UN Security Council Proves Toothless in Ukraine Crisis

LIGNET Global Forecast

An off-color rant about the European Union by a senior U.S. diplomat is just the latest in a series of incidents that suggests a growing rift between U.S. and EU leaders. The EU continues to share many of Washington’s perspectives on key security issues, however, including countering Iran and combating terrorism.

Chronic shortages and ballooning inflation have put Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on the hot seat as mass protests mount. While Maduro lacks the cult-like power of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, a combination of domestic forces and a lack of international leadership makes it unlikely that he will be toppled by the current unrest.

Since the first cases of a new strain of avian influenza, H7N9, were identified in March 2013, hundreds of cases have been identified throughout China. The new flu is proving lethal in about of 20 percent of cases, so the rapid accumulation of H7N9 cases is causing serious concern among disease surveillance professionals around the world.

Emboldened by a perceived victory regarding its nuclear ambitions, Iran’s Shia theocracy has for the first time directly attacked the heart of Sunni Islam, the fundamentalist Wahhabism identified with the Saudi regime. In speeches and through diplomatic demands, Tehran seeks to use the Sunni-Shia conflict to peel away regional states long dependent on the Saudis.

The failure of a second round of Syrian peace talks and a major escalation of regime attacks against opposition-held areas represent a major setback for the United States. With U.S. officials undecided about next steps, the death toll in Syria – which rose dramatically last month – is likely to rise further.

Meanwhile, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been accused by Western states of dragging its feet on a U.S.-Russian agreement to remove its chemical weapons from the country. Under the agreement, Syria was supposed to move all of its most lethal chemical weapons agents – about 700 tons – out of the country by Dec. 31. According to the London Independent, only 77 tons, or 11 percent, of these weapons have left Syria, leading Western officials to worry that the chemical weapons disarmament agreement may be unraveling.

As a government-led space race heats up across Asia, a booming U.S. civilian space sector is making up for slack federal funding at home: The first private trips beyond Earth’s atmosphere begin this year. If that effort and the companies that follow succeed in bringing down cost and increasing capacity, the United States will be in a good place to preserve its dominance in space.