Submitted by Damir Kaletovc via OilPrice.com,
Libya’s oil production problems extend far beyond whether the forces of Tripoli or Benghazi secure ultimate control over the country: Clan-based militias are running their own smuggling operations, and their mafia reach is said to extend as far as the Coast Guard - and even into Europe.
The Russian Investigative Committee says it has received “irrefutable” evidence that armed forces in Kiev have been using weapons of mass destruction against civilians in eastern Ukraine. The investigators say they have obtained proof that Ukrainian military used missiles equipped with high-explosive fragmentation and cluster charges against a number of settlements.
Submitted by George Friedman via MauldinEconomics.com,
Donald Trump deeply upset the Europeans when he raised the possibility that NATO is obsolete and that the European Union is failing.
But this isn’t the first time these issues have been discussed. I wrote about it last year, and the conversation has only continued.
What Trump has done is simply bring into the open the question of Europe’s relationship with the US.
The missions and motives of NATO and the EU
North Korea said it successfully test-fired a new type of medium- to long-range ballistic missile that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the country's state-run media said Monday. The North Korean missile flew over 500 kilometers, landing in the sea and stirring up world leaders, with the US rushing to reassure its allies South Korea and Japan.
In a stark flashback to the events that led to Zimbabwe's terminal collapse into banana republic status, as well as unleashing hyperinflation and economic devastation, on Thursday South African President Jacob Zuma pledged to break up white ownership of business and land to reduce inequality, in a State of the Nation address which as the WSJ reports was disrupted by a fistfight, walkouts and a release of pepper spray in the parliamentary chamber. It appears South Africa is not fond of implementing "Rule 19."