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Long ago, Plato and others observed that governments appear to run in cycles. Monarchies have been the most prominent form of government. After the death of a king, nations are often ruled by an oligarchy or an aristocracy (rule by an elite few). When democracies (rule by the people) emerge next, they have a tendency to descend into anarchy (lawlessness),...
Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have been moving away from the EU and the West for some time. President Erdogan recently announced that the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul would revert to a mosque, to the dismay of the pope (Catholic News Service, July 14, 2020).
According to the Telegraph, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a second pandemic in Africa: violence against women (June 24, 2020). Between the COVID-19 lockdown and rapidly declining national economies, sexual violence has increased throughout the world, and Africa has not been immune.
China and Iran have worked together for years on many projects. The Wall Street Journal reports that a draft agreement between the two nations is currently in the works in the Iranian parliament (July 12, 2020). If approved, the agreement “would pave the way for Chinese investments in Iranian free-trade zones and for joint projects in other countries, such as...
An alarming study recently appeared in the highly respected journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Examining viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018, Chinese scientists identified a strain of the H1N1 flu virus that has “all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus” (Reuters, June 29, 2020).
Many are aware of the devastating locust swarms in East Africa, the Middle East, and India. Now, news agencies report that a large locust swarm is taking hold in northern Argentina. The swarm covers an area of 15 square kilometers (almost 6 square miles). Farmers are worried the locusts will destroy their crops.
Ursula von der Leyen is the current EU Commission President, and on July 1, Angela Merkel took over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Council. Both women are German, and they will occupy Europe’s two most powerful posts. In the words of Spiegel International, “the European Union is set to be run by two German women with a long history.
A recent Guardian article title tells a sobering story: “UK universities suffer worst-ever rankings in world league table” (June 9, 2020). For centuries, English universities have garnered tremendous respect around the world. Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London, and other universities in the United Kingdom have long been recognized as some of the best in...
The respected journal Foreign Affairs recently published an article on the emerging role of “middle powers” (“Can Middle Powers Lead the World Out of the Pandemic?,” June 18, 2020).
About a year ago, there appeared to be a thaw in the perpetually tense relationship between North and South Korea, stirring hope for increased unity between the two countries. However, last week North Korea “blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in its city of Kaesong”—an office built in 2018 that was used for inter-Korean meetings (Deutsche Welle, June 16,...