreds of thousands of Russians and their money. Turkey’s exports to Russia are surging. Russian cash helped to plug the growing hole in Turkey’s foreign currency reserves — and at a time when Erdogan needs foreign money …
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November 18, 2022 Eurasia
The executives running the bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX, may have broken speed records for how fast they could spend other people’s money. They just weren’t any good at managing it on behalf of their investors or safeguarding it for their crypto exchange customers.
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November 18, 2022 Eurasia, South East Asia
At the recent Commonwealth for Independent States (CIS) summit held on October 14 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon expressed previously inconceivable remarks. His public admonishment of Russian President Vladimir Putin to treat Central Asian states with more respect showed the growing confidence of Central Asian leaders amid Russia’s …
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November 18, 2022 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
By strengthening alternative transit corridors, Moscow hopes to counter tightening Western economic sanctions and transit restrictions adopted in response to Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine. One of the most important prospects for Russia in this regard is to strengthen shipping and transit cooperation with Iran in the Caspian Sea. To …
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November 18, 2022 Eurasia
How the Cuban Missile Crisis Haunts the Kremlin Sixty years ago, the White House and the Kremlin peacefully resolved the most dangerous nuclear crisis of the modern era. Neither superpower had wanted the dispute over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba to end in war, but both sides threatened …
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November 18, 2022 Eurasia
The Long-Term Costs of the Ukraine War Will Be Staggering After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Russian economy seemed destined for a nosedive. International sanctions threatened to strangle the economy, leading to a plunge in the value of the ruble and Russian financial markets. Everyday Russians appeared poised …
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November 17, 2022 Eurasia, South East Asia
Xi Jinping Brings Back Marxism In 1978, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping announced that his country would make a break with the past. After decades of political purges, economic autarky, and suffocating social control under Mao Zedong, Deng began stabilizing Chinese politics, removing bans on private enterprise and foreign investment and …
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November 17, 2022 Eurasia
How the Cuban Missile Crisis Haunts the Kremlin Sixty years ago, the White House and the Kremlin peacefully resolved the most dangerous nuclear crisis of the modern era. Neither superpower had wanted the dispute over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba to end in war, but both sides threatened …
Read More »
November 17, 2022 Eurasia, Iran, Middle Orient
Tehran vows to continue targeting Iraq’s Kurdistan region until the Iranian Kurdish opposition leave the area permanently. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has close links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), announced today that the attacks on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan will continue until these groups …
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