In Other News: Russian Aggression, Cuba without the Castros & More – April 23, 2021
April 23, 2021 Russia appears to be seeking out a middle ground between overt aggression and plausible deniability in its western-facing foreign policy, likely in response to the U.S. ratcheting up the rhetoric around and response to Kremlin transgressions in the U.S., UK, and elsewhere. President Putin warned the U.S. and other Western countries in […]
In Other News: Sanctions on Russia, Iran Nuclear Deal & More – April 16, 2021
April 16, 2021 The Biden Administration imposed a robust round of sanctions against Russia for a litany of transgressions, targeting 32 entities and individuals involved in disinformation, Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election, and Russia’s occupation of Crimea. The sanctions aim to stifle lending to the Russian government, barring U.S. financial institutions from the […]
In Other News: Potential Lifting of Sanctions on Iran, China Flexing Maritime Muscle & More – April 9, 2021
April 9, 2021 The U.S. has announced that it is prepared to lift some sanctions on Iran in coordination with steps by Tehran to come back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal’s stipulations on uranium enrichment. The announcements are the result of bilateral communications, carried out via intermediaries, at meetings this week in Vienna […]
In Other News: China's Lack of Transparency, Brazil's Bolsonaro & More – April 2, 2021
April 2, 2021 China’s refusal to provide earlier, more transparent access to data to World Health Organization investigators appears to be strengthening suspicions that Covid-19 was the result of a leak from a Chinese lab, rather than transmission from animal to human in a market, as both China and the WHO have asserted. The Director […]
In Other News: US-China Bilateral Meeting, Suez Canal Traffic & More – March 26, 2021
March 26, 2021 A contentious start to a bilateral U.S.-China meeting in Alaska, in which senior diplomats from both sides exchanged heated words in full view of the press, has sparked concerns that Washington and Beijing are heading inexorably toward conflict. Just days later, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on NATO to join […]
In Other News: Russia Threats, Mexico & More – March 19, 2021
March 19, 2021 A declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence identifies Russian President Vladimir Putin as having authorized a state-sponsored campaign to influence the outcome of U.S. presidential elections in November 2020. According to the assessment, Russia’s efforts included covert operations to influence people close to then-president Trump to spread […]
In Other News: Cyberattacks, Latin American Unrest & More – March 11, 2021
March 11, 2021 Two high-profile cyberattacks on U.S. entities made headlines this week – one by China and one by “hacktivists – exposing widespread vulnerabilities in U.S. cyber infrastructure. News reports surfaced last weekend of a targeted Chinese cyberattack on tens of thousands of servers using Microsoft Exchange, as well as an indiscriminate, automated second […]
In Other News: US Sanctions Russia, US-Mexico Relations & More – March 4, 2021
March 4, 2021 The Biden administration has made good on threats of new sanctions on Russia over the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, designating seven individual Russian officials and more than 12 government entities. These include the head of Russia’s federal security service, the head of the country’s prison system, the Russian […]
In Other News: Sanctions on Russia, Brazil Shares Slide & More – February 25, 2021
February 25, 2021 The U.S. and EU are coordinating new sanctions on Russia for the poisoning and imprisonment of political dissident Alexey Navalny, and the U.S. is also planning sanctions related to the SolarWinds hack and other recent cyber incidents traced back to Moscow. The EU sanctions, set to take effect sometime next week, entail […]
In Other News: US Charges North Koreans, US Accuses Russia of SolarWinds Hack & More – February 18, 2021
February 18, 2021 The Justice Department has charged three North Koreans in connection with some of the highest-profile cyberattacks in recent history, including the Sony hack, the theft of more than $80 million from Bangladesh’s central bank, and the WannaCry ransomware attack that impacted more than 200,000 computers worldwide. The indictment accuses the three men […]
