In The News

Compromise in Khartoum: Economist

August 22, 2019
Following a coup in Sudan and negotiations, the longtime leader is on trial for corruption. An economist leads the transitional government and elections are scheduled in 2022. Generals “signed the agreement only after coming under intense pressure from foreign powers,” reports the Economist, describing the new government made of five soldiers and six civilians. Many of the generals became wealthy...

North Korea Fires Two Projectiles: Korea Times

Jung Da-min August 17, 2019
North Korea fired two projectiles into the East Sea, making that six tests conducted within the last month. Analysts report the characteristics suggest short-range ballistic missiles. The central news agency in North Korea also dismissed calls for dialogue by South Korea President Moon Jae-in’s calls for dialogue. South Korea’s National Security Council convened, and a joint military drill...

Nuclear Accident in Russia: US News & World Report

Paul D. Shinkman August 15, 2019
Russia conducted a failed missile test on a platform in the White Sea near Severodvinsk in northern Russia, killing seven workers and injuring others, but the world knows little more. Analysts suspect the test was relate to a nuclear-powered ballistic missile. “A deadly nuclear mishap with a yet-unclear fallout threatens to derail Russia's ambitions to develop a new generation of weapons...

US May Withdraw Troops From Germany: DW

Timothy Jones August 9, 2019
The United States argues that Iran is an international security threat after withdrawing from a nuclear deal. Germany does not agree and has remained in the agreement along with Russia, China and the European Union. The two countries also do not agree on a budget and funding sources for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The US ambassador has suggested that the United States could withdraw...

India Pulls Kashmir’s Autonomy: Washington Post

Ahsan I. Butt August 8, 2019
After little parliamentary debate and virtually no citizen input, the Modi government is scrapping two articles in the Indian constitution that apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, splitting the state and administering two sections as a union territory. At the same time, the government increased its troop presence, closed schools and the internet, and placed some leaders under house arrest....

World Food Security at Risk: UN News

August 8, 2019
Rising temperatures, linked to pressures on fertile soil, are putting world food security at risk, notes a special report on climate change and land by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. More than 100 authors reviewed research on land. The UN urges sustainable land use and limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Humans impact more than 70 percent of land’s ice-free surface, and about...

India’s Move on Kashmir Will Fuel Resentment: BBC

Andrew Whitehead August 5, 2019
The special status assigned to Jammu and Kashmir reflects an agreement between India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Kashmir's political leaders. “India's BJP-led government has now unilaterally torn up that special dispensation,” reports Andrew Whitehead for BBC News. “It's the biggest change in Kashmir's constitutional status since the 1950s.” The government...