Documents in an ongoing insider trading prosecution in the US appear to allege that Maxim Bakiyev, the son of the former president of Kyrgyzstan who now resides in the United Kingdom, has been using a US$45 million Latvian bank account for insider trading deals on the stock exchanges of the US, the UK and elsewhere. This, along with the recent arrest of Maxim Bakiyev in London in relation to this case, raises concerns regarding his activities in the United Kingdom. READ MORE

French President François Hollande faces no shortage of domestic problems following the unveiling of his government’s controversial budget. But at a November 13 press conference, Hollande diverted attention to foreign policy by announcing France’s recognition of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, making it the first Western country to embrace that organization. This decision was celebrated as a crucial step toward the end of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and as a symbol of Hollande’s ability to make tough decisions.  READ MORE

In the aftermath of an exhausting reelection campaign, the most urgent decision facing the president is how to stop Iran from pursuing a military nuclear program. Presidents of both parties have long declared that “no option is off the table” in securing this goal. In the third presidential debate, the candidates agreed that this was a matter of the American national interest, even as they described the objective alternately as preventing an Iranian “nuclear weapon” or “breakout capacity” (President Obama), or a “nuclear-capable Iran” (Mitt Romney). As Iran continues to elaborate its enrichment capacity and move it underground, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a spring deadline for counteraction. In this fraught environment, what operational meaning should be given to America’s declared objectives?  READ MORE

Speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the Churchill Symposium in Zürich, Switzerland.  READ MORE

Afghans remain largely unaware of any reconstruction project or foreign aid provided to them by the countries of Central Asia, according to a new public opinion survey conducted in Afghanistan by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation, a major international nonprofit group, reported Silk Road Newsline. READ MORE

President Dalia Grybauskaitė held a meeting with Latvian President Andris Bērziņš and Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in Raudondvaris Castle. READ MORE

A shale-oil boom will thrust the U.S. ahead of Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2020, a radical shift that could profoundly transform not just the world's energy supplies but also its geopolitics, the International Energy Agency said. READ MORE

The Ukrainian government is successfully implementing a program to improve the state's energy independence by diversifying the routes and sources of energy supplies and increasing domestic production. Ukraine sees the Caspian states as important partners for the diversification of energy supply routes and sources and the implementation of joint energy projects. READ MORE

After the year of 1990 Polish policy within eastern direction staked at the USSR collapse and establishment of the belt of free, liberal and friendly countries, a peculiar stable buffer zone protecting Poland from Russia. The slogan was the idea of Jerzy Giedroyc: “The stronger our position in East is, the more West shall take us into account”.  READ MORE

The results of the Catalan elections of November 25 show that a majority of Catalans are likely to vote in favour of independence in case a referendum is organised. However, this majority is not very ample and suggests that the high expectations that were put on these elections by national and international media were exaggerated. READ MORE