ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

New York, SANA- Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari stressed that the Syrian Government has the right to retaliate against the terrorist groups if they target the civilians even with a single shell. In a speech after the Security Council voted on a resolution calling for the cessation of combat activities in Syria for 30 days at least, al-Jaafari said that over the past two days, thousands of shells fell on Damascus as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent HQ in Damascus was targeted by 10 shells fired by the so-called “moderate” terrorists located in Ghouta, killing and injuring people including a doctor. He added that the shells which fell on Damascus claimed the lives of hundreds and injured others. Al-Jaafari stressed that the Syrian government has dealt in a serious manner with all initiatives and was committed to them due to its care for the lives of Syrian citizens, and that the government has called on armed groups in the Eastern Ghouta to lay down th...

By Peter Koenig   As this article goes to print, Globovision TV quotes Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announcing the launch of a new cryptocurrency, the “Petro Oro”. It will be backed by precious metals. The launch of the new cryptomoney is scheduled for the next week. No details of quantities offered for sale are available at this point.   “I do not want to rush things, but we have a surprise regarding the petro and the gold, which will have the same dimension as it has been related to oil, but it is the theme of next week,”  the President says. The first public offering, the ‘Pre-sale’ of 38.4 million of the oil-backed “Petro” on 20 February, has raised US$ 735 million equivalent which is considered a great success. ---- Imagine an international currency backed by energy? By a raw material that the entire world needs, not gold – which has hardly any productive use, but whose value is mostly speculative – not hot air like the US dollar. Not fiat money lik...