The question is not simply how much we spend on defence, but what we understand defence and security to mean, says SIMON BRIGNELL
Central banks as weapons: how the West learned from the eurozone crisis
Targeting of Russia's basic financial infrastructure is already proving effective — but this is a weapon honed in Europe over the last decade of crisis, writes JAMES MEADWAY
Given the recent rejection of peace proposals by Israel the world must provide an immediate and resolute response to force accountability on Gaza, argues RAMZY BAROUD
MARK SEDDON tries to cool off in the countryside to avoid the heatwaves but the greed and incompetence of the privatised water industry is now at boiling point
The disputed election of a far-right president, who is also a US citizen, signals further consolidation of Washington’s regional power and represents a threat to the country’s democracy and sovereignty, writes WT WHITNEY JNR
by Her Excellency Ismara Mercedes Vargas Walter, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the United Kingdom
DR STEPHEN WILKINSON assesses the life and legacy of a revolutionary giant
SCENES from Moscow and other Russian cities over the last 24 hours suggest the initial stages of a bank run, whilst the rouble fell almost 40 per cent in early trading as East Asian markets have opened. This was the intended result of the economic sanctions announced by European powers, Canada and the US, subsequently joined by Japan, over the weekend.
The sanctions are measures of an unusually severe degree, threatening potential economic devastation, but the major mechanism they use have been road-tested over the last decade of economic crisis and disorder.
The economic blow from central bank sanctions on Russia will remain exceptionally severe. Bank of Russia will likely find that capital controls and dramatic interest rate hikes are what it relies on to try and defend the rouble and thus its banking system.
Oligarchs and messaging systems
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