Is this really our conflict?

There isn’t one war, the West versus Isis. Not even after last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris. There are layers of Middle Eastern conflicts, all linked to international intervention, of which the most intractable are heightened by the Sunni-Shia divide.

The Iranian revolution of 1979 established the world’s first officially Islamic regime, but being exclusively Shia, it resurrected memories of the age-old conflict between Sunni and Shia. On coming to power, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini demanded that the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina be managed collectively. In Saudi Arabia this demand was seen as an intolerable challenge. (A young Sunni jihadist, Khaled Kelkal, involved in bombings in France in 1995, said he thought “Shiism was invented by the Jews to divide Islam” (1).) Violence against Shia by Saudi Wahhabis is nothing new: in 1802 the sack of Karbala (now in Iraq) led to the destruction of Shia shrines and tombs including that of the Prophet’s son-in-law Hussein, and the killing of many of the city’s inhabitants.

Countering terrorism financing through anti-money laundering measures

It is time for re-regulation; Europe is strengthening its AML/CFT measures in order to lower current terrorist financing (TF) risks.

“Money is the lifeblood of terrorist operations,” declared George Bush after the 9/11 attacks.

Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production

This research discovers that G20 country governments’ support to fossil fuel production marries bad economics with potentially disastrous consequences for climate change. In effect, governments are propping up the production of oil, gas and coal, much of which cannot be used if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change.

The report Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production documents, for the first time, the scale and structure of fossil fuel production subsidies in the G20 countries. The evidence points to a publicly financed bailout for some of the world’s largest, most carbon-intensive and polluting companies.

This Could Become The Most Promising Arctic Oil Basin

I described last month how one country on the planet recently bucked the trend of declining petroleum drilling: Ireland, which saw a record number of bids for offshore acreage in November. 

And this week, one of the neighbors of that rising oil and gas hotspot turned in another strong bid round.

Ενταση σε συγκέντρωση διαμαρτυρίας κατά του Εντι Ράμα

Ογκώδη και μαχητική συγκέντρωση διαμαρτυρίας κατά της κυβέρνησης του σοσιαλιστή πρωθυπουργού Εντι Ράμα πραγματοποίησε χθες η αντιπολίτευση στα Τίρανα, με την ευκαιρία των 25 χρονών από την κατάρρευση του κομμουνιστικού καθεστώτος.

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Διαδηλωτές της αντιπολίτευσης προσπαθούν να καταστρέψουν ένα μπούνκερ που είχε τοποθετηθεί ως καλλιτεχνική εγκατάσταση έξω από το υπουργείο Εσωτερικών στα Τίρανα.

Η συγκέντρωση, που οργανώθηκε από το Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα, το μεγαλύτερο κόμμα της αντιπολίτευσης, σημαδεύτηκε από επιθέσεις διαδηλωτών σε υπουργεία και την καταστροφή ενός υπό κατασκευήν μπούνκερ που θα συμβόλιζε τις αγριότητες του καθεστώτος Χότζα. Οι διαδηλωτές έσπασαν τζάμια και προκάλεσαν φθορές σε κτίρια υπουργείων, δίχως πάντως τα επεισόδια να γενικευθούν. Το Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα ζητάει την απομάκρυνση της κυβέρνησης, την οποία κατηγορεί για διαφθορά, ενώ θεωρεί «βία κατά των πολιτών» τα σκληρά μέτρα κατά της φοροδιαφυγής που έχει λάβει και τα οποία προβλέπουν φυλάκιση μέχρι και πέντε ετών σε όσους δεν κόβουν αποδείξεις.

Does the United States Have a Gun Problem or a Terrorism Problem?

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In  the wake of the San Bernardino attack, the panel raises questions about how the U.S. government handles its own national security and the growing imbalance between real threats and perceived ones. Is gun control the real problem? Or has the U.S. government been too lax in its monitoring of terrorist activity? And can the American people trust that the U.S. Congress has its priorities in place when it comes to keeping them safe?

Turkey’s Hapless Opposition

The results of Turkey’s stunning Nov. 1 election, which marked a remarkable comeback for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), came as a huge surprise to Turks and foreign observers alike. In the previous elections, held in June, the AKP lost its majority for the first time since 2002, and the president’s opponents had hoped that his ambitions would be curtailed. None of Turkey’s 23 polling companies came even close to predicting the voters’ swing back to the AKP, which gained nearly 9 percent (approximately 4.8 million votes) and 59 more seats in parliament. This outcome has inevitably invited a closer examination of the dismal state of Turkey’s opposition parties.

MILLSTONE OR MULTIPLIER? EU FOREIGN POLICY

EU foreign policy co-operation gives the UK a chance to persuade 27 other countries to support British aims – but Britain’s success depends on the UK showing more interest.

Since the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in 1992, successive British governments have seen CFSP as an important tool to achieve national foreign policy goals. Were they right, or would Britain’s foreign policy be more effective outside the EU? One way to judge is to compare some of the priority objectives of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) with the EU’s foreign policy goals, for example on Iran, Russia, Somalia and international organisations.

How clean is clean coal?

The coal industry argues that more efficient and less polluting ‘advanced coal’ will help reduce carbon emissions and other pollution. What we can’t forget, ahead of next week's World Coal Association meeting and OECD talks on coal policy, is that there are cheaper and cleaner options.

Burning coal generates about 40% of fossil fuel emissions. Current G7 and Chinese plants, alongside a dramatic expansion of coal power planned in the developing world, stand to blow our carbon budget.

BIG DATA, BIG BROTHER? HOW TO SECURE EUROPEANS' SAFETY AND PRIVACY

In the wake of the Paris attacks and the renewed threat to Europe’s security, Camino Mortera-Martinez highlights a difficult trade-off for the EU: how to tackle cross-border crime without invading citizens’ right to privacy.

In a new policy brief: "Big data, Big Brother? How to secure Europeans’ safety and privacy", Mortera-Martinez urges the EU to: