Section: The Conversation (USA)
Hilary Benn on Brexit: fear won’t win over undecided voters
Hilary Benn, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, has warned that a Brexit would play into the hands of Vladimir Putin. Speaking in London about the forthcoming EU referendum, Benn sought to make a patriotic case for keeping the UK in the European Union. But this speech had none of the rhetorical flourish of Benn’s House of Commons...
Russia and Iran are fighting together – but are they as close as it seems?
After years of isolation, Iran is slowly coming back in from the cold after the deal to curb its nuclear programme. And as it starts to reassert itself more openly in the world order, it’s rekindling a stormy affair with an old flame: Russia. The two countries have discussed opening a joint bank, co-operation in space research, and...
What will happen when the pope meets the patriarch?
The latest diplomatic coup for Pope Francis I – whose papacy has been marked by an ever-more expansive foreign policy – is the announcement of an interesting development in relations between the Roman Catholic and the Russian Orthodox churches, relations that have been more-or-less non-existent for more than 1000 years. On February 12, Pope...
Why there’s a case for bringing private armies in from the cold
Libya is a country on the brink of total chaos. Two rival groups both claim to be the legitimate government, and between them seem incapable of achieving stability. In the resulting security vacuum, one of the two sides has resorted to hiring private militias to try and keep control. Among these is the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), a private...
Our understanding of states, sovereignty and statelessness is being tested
Refugees walk through a frozen field after crossing the border from Macedonia, near the village of Miratovac, Serbia Reuters/Marko DjuricaOne leg of a complicated travel schedule over the holidays imprisoned me in an airport lounge for 12 hours: caught in this liminal space, I began to think about the state, its sovereignty, and the idea of...
Making A Murderer & the Cult of Factuality
NetflixAs Netflix approaches two million subscribers in Australia, free-to-air TV execs have called on government to “ensure a level playing field for Australian media businesses”. The US-based streaming service is alleged to be at an uncompetitive advantage over the established broadcasters, which must follow regulations and legal constraints...
Russia will brush off Litvinenko accusations – and there is little that can be done about it
Marina Litvinenko has called for action against Russia over her husband’s death. PA/Stefan RousseauThe final report from the long-running inquiry into the death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko has re-ignited the controversy over what is undeniably the biggest assassination case seen in the UK for decades. The story has all the...
Cyberattack on Ukraine grid: here’s how it worked and perhaps why it was done
Could the hack that took out the power grid in Ukraine happen in the U.S.? rainchurch/flickr, CC BY-SAOn December 23, 2015, two days before Christmas, the power grid in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine went down for a reported six hours, leaving about half the homes in the region with a population of 1.4 million without power, according to...
When it comes to Internet security and privacy, the public remains confused
Encryption Christiaan Colen/flickr, CC BY-SAThe UK government is proposing to follow Australia with the introduction of their version of data retention legislation called the Investigatory Powers bill. This will require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to maintain records of web addresses customers visit for a period of 12 months (in Australia...
The cyberattack on Ukraine’s power grid is a warning of what’s to come
Steag/VGB Power Tech GmbH, CC BY-SAWhen more than 100,000 people in and around the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk were left without power for six hours, the Ukrainian energy ministry accused Russia of launching a cyberattack on the country’s national energy grid. Now reports released by security researchers from the SANS Industrial...
