Nikola Krastev

Also by Nikola Krastev

• April 10, 2009

  U.S. Seeks 'Positive Role' On UN Council

  Departing from the policy set by the previous administration, the United States has announced it will seek a seat at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council. While the U.S. presence among the council’s 47 member states could raise its credibility, some analysts say Washington lacks the tools to eliminate problems that have plagued the council since its establishment in March 2006. Major human rights abusers are currently members and as long as they remain, critics say, U.S. membership may be seen as mere window dressing.

• April 06, 2009

  UN Divided Over North Korea Rocket Launch

  The United Nations Security Council ended an emergency session on April 5 without agreeing a response to North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket earlier the same day.

• March 21, 2009

  Organized Crime In Russia Joins The Bootleg DVD Game

  In Russia, organized crime has gotten into the DVD piracy game, and with good reason: it offers high profit margins and little risk of arrest. According to a new study from a U.S. think tank, the biggest obstacles in countering this type of crime are corruption and weak rule of law.

• March 12, 2009

  Better Lucky Than Rich

  The latest list of the world's billionaires is out, and its net worth is about half of last year's roll. "Forbes" also says that with many of Russia's young industrial elite taking baths or bail-outs, the average age of the members of this exclusive club has risen.

• March 10, 2009

  Skeptics Gather To Make Their Case

  New York City has been hosting an international conference on global warming this week. But it's not your typical gathering of scientists issuing dire warnings. No, participants at the International Conference on Climate Change aren't here to discuss how to halt global warming. They're here to tell you to stop worrying about it.

• March 05, 2009

  Rights Groups Cheer ICC Warrant For Sudan's Al-Bashir

  The International Criminal Court's issuance of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity has energized human rights groups around the world. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group hailed the arrest warrant as a "turning point for Sudan," Freedom House called it "a welcome step toward justice," and Amnesty International urged al-Bashir to surrender immediately to face trial.

• February 15, 2009

  A Russian Think Tank In New York

  A Moscow-based think tank, the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation, has opened branches in Paris and New York. The project is evidence of the Kremlin's growing interest in "soft power" -- using Western media, PR, and think-tank models to advance its own interests in the West.

• February 14, 2009

  UN Security Council Extends Mission In Abkhazia

  Russia's UN representative noted that while it might appear that the extension of the mission's mandate was only a technical issue, it was "much more" than that because it indicated that negotiations would continue and would take into account the developments on the ground.

• January 25, 2009

  Can Obama, Medvedev Put Ties On Fresh Path?

  The new presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, are seen as belonging to the same generation of young, pragmatic leaders -- technocrats driven more by common sense than political affiliations. But will those similarities help Moscow and Washington overcome the mistrust and alienation that characterized the countries' ties under Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush?

• January 12, 2009

  Freedom In Decline Across Former Soviet Union

  The latest "Freedom in The World" report by the U.S.-based rights watchdog Freedom House indicates that authoritarian regimes across a broad geographical range are stepping up their suppression of freedom. The report's authors point out that the former Soviet Union is the only region in the world to see a steady decline in freedom since 2001.

• January 09, 2009

  UN Security Council Calls For Immediate Gaza Truce

  After a week of wrangling between Arab states and supporters of Israel, the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an "immediate and durable cease-fire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in Gaza."

• January 07, 2009

  Calls At UN Meeting For Israel To Halt Gaza Operation

  A strike on a United Nations-run school that killed more than 30 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip has increased international pressure on Israel to halt its offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas. During a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council, foreign ministers from several European countries and Arab states called for an immediate Israeli cease-fire.

• January 01, 2009

  UN Emergency Session On Gaza Sees No Breakthrough

  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon attended the council's emergency meeting and renewed his call for restraint and a cease-fire by both sides. He expressed his concern over the deepening violence and civilian casualties, denouncing what he called the "irresponsible" behavior of both Hamas and Israel.

• December 27, 2008

  Who Really Owns This NY Skyscraper?

  The U.S. Justice Department is alleging that a 36-story skyscraper in Manhattan is secretly co-owned by an Iranian bank with ties to the government in Tehran. Prosecutors are seeking to seize the property and freeze millions of dollars in assets they say belong to the bank.

• December 23, 2008

  UN Security Council Extends Protection Of Iraqi Assets

  The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution that will maintain UN protection of Iraq's sovereign assets against legal claims for another year, until the end of 2009.

• December 17, 2008

  UN Powers Discuss Iran Issue With Arab Envoys

  Senior diplomats of the six nations involved in talks on Iran's nuclear program met with representatives of eight Arab countries on December 16 at the UN to assure them of their commitment to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

• September 25, 2008

  Defending Moscow

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asserts that the Georgian crisis has been assigned too much significance and should not be used to raise tensions in otherwise "constructive" relations between Moscow and Washington.

• September 15, 2008

  General Assembly Opens To Evergreen Talk Of Reform

  As the UN General Assembly kicks off its 63rd session on September 16, lingering questions about the world body's effectiveness in solving global problems are sure to be raised again. While the United Nations has never been a perfect model for multilateral diplomacy, recent events in Kosovo and Georgia demonstrate the inadequacy of a system created in the waning days of World War II.

• August 29, 2008

  Dispute Over Russia-Georgia Conflict Roils UN

  A Security Council meeting is marked by sharp exchanges between Western and Russian ambassadors, reflecting rising tension as concerns grow at the prospect of a new Cold War.

• August 27, 2008

  UN Security Council In Limbo On Georgian Crisis

  UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council did not take immediate action overnight after Moscow’s surprising recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. It is clear, though, that the silence at the world’s body highest executive organ is only a prelude before politically charged sessions resume.

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