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The fall armyworm is now present in 38 African nations, including the Cape Verde Islands (Deutsche Welle, November 24, 2017). The worms are extremely destructive and feed on over 80 plant species, including the all-important staple crop of maize (corn). Experts fear that half of Africa’s agricultural crops could be destroyed by the blight in years to come—wiping...
Just prior to the recent German elections, former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg spoke at a rally in Bavaria, where 1,000 people came to support him (Financial Times, September 1, 2017). Guttenberg resigned from his government post seven years ago due to a plagiarism scandal and moved to New York, where he has continued to speak out on...
Recently, Saudi Arabia summoned Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to Riyadh where he was apparently ordered to follow the peace plan being written up by the Trump administration (The Times, November 14, 2017).
New research from the University of Toronto Mississauga warns, “Humans may be affecting animal evolution [adaptation] on an unprecedented scale as a result of widespread urbanisation” (IB Times, November 3, 2017). “Many species, such as rats, cockroaches, pigeons and bedbugs have come to depend on humans and proliferated as a consequence.
Twenty-three of 28 EU nations recently agreed to form “the nucleus of a joint army” (EU Observer, November 13, 2017). The agreement supports development of rapid reaction forces and an updated military with high-tech weaponry and armaments.
Britain’s fall from greatness has been relatively swift. The nation that ruled the air and the waves and helped bring victory in two World Wars has fallen from its pinnacle of power. The New York Times soberly wrote, “Britain is undergoing a full-blown identity crisis.
Scientists working in northwest China have examined ancient tree fossils and discovered that trees “that grew more than 300 million years ago had a far more complex structure than their counterparts today… The earliest trees had an astonishingly intricate anatomy for reasons scientists do not understand” (The Independent, October 23, 2017).
A tragedy is underway in the world’s youngest country, South Sudan. Years of warfare have brought crop destruction, starvation and resulting hyperinflation—a rise in food prices by over 280% since last year (Deutsche Welle, November 6, 2017). Food shortages have affected 4.8 million of the nation’s 12 million people.
According to a secret federal government policy document leaked to the German publication Der Spiegel, the German Defense Ministry has rehearsed six different scenarios they believe could play out in Europe in the next 23 years (Telegraph, November 6, 2017;
Over the last five years, the sexually transmitted infection (STI) gonorrhea has increased by 63 percent among Australians living primarily in cities. Gonorrhea has no visible symptoms in 80 percent of cases and can lead to sterility. Australian researchers note that the majority (75 percent) of new cases erupt among heterosexual young people aged 20-29 (BBC,...