Economist
The consequences of the conflict for Afghans, already catastrophic, are likely to get worse.
Melvyn Krauss, Project Syndicate
Notwithstanding the predictable howls of protest from some Europeans, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are right to seek a thawing of ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. If the main global threat is China, Putin has several compelling reasons to play ball.
Cordelia Buchanan Ponczek, CEPA
In the growing disputes between Russia and the West, Finland is wedged between a rock and a very hard place. The government describes itself as militarily non-allied, a traditional Finnish position underlined by its regular role as a summit host, like the Trump-Putin Helsinki summit in 2018. That underlines its geographic reality — despite being a European Union (EU) member, Finland has not joined NATO, and is also on Russia's doorstep. That can lead to some peculiar outcomes... Читать дальше...
Benjamin Wilhelm, WPR
Last week, the authoritarian government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced it would allow the country's main opposition coalition to compete in regional and municipal elections that are scheduled for November, lifting an electoral ban that was first imposed in 2018. It was one of several concessions Maduro has made recently, signaling his desire to improve his global image and seek sanctions relief from the United States.
Noah Millman, The Week
For a certain kind of American liberal, it's almost a reflexive gesture to wish the United States were more like Europe. There, health care is provided on a more egalitarian basis and a university education is much cheaper, if not free; sexual mores are more relaxed and gun ownership is rare; religion is vestigial and militant nationalism is strictly taboo. Widespread European distress over the presidencies of George W. Bush and Donald Trump only confirmed what American liberals knew... Читать дальше...
Adnan Abu Zeed, Al Monitor
A group of Russian archaeologists discovered June 24 an ancient settlement about 4,000 years old in Dhi Qar governorate in southern Iraq. The discovery was made in the area of Tell...
