Trump deploys more US forces in Syria without congressional approval to counter growing Iranian influence in the area

While we saw several small-scale deployments of U.S. forces on the ground in Syria under Obama, Trump has recently deployed several detachments of U.S. forces into the Syrian conflict without approval from the Syrian government or, more importantly without congressional approval. Making the move, technically illegal, it becomes important to find out exactly what and why…

Trumps reversal of Obama’s climate energy directly enriches Putin’s inner circle at the cost of the American environment

Trump to sign order undoing the Paris agreement, thereby undoing the Obama climate change policies President Donalt J. Trump has signed another controversial executive order undoing the Paris agreement rules aimet at curbing climate change. The order, titled the Energy Independence Executive Order (EIEO) scraps over a half dozen measures enacted since the Paris agreement, aimed at…

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for 15 days and fined 20,000 roubles

After organising the protests across Russia on Sunday, Alexei Navalny had his court case heard yesterday. The court issued a verdict sentencing him to 15 days in prison and fining him 20,000 roubles, after being arrested on his way to the protests in Moscow on Sunday. Navalny tweeted from the courtroom stating that "A time…

What have been the consequences of the Russian anti-corruption protests for Putin?

The protests all across Russian on sunday led to hundreds of arrests including a prominent opposition figure, for participation in unauthorized protests, according to state media and a human rights group. These protests come in the wake of the killing of a vocal Putin critic in Ukraine. The protests were in response to a report released by Alexey…

[Update] Russian crackdown on anti-corruption protests

The United States has officially denounced the arrest of hundreds of protesters in Russia. In an official statement the arrests were called "an insult to democratic values." In an update on the story about the Russian protests in dozens of Russian cities yesterday, the US has denounced the arrests of hundreds in Moscow alone. In our previous…

Russian crackdown on anti-corruption protests following $1 billion dollar charity scheme by Prime Minister and former President

Hundres of people arrested in a crackdown in Russia on anti-corruption protests Sunday. Among those arrested was British journalist for The Guardian Alec Lugn.

Bulgarian election; Socialists, Nationalist and Turks vs. Russian, Turkish and Populist influences

In Bulgaria a snap parliamentary election sees the centre-right GERB party challenged by the socialist BSP. The election was triggered by Rumen Radev's winning presidential bid last November, seeing a Socialist-backed candidate hold the office of president. The thrid election in four years shows the fragility of the standing coalition and indicates the probable fragility…