They’re mysterious, they’re disruptive, and they’ve picked their side in the war pitting Russia against Ukraine. The hacker collective Anonymous has claimed credit for several cyberattacks that took down Russian government websites and state-backed news outlets in recent days. On Monday, several prominent Russian media services appeared to have been …
Read More »Interview with Hans-Jakob Schindler
In a recent interview with EER, Hans-Jakob Schindler gave his take on the evolution of Al Qaeda and its changing role in the current world of Islamist terrorism. According to the analyst, Al Qaeda was, until 2019, a very hierarchically organized centralized organization, where it had its center in Afghanistan, …
Read More »Europe’s response to Ukraine crisis: More gas, but from elsewhere
Facing the prospect of Putin turning off the gas taps to Europe in tit for tat sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the focus is on finding LNG from “more reliable partners”. EU prime ministers last night adopted the harshest sanctions regime …
Read More »Ukraine-Russia war puts limelight back on bitcoin – and its carbon footprint
Bitcoin prices are climbing once again and while bitcoin mining is likely to come under renewed fire for its energy consumption, this should not prove fatal for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin prices jumped by 13% on Tuesday on the back of new Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. …
Read More »Risks to energy markets as SWIFT ban against Russia goes ahead
All eyes are on Russia’s oil and gas flows as the nation is barred from the international payment system SWIFT. The US, Canada, and a number of EU states announced a new series of sanctions against Russia over the weekend in light of its ongoing attack on Ukraine. The new …
Read More »Germany Can’t Stop Importing Russian Energy: Habeck
Currently, Russia provides Germany with 55 percent of the natural gas, 50 percent of the coal, and 35 percent of the oil consumed by its inhabitants. On Thursday, Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck stated that he is not in favor of banning energy imports from Russia as they are necessary …
Read More »Putin Offers To Cease Attacks If Ukraine Disarms and Disengages From The West
The Kremlin signaled that it is willing to negotiate surrender terms with Ukraine in the midst of ongoing attacks on the country by Russian Forces in a statement by Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov at about 2 pm today. According to Peskov, President Putin is now willing to speak to …
Read More »Israel Can Become a ‘Potential Ally’ if Palestinian Conflict Resolved, Saudi Crown Prince Says
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said he intends to continue ‘detailed talks’ with Iran to reconcile the two parties Israel can become “a potential ally” of Saudi Arabia if the conflict with the Palestinians is resolved, the Saudi state-news agency SPA cited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman …
Read More »Frustration, Rage Could Spur Putin to Make His Nuclear Threat Explicit
‘The thing about Putin is, if he has an instrument, he wants to use it. Why have it if you can’t?,’ a U.S. expert on Russia cautions Most of the world’s attention is naturally focused on the horrific images from the combat zones in Ukraine: bombed-out buildings, dead and wounded …
Read More »U.S. Warns Putin Against Deploying Nuclear Weapons in Belarus
Belarus updated its constitution on Sunday in a referendum to ditch its non-nuclear commitments, which could open the gates for the first nuclear warheads on Belarusian soil since 1991 The United States warned Russia and Belarus at a UN arms control meeting on Thursday not to deploy nuclear arms in …
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