The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed Wednesday to cut oil production, ministers said, in a surprise move aimed at boosting persistently weak crude prices. The news triggered an immediate spike of more than 5 percent in crude prices, as markets had expected the Algiers meeting to end without agreement. In London benchmark Brent North Sea crude for November… Read more »
India said on Thursday it had conducted “surgical strikes” on suspected militants preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-ruled Kashmir, making its first direct military response to an attack on an army base it blames on Pakistan. The cross-border action inflicted “significant casualties”, the Indian army’s head of operations told reporters in New Delhi. It was not immediately clear whether they involved… Read more »
Pakistan on Friday “completely rejected” India’s claim to have sent troops across its disputed border in Kashmir to kill suspected militants, as India evacuated villages near the frontier amid concerns about a military escalation. In a rare public announcement of such a raid, India said it had carried out “surgical strikes” on Thursday, sending special forces to kill men preparing… Read more »
Opposition politicians and activists in Tajikistan have accused the government of orchestrating lynch mob-style attacks on their families as part of a broader crackdown on dissent by President Imomali Rakhmon. The Dushanbe government has denied directing the attacks and said it would investigate them. Tajik authorities last year outlawed the opposition group, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), and… Read more »
Security challenges emanating from neighbouring Afghanistan may lead Turkmenistan to cooperate more closely with other regional allies, according to a leading Central Asia expert. Fabio Indeo, a specialist in Central Asian geopolitics and a research fellow at the Centre for Energy Governance and Security at Hanyang University in Seoul, spoke to IWPR about Turkmenistan’s perspective on regional security. The most… Read more »
When Kyrgyzstan entered the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) last August, it was supposed to usher in a new era of economic cooperation. Membership of the bloc, which includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakstan, brings free movement of goods, services and labour, largely without taxation and customs duties. But Kyrgyzstan’s integration has not been straightforward, particularly when it comes to trade… Read more »
In the article “Sri Lanka’s Troubling Turn”, the US contemplates whether or not to take action against the human rights violations that took place in their civil war with the Tamil Tigers. This sparked my attention because I am concerned about the country and where its allies may fall, if the US continues to investigate and persecute on these crimes.
For my first analysis post, I said that the U.S. needed to increase our military presence in Afghanistan in order to combat the Taliban and train more Afghan soldiers. I still support this stance but defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan will require more than simply sending in more troops. First and foremost is the sorry state of the Afghan forces… Read more »