Iran Drops Dollar As Congress Threatens More Sanctions

The clock is ticking on the Iranian nuclear deal, but it may all be for naught. A meddling Congress aside, Iran appears to lack faith in US President Barack Obama’s ability to ease long-standing sanctions and is cutting what ties it can.According to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, Iran no longer uses the US dollar in trade with foreign countries. Instead, Iran employs other currencies like the Chinese yuan, euro, Turkish lira, and Russian ruble, explained Deputy Head of the Central Bank of Iran Gholamali Kamyab.

In November, Iran and six world powers – the United States, Great Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia – agreed on a six-month preemptive deal to restrict Iran’s nuclear program. Per the terms of the arrangement – which entered into effect on January 20th – Iran will limit its uranium enrichment to peaceful levels and reduce its stockpile of already enriched uranium. Of course, a long-term agreement has yet to be made, though Obama has pledged a peaceful solution – and more sanctions if Iran fails to cooperate.

The New Drivers of Europe's Geopolitics

For the past two weeks, I have focused on the growing fragmentation of Europe. Two weeks ago, the murders in Paris prompted me to write about the fault line between Europe and the Islamic world. Last week, I wrote about the nationalism that is rising in individual European countries after the European Central Bank was forced to allow national banks to participate in quantitative easing so European nations wouldn't be forced to bear the debt of other nations.

This is the week to speak of the political and social fragmentation within European nations and its impact on Europe as a whole. The coalition of the Radical Left party, known as Syriza, has scored a major victory in Greece. Now the party is forming a ruling coalition and overwhelming the traditional mainstream parties. It is drawing along other left-wing and right-wing parties that are united only in their resistance to the EU's insistence that austerity is the solution to the ongoing economic crisis that began in 2008.

What Today’s Bloody Attack in Tripoli Means for Libya

Today a group of four gunmen attacked a hotel in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Media outlets are reporting that at least five foreigners (including one U.S. citizen) and three local guards have been killed. The attackers, wearing bulletproof vests and combat gear, detonated two car bombs outside the hotel before entering the building. At one point the gunmen took several hostages, who were later released unharmed. One of the attackers is said to have detonated an explosive vest he was wearing on the hotel’s 21st floor. (The photo above shows security forces rushing to theCorinthia Hotel shortly after the shooting began.)

After Paris: What’s next for the EU’s counter-terrorism policy?

In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, both national governments and the European Union have announced that they will adopt new laws to combat terrorism. On January 29-30th the justice and interior ministers of the 28 member-states will hold an informal meeting in Riga to discuss what measures the EU should take. Rather than focusing on radical initiatives like the establishment of a European CIA, or the re-imposition of border controls, they should take some modest but important steps. In particular, they should overcome their differences on several key pieces of legislation which have been under discussion for some time and agree to use some powerful instruments that are already at their disposal. 



Anti-terror legislation in the EU has traditionally evolved in response to events: urgent measures, like the European Arrest Warrant and the setting up of Eurojust (the Union’s agency for judicial co-operation) were taken after the 9/11 attacks. Then in the wake of the Madrid and London bombings, in 2005, the EU adopted its first-ever counter-terrorism strategy. That was followed in 2006 by the so-called data retention directive, which required communication providers to store data about their customers for up to two years. However the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently declared this directive void, stating that its provisions violated EU rights of privacy and data protection.

Διφορούμενες πολιτικές: Η απειλή τού λαϊκισμού στην φιλελεύθερη δημοκρατία

Διαδηλωτής έξω από το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο στις 11 Απριλίου 2013. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Από τη ρωμαϊκή εποχή, σχεδόν κάθε είδος κυβέρνησης που κάνει ανταγωνιστικές εκλογές έχει βιώσει κάποια μορφή λαϊκισμού - κάποια προσπάθεια φιλόδοξων πολιτικών να κινητοποιήσουν τις μάζες απέναντι σε ένα κατεστημένο που απεικονίζουν ως διεφθαρμένο ή ιδιοτελές. Από τον Τιβέριο Γράκχο και τους populares τής ρωμαϊκής Συγκλήτου, μέχρι τους υπέρμαχους του popolo στον 16ο αιώνα τής Φλωρεντίας τού Μακιαβέλι, μέχρι τους Ιακωβίνους στο Παρίσι στα τέλη τού 18ου αιώνα, ως τους Τζακσονικούς Δημοκρατικούς που εισέβαλαν στην Ουάσινγκτον του 19ου αιώνα – όλοι βάσισαν τις προσπάθειές τους στην μαζική κινητοποίηση απευθυνόμενοι στην απλοϊκότητα και την αγαθοσύνη των απλών ανθρώπων. Μέχρι τα μέσα τού 20ού αιώνα, ο λαϊκισμός είχε γίνει ένα κοινό χαρακτηριστικό τής δημοκρατίας.

Drought Forcing Brazil To Turn To Gas

Brazil is dealing with one of its worst droughts in years, causing the city of Sao Paulo to suffer through rolling blackouts.

Blistering heat and scant rainfall have depleted reserves at Brazil’s hydroelectric plants, leaving power generation at precariously low levels. On January 19, Brazil’s national grid operator ONS cut power to several major Brazilian cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Commuters on the subway in Sao Paulo even had to disembark from a train and walk along the rails after power to parts of the subway system went out.

To Beat China, Be China: For years, economists have argued that the Indian economy should grow faster than China’s. Is it finally on track to do so?

 

In 2003, MIT’s Yasheng Huang and Tarun Khanna of Harvard Business School argued in Foreign Policy that India would eventually overtake China. It was a case of fundamentals: Driven by fickle and unreliable foreign investment and technology, the Chinese economy would peter out while India, buoyed by more reliable drivers such as domestic savings and entrepreneurship, would one day thrive — and at China’s expense. Huang and Khanna’s controversial argument made a big splash at the time. To many then and now, suggesting that India could overtake China seemed outlandish.

Russia's Plans for Arctic Supremacy

Elements from the Russian Army's Guards Engineer Brigade and Engineer Camouflage Regiment train in Arctic conditions, Jan. 19, 2011. (RIA Novosti/Wikimedia)

Although the crisis in Ukraine continues to focus attention on Russia's western border, Moscow is seeking to exploit a more lucrative prize along its vast northern frontage: the Arctic Circle. Melting ice has opened up new transit routes and revealed previously inaccessible oil and mineral deposits. Facing a year of harsh economic constraints, securing exploitable energy reserves remains a top priority for Moscow. The planned militarization of the Arctic is already underway, and funding is secured through 2015 (the Ministry of Defense was the only Kremlin ministry not to be curtailed in the most recent budget.) With Russia aiming to consolidate its strength by the end of the year, surrounding countries are already reassessing their positions in the face of an overwhelming regional force. 

Η ενεργειακή ασφάλεια της Βουλγαρίας

Υπάρχει ένα θέμα με τις περιφέρειες. Είναι είτε ειρηνικές και επομένως αγνοούνται ή είναι ασταθείς και δύσκολες (και επομένως έχουν μεγαλύτερη πιθανότητα να τους πάρουν σοβαρά). Διπλωμάτες και αναλυτές περνάνε τον χρόνο τους προσπαθώντας να αποτρέψουν τις πρώτες από το να φτάσουν στην κατάσταση των δεύτερων. Αλλά απέτυχαν στην ανατολική γειτονιά της ΕΕ. Η ρωσική εμμονή με σφαίρες επιρροής άλλαξε δραματικά την κατάσταση στην ανατολική και νοτιοανατολική περιφέρεια της Ευρώπης.



Η στασιμότητα των οικονομιών και οι πολιτικές ίντριγκες στα δυτικά βαλκάνια, έχουν δημιουργήσει γόνιμο έδαφος για την διασπαστική επιρροή της Ρωσίας. Και η δύναμη της έλξης της ΕΕ και η ικανότητά της να συναγωνιστεί με την Μόσχα, είναι πολύ λιγότερο ισχυρή από ό,τι στο παρελθόν.

Προσπάθειες της Aργεντινής να εξευμενίσει το Ιράν

Τη θεωρία της αυτοκτονίας του εισαγγελέα Αλμπέρτο Νισμάν διαψεύδει και η ίδια η πρόεδρος Κριστίνα Κίρχνερ, η οποία σε χθεσινή της δημοσίευση στο Facebook εκτιμά ότι ο Νισμάν δολοφονήθηκε στο πλαίσιο «επιχείρησης» με στόχο την εμπλοκή της κυβέρνησής της στη συγκάλυψη της βομβιστικής επίθεση του 1994 εναντίον εβραϊκού πολιτιστικού κέντρου με 84 νεκρούς και 300 τραυματίες.

Στο μεταξύ, υποκλαπείσες επικοινωνίες μεταξύ των κυβερνήσεων του Ιράν και της Αργεντινής αποκαλύπτουν ιστορία μυστικών συνομιλιών, με στόχο την επίτευξη συμφωνίας για την αγορά πετρελαίου από την Αργεντινή, σε αντάλλαγμα της προσφοράς ασυλίας σε Ιρανούς αξιωματούχους για την επίθεση του 1994.