News

In recent years France and Italy have worked closely in a “Franco-Italian axis,” founded primarily on the close personal relationship between France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s former prime minister Mario Draghi (Politico, October 27, 2022). Now, with Italy’s new prime minister Giorgia Meloni—historically anti-French in her positions—the Franco-Italian axis is being threatened.

Less than two months ago, Boris Johnson stepped down as Britain’s prime minister, shrouded in an atmosphere of scandal. In his place, Liz Truss rose as the leader of the Conservative party. Now, after the shortest tenure of any prime minister—just 44 days—Ms. Truss has stepped down, having lost the confidence of her own party.

While much of the world is focused on the fighting in Ukraine, there are serious conflicts elsewhere—such as Africa. According to the Telegraph, “Ethiopian federal forces, Eritrean soldiers and allied ethnic militias have been battling Tigrayan rebels in a desperate infantry war on four fronts across the Tigray region’s mountainous terrain since a fragile ceasefire shattered in late August” (October 3, 2022).

“Marauding feral pigs have blighted a central suburb in New Zealand’s capital, killing kid goats at an urban farm, intimidating dogs and turning up in residents’ gardens” (The Guardian, September 26, 2022). One goat milk dairy farmer lost 60 goat kids to rampaging pigs, and the pigs ate everything but the large bones of the goats. The feral pigs are descendants of those brought to the island by colonists in the 1700s.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently vowed his nation would never abandon nuclear weapons (Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2022). His comments accompanied new North Korean legislation authorizing its military to launch a nuclear strike “if an imminent attack against the country’s strategic targets, including its leadership, is detected” and allowing for the future use of automated systems to launch such strikes. U.S.