Let’s talk about Rule 303 Belorussian style – Beau of the Fifth Column

Why Kazakhstan matters in China’s Belt and Road Initiative – DW News

The last two weeks have seen the worst violence in Kazakhstan since it gained independence from the Soviet Union 30 years ago. The country’s importance in terms of raw materials and trade has made the unrest of particular interest to Europe and neighboring Russia. And its massive neighbor to the east, China, is also watching

Iran says cyberattack closes gas stations across country

A cyberattack crippled gas stations across Iran on Tuesday, leaving angry motorists stranded in long lines. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which rendered useless the government-issued electronic cards that many Iranians use to buy subsidized fuel at the pump. It bore similarities to another attack months earlier that seemed to directly challenge

Westward Expansion: Crash Course US History #24

In which John Green teaches you about the Wild, Wild, West, which as it turns out, wasn’t as wild as it seemed in the movies. When we think of the western expansion of the United States in the 19th century, we’re conditioned to imagine the loner. The self-reliant, unattached cowpoke roaming the prairie in search

The Industrial Economy: Crash Course US History #23

In which John Green teaches you about the Industrial Economy that arose in the United States after the Civil War. You know how when you’re studying history, and you’re reading along and everything seems safely in the past, and then BOOM you think, “Man, this suddenly seems very modern.” For me, that moment in US

The Civil War Part 2: Crash Course US History #21

In which John Green teaches you how the Civil War played a large part in making the United States the country that it is today. He covers some of the key ways in which Abraham Lincoln influenced the outcome of the war, and how the lack of foreign intervention also helped the Union win the

Slavery – Crash Course US History #13

In which John Green teaches you about America’s “peculiar institution,” slavery. I wouldn’t really call it peculiar. I’d lean more toward horrifying and depressing institution, but nobody asked me. John will talk about what life was like for a slave in the 19th century United States, and how slaves resisted oppression, to the degree that

The Market Revolution: Crash Course US History #12

In which John Green teaches you about the Market Revolution. In the first half of the 19th century, the way people lived and worked in the United States changed drastically. At play was the classic (if anything in a 30 year old nation can be called classic) American struggle between the Jeffersonian ideal of individuals

EXCLUSIVE: Guinea rail builders blast in chimp habitat, no plan to protect apes

A Chinese-backed consortium building infrastructure for a massive iron ore mine in Guinea started blasting a railway tunnel in a habitat for a critically endangered chimpanzee species with no plan in place to manage the impact on the animals, company and government statements and satellite imagery show. The consortium is developing the mine in the

‘Cyber-attack’ hits Iran’s transport ministry and railways

Message boards in train stations show cancellations though rail operator denies disruptions Websites of Iran’s transport and urbanisation ministry went out of service on Saturday after a “cyber-disruption” in computer systems, the official IRNA news agency reported. On Friday, Iran’s railways also appeared to come under cyber-attack, with messages about alleged train delays or cancellations