Thomas Pepinsky

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People stand in line to use an ATM in St. Petersburg on Feb. 27. (Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Europa, , , ,

Earlier today, Russia’s central bank announced that the country’s currency, the ruble, was fully liquid. Normally, central banks do not need to reassure currency holders this way. We take it for granted that we can access our savings in the bank, use our credit cards and get cash from the ATM.

But these are not normal times in Russia. Having launched an invasion of Ukraine just a few days ago, Russia faces some of the strongest financial sanctions that any country has faced in modern history.

Russia is about to plunge into financial turmoil

Many of Russia’s central bank assets are currently unusable because of E.U.…  Seguir leyendo »

Jakarta Gov. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (C) attends his trial for blasphemy in Jakarta on April 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Miftahul HAYAT/AFP/Getty Images

MundoAsia

Indonesian politics has been rocked by two major developments in recent months, both involving the governor of Indonesia’s capital and most important city, Jakarta. The first came on April 19, when the sitting governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama — better known by his nickname “Ahok” — was decisively defeated in a gubernatorial election. Ahok’s defeat is surprising given his general popularity among Jakarta voters, with an astonishing 76 percent of voters approving of his record of office.

The second came several weeks later, when courts sentenced Ahok to two years in prison for blasphemy — for comments he made in a speech referencing a verse in the Koran that some Muslims believe forbids them from voting for a non-Muslim politician.…  Seguir leyendo »