July, 2022

• 29 July

  Why Coal Power is Dying and the Supreme Court Can’t Save It

  

  The U.S. coal industry chalked up a couple of rare wins this summer. First the Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Then President Joe Biden’s climate plan stalled in Congress again. But while some specific threats to the industry …

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• 29 July

  The Enduring Tyranny of Oil

  

  It may seem hard to believe, but only 15 years ago many of us were talking confidently about “peak oil” — the moment of maximum global oil output after which, with world reserves dwindling, its use would begin an irreversible decline. Then along came hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the …

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• 29 July

  Now for the hard part: A guide to implementing NATO’s new Strategic Concept

  

  Last month’s NATO Summit, which featured the release of the Alliance’s new Strategic Concept, was a remarkable success. Thanks to strong leadership by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US President Joe Biden, the Alliance remains united despite an array of new strategic challenges. The concept’s three core tasks—collective defense, crisis …

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• 29 July

  Climbing the escalation ladder in Ukraine: A menu of options for the West

  After making slow but steady gains in eastern Ukraine recently, Russia has inched closer to its recalibrated goal of seizing the entire Donbas region. Even though its military has sustained heavy losses—and while the Kremlin’s current objectives are much smaller than its initial goal of capturing Kyiv and overthrowing the …

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• 29 July

  As Russia and the United States Seek Influence in Africa, Strategic Pitfalls Loom

  

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s four-country Africa swing attracted a great deal of attention in Western media outlets, which framed his trip as a diplomatic campaign intended to prove that the West’s efforts to isolate Russia have obvious limits. In Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Republic of Congo, Lavrov sought …

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• 29 July

  Turkish consulate in Mosul targeted in rocket attack

  

  The Turkish consulate in Mosul was attacked in a rocket attack, causing damage but no casualties, Iraqi and Turkish sources said. The overnight fire in Iraq’s main northern city came after deadly shelling, conducted by the Turkish army, killed nine civilians last week, prompting anti-Turkish protests in cities across Iraq. …

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• 29 July

  What to Expect From a Bolder Xi Jinping

  

  Get Ready for a More Ambitious Chinese Foreign Policy As China prepares for this fall’s 20th Party Congress, the odds grow stronger by the day that Chinese President Xi Jinping will emerge from the meeting having secured a third term in office. This will mark a break with Chinese precedent …

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• 29 July

  France could deliver drones to help Benin battle militants

  France could deliver drones and more sophisticated weapons to Benin to help it tackle a worsening Islamist insurgency that is threatening the region, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday. Macron made the pledge during a joint press conference with Benin’s President Patrice Talon on the second leg of his three-nation …

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• 29 July

  The last ‘Arab Spring’ democracy is dangling by a thread

  Once regarded as the sole democracy to have emerged from the mass protests of the Arab Spring in 2011, Tunisia on Tuesday passed a newly minted constitution that analysts fear could be the final nail in the coffin of its democratic era. With no minimum voter threshold, only 30.5% of …

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• 29 July

  Multiple Crises Erode Faith in Moldova’s Pro-European Govt

  Trust is fading in the pro-Western government’s ability to handle simultaneous crises – which could mean pro-Russian forces regaining power. The future currently looks gloomy for Moldova’s embattled pro-European authorities. As the high hopes pinned on the reformist President, Maia Sandu, fade away, the way seems open for former president …

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