As Russian forces move into Donetsk, policy makers around the world have wondered what the crisis will mean for the future of East-West relations. The rhetoric between the West and Russia has completely deteriorated to near-Cold War levels, with White House Press Secretary Jay Carney giving his vocal support to Ukrainian military action against pro-Russian…

Armed separatist bearing a striking resemblance to Russian forces seized many key buildings in Horlivka, a city in southeastern Ukraine, and one that previously held the distinction of being the last Ukrainian city in Donetsk province to resist the advanced of separatist advanced. The Ukrainian government, which seems to have all but renounced its claim…

As the Russian euphoria from reclaiming Crimea begins to ease, new tensions are emerging. Crimea, for all its historical significance to the borders of old Russian empires, will require a great deal of funds to prop up, according to the Washington Post. The Russian economy is not doing well, with  capital flight rising to nearly…

The recently concluded, though still yet to be decided Afghan elections have been described as clean by one Afghan election official, who nonetheless offered the caveat that the elections, while cleaner and more fair than expected, were still marked by some fraud. The same official said that allegations of fraud should not be employed in…

The preponderance of Russian oil and gas in European markets has complicated and severely reduced the impact of European and American threats of retaliation for Russian aggression within Ukraine. Several European countries currently depend wholly on Russia for its supplies of gas, and some have even cautioned the European Union that rash decision making could…

Conflicting reports place either Abdullah Abdullah or Ashraf Ghani taking the lead in the historic Afghan elections. The early results have prompted claims of fraud by opponents, although the wait for the official end of the vote-counting period on April 24 means accurate predictions and results are still far off. With the field packed with…

Recent weeks have seen decreased hopes that the Kashagan oil field will begin producing in the near future. Sources close to the project stated today that the supergiant will be shut down for at least two years waiting for the construction of specialty pipelines that can accommodate toxic H2S fumes and associated corrosion. This is…

Nearly 60% of Afghanistan’s populace turned out to vote in presidential elections held this past Saturday in Afghanistan. The effort has been described as courageous and indicative of a strong desire to move Afghan society forward, as 7 of Afghanistan’s 12 million voted despite threats of violent retribution from Taliban militants. Due to the country’s…

The long-awaited Afghan presidential election occurs tomorrow, April 5. Violence has been steadily increasing since the beginning of campaign season in January, with two AP journalists shot yesterday in Khost. Eastern Afghanistan has seen the largest spike in campaign-related violence, especially with the continued presence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban (benefitting from their temporary cease-fire with Islamabad…

The 36th Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea commenced on Wednesday. The annual meeting, which convened in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, has been attended by delegations from Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and Kazakhstan, as well the host country. Debates have traditionally revolved around the legal rights to the strategically crucial Caspian, though discussions this year…