According to an investigative report by American officials, the blackout in Ukraine (which left almost a quarter of a million people without power) that occurred on December 23, 2015, may well have been the result of cyber-terrorism. This kind of highly complex attack could, theoretically, occur in the US. As a result, the Obama Administration…
The UK recently announced that they will hold a referendum on June 23rd to decide if they will stay in or depart from the European Union.[1] As the world scuttles to the bleachers to watch the show and place bets, the Catalonian region of Spain was only recently able to elect a Prime Minister and…
![A Yemeni man picks his way through rubble [Photo Credit: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]](../../wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Yemen-2-220x126.jpg)
Clashes between Houthi rebels, government forces, a Saudi-led military coalition, and Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula have turned Yemen into a living a war zone. Despite this, most headlines today center around conflict in Iraq and Syria, its role as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the ongoing struggle between Turkey and…
In light of the Syrian Civil War, the Refugee Crisis it created, and the chaos in the Ukraine, the European Debt Crisis has fallen off the public radar. Greece, although receiving the lion’s share of public criticism, is far from the only country in a dangerous economic situation, and Italy will be the next domino…
Amidst the conflict in Syria, fighting in eastern Ukraine between the government and separatist forces in the region has received relatively little media coverage. However, in the last few weeks, artillery shelling, use of landmines, and mortar fire has been employed by both sides, which has effectively ended the truce agreed upon last summer. According…
![Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika [Photo Credit: Sidali Djarboub/AP]](../../wp-content/uploads/2016/02/algeria-1-220x126.jpg)
After promising constitutional reform in the wake of the Arab Spring, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika put forward draft constitutional articles last week aimed at bolstering the country’s democratic institutions. On face value, the changes seem promising: a two-term limit for the presidency, requiring parliamentary approval for the president’s selection of a Prime Minister, and reducing…
Earlier this week, 50 civilians were killed in airstrikes at a rebel-held towns in Syria. According to an article published by Reuters, the locals have blamed Russia for the airstrikes, saying that the “planes deployed were more numerous and the munitions more powerful than the Syrian military typically used.” However, Putin has denied that any…
On February 5th, a Russian Su-34 “Fullback” fighter-bomber allegedly crossed into Turkey’s sovereign airspace. In light of the controversy surrounding Turkey’s decision to shoot down a similar Russian jet that crossed into its borders (for roughly 20 seconds) last November, Putin and his armed forces were well aware of the heightened tensions between the two…
A few weeks ago, Turkish forces shot down a Russian plane that allegedly crossed into the country’s air space. President Putin has maintained that Turkey never warned Russia that the jet was entering sovereign territory or that it was prepared to use military force to take down the aircraft. However, U.S. intelligence sources confirmed that…
![An Israeli police officer detains a Palestinian protester in East Jerusalem [Photo Credit: Reuters/Ammar Awad]](../../wp-content/uploads/2015/11/pic2-220x126.jpg)
The recent clashes in Israel and Palestine have sparked a debate as to whether the increased violence constitutes a third intifada. The question is an intriguing one; though political figures or activists might label the incidents as such, there is no academic definition of what constitutes an intifada, making a clear delineation difficult. Claims about…