The trilateral defense pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States was created to strengthen the defense situation in the South Pacific in response to the growing Chinese threat. The name of the defense pact, AUKUS—reflecting the three nations who created the agreement—communicates a sense that the organization is closed to outsiders. Not so. Antony Blinken, U.S.

Since the end of World War II, the United States has been the predominant world superpower, with seemingly unlimited economic and military might. But with prosperity and dominance came a letdown of personal moral standards.

The war in Ukraine is shaking up politics and military planning throughout Europe—and it is worrying nations on Russia’s periphery. In late June, Germany announced it would send 4,000 troops to Lithuania (Politico, July 4, 2023).

It has been over a decade since the meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor. Since then, water used to cool the hot nuclear reactor has been stored in massive storage ponds. Now, The Guardian reports that Japan is preparing to release over 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water into the environment—a plan already approved by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (July 23, 2023).