Though the results are far from finalized, already tallied votes indicate that Abdullah Abduallah could prevail in the preliminary round of Afghan elections. More than half of all the votes cast have yet to be counted, and a run-off is still likely, but Abdullah has widened his lead over his closest rival, Ashraf Ghani by…

The Toktogul hydroelectric power plant in Kyrgyzstan has reported low water levels. The plant is one of the largest in Central Asia and currently dams the Naryn River, and is part of the Naryn-Sry Darya cascade. Generating over 1,200 MW of power a day, it is the largest power plant in Kyrgyzstan and is one…

Iran is moving faster than expected to comply with the November nuclear deal, the IAEA reported yesterday. Iran has apparently diluted half of its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium to lower levels. If true, the report means that Iran has cut 75% of its stockpile since January, when it stood at just above 200 kilograms.…

Military operations designed to regain lost territory in eastern Ukraine failed on Wednesday. The much-publicized effort had seen Ukraine send columns of armored vehicles to cities that had been overtaken by pro-Russia separatist forces, but has thus far been an abject failure. Reported emerged that one column of armored vehicles were abandoned and subsequently seized…

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…