WORLD ROUNDUPRussia’s Dangerous Decline | Trigger-Happy North Korea | South American Lithium, and more
··Expert in ‘Blinking Red’ Warning of Lone Wolf Terror Amid Cost of Living Crisis
Britain may be facing a “perfect storm” over the next six months
··Russia’s Dangerous Decline
The Kremlin won’t go down without a fight
··The Uncertain Politics of South American Lithium
Parts of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentinamay see a new natural resource boom, this time for lithium
··North Korea Goes Trigger Happy with New Missile Tests
The United States is warning that a nuclear strike would be game over for Kim Jong Un
··What Europe Can Learn From the 1973 Oil Shock
Building an economy that is both green and resilient requires EU-wide solidarity
··U.N. Inspectors Find No Evidence for Russian ‘Dirty Bomb’ Claim
IAEA examined three sites, finding no indication of illicit activity
Expert in ‘Blinking Red’ Warning of Lone Wolf Terror Amid Cost of Living Crisis (The National)
Britain may be facing a “perfect storm” over the next six months with the risk of a new wave of far-right lone wolf terrorists competing to be “saints and martyrs” on a computer game-style leader board, an expert has said. Professor Matthew Feldman, who has given evidence in 40 convictions of radical right extremists in the UK, warned of a heightened threat this winter amid the cost-of-living crisis and political instability. In an interview with the PA news agency, he identified at least five lone wolf attacks over the last seven years, while highlighting counter-terrorism police officers’ continuing success in foiling more plots. The murder of MP Jo Cox by a right-wing extremist in 2016 was followed a year later by a fatal van attack on Muslims in Finsbury Park. In 2020, a teenager enacted a demonic ideology with far-right associations by killing sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in a London park. Prof Feldman counts the fatal shooting of five people in Plymouth in August last year as a lone wolf attack, most likely driven by “Incel” ideology. Also last year, the Southend MP Sir David Amess was cut down at a constituency surgery by an Islamic State fanatic. Prof Feldman said the far-right variant of what he calls “self-directed terror” is on the rise globally, fuelled by the glorification of mass murderers such as Norwegian Anders Breivik, whose 2011 manifesto is still just three clicks away online.
Russia’s Dangerous Decline (Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Michael Kofman, Foreign Affairs)
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a massive strategic blunder, leaving Russia militarily, economically, and geopolitically weaker.
Ukraine’s offensive in Kharkiv in September underscored the magnitude of Putin’s error. As Russian forces grew exhausted, losing momentum on the battlefield, Ukraine seized the initiative, dealing the Russian military a decisive blow. Ukraine’s battlefield successes revealed the extent of the rot in Putin’s army—the sagging morale, the declining manpower, the deteriorating quality of the troops. Instead of giving up, however, Putin responded to these problems by ordering a partial military mobilization, introducing tougher punishments for soldiers who desert or surrender, and moving forward with the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions. (Cont.)
