International News Coverage
Middle East, Terrorism and Counterterrorism
ISIS bulldozes ruins of ancient Assyrian city of Minrud, Iraqi ministry says
Michael Martinez and Mohammaed Tawfeeq / CNN
ISIS has again destroyed cultural treasures, this time bulldozing the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, the nation’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.
Advancing Iraq troops enter strategic town on edge of Tikrit
Saif Hameed and Dominic Evans / Reuters
Iraqi government forces and Iran-backed militiamen entered a town on the southern outskirts of Saddam Hussein’s home city Tikrit on Friday, pressing on with the biggest offensive yet against Islamic State militants that seized the north last year.
Future of Syria’s Nusra Front in question after commander killed
Tom Perry and Mariam Karouny / Reuters
Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch was left reeling on Friday after its military chief was killed in an apparent army air strike, adding to confusion over the future path of the most powerful group opposing both President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State.
Europe
Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny out of Moscow prison
BBC News
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been released from prison after serving a 15-day sentence for handing out leaflets to promote a protest rally. The Russian opposition leader vowed not to “step back” as he left detention a week after the killing of another opposition figure, Boris Nemtsov.
Frenchman on trial for helping girl, 14, seeking to join IS
Lori Hinnant and Phillipe Sotto / Associated Press
The French girl knew him as “Tony Toxiko” – an Islamic State recruiter who first used Facebook to cajole her into joining him in Syria, then brusquely called to force the issue: Come to me or risk damnation. She was 14.
Dozens arrested in cybercrime ‘strike week’
BBC News
The UK’s National Crime Agency has arrested 56 suspected hackers as part of a “strike week” against cybercrime. In total, 25 separate operations were carried out across England, Scotland and Wales.
The Americas
Paraguayan Journalist Shot to Death Along Brazil Border
Pedro Servin / Associated Press
A Paraguayan radio journalist has been shot to death in a Brazilian city bordering a crime-ridden area that is a hotbed for drugs and arms smuggling, officials said on Friday.
Frozen bodies found on Mexican peak may be long-buried avalanche victims
Peter Beaumont / The Guardian
A Mexican mountain rescue team will make a second attempt on Friday to recover a pair of well-preserved bodies – possibly climbers buried in an avalanche more than half a century ago – discovered embedded in the ice on the slopes of a volcano.
Widening superbug outbreak raises questions for FDA, manufacturers
Brady Dennis / The Washington Post
Aaron Young is among seven patients at UCLA who were infected with a hard-to-treat “superbug” that hospital officials traced to two specialized scopes that they said were contaminated despite being thoroughly cleaned. Two of the patients later died, and scores more were potentially exposed.
Africa
Residents: Boko Haram Readies for Battle in NE Nigeria
Haruna Umar / Associated Press
Boko Haram fighters are massing at their headquarters in the northeast Nigerian town of Gwoza in preparation for a showdown with multinational forces, residents and an intelligence officer said.
Last Ebola patient in Liberia discharged
Jane C. Timm / MSNBC
Liberia, the country at the heart of the Ebola epidemic, may soon be able to declare it’s free of the deadly disease.After months of trying to contain the virus, the country currently has no confirmed Ebola patients.
Asia
Japan eyes MI6-style spy agency as it seeks to shed pacifist past
Linda Sieg and Nobuhiro Kubo / Reuters
Japan is looking into creating an overseas intelligence agency possibly modeled on Britain’s MI6 spy service, ruling party lawmakers say, 70 years after Allied victors dismantled Japan’s fearsome military intelligence apparatus following World War Two.
Indian mob breaks into jail, beats rape suspect to death
Harmeet Shah Singh / CNN
The 35-year-old suspect, who was described as an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh, died from severe injuries before officers could rescue him, said L.L. Doungal, a police official in the remote Nagaland state, where the attack occurred Thursday evening.
Australia’s Abbott Accuses Indonesia of ‘Lack of Dignity’ Over Drug Convicts
Rob Taylor / The Wall Street Journal
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott accused Indonesian authorities of showing a “lack of dignity” toward two Australian convicts facing execution over drug crimes, broadening a diplomatic row Friday as officials lodged a complaint with Jakarta’s top envoy.
Energy Security, Science and Technology, Climate Change
Spacecraft Dawn has arrived at Ceres, one of solar system’s last unexplored planets
Rachel Feltman / The Washington Post
NASA has confirmed that its Dawn spacecraft entered the orbit of the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday morning, making history twice over. The spacecraft isn’t just the first object to visit a dwarf planet (and one of the last truly unexplored bodies in the solar system). Dawn is also the first spacecraft to orbit two different alien bodies during its mission.
‘Biosimilar’ drugs could save patients, USA billions
Liz Szabo / USA Today
In a move expected to increase competition and lower drug prices, the Food and Drug Administration today approved the first “biosimilar” drug, designed to closely mimic existing drugs grown in living cells.
NOAA: El Nino is ‘too little, too late’ for California drought
Geoffrey Mohan / The Los Angeles Times
El Niño is here, but don’t expect the Pacific Ocean circulation phenomenon to do much for the drought afflicting California and the western U.S., forecasters said Thursday.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Defeating the Daesh in Iraq—time to face reality
Paul Hamill
Last week I spoke on a number of panels at a conference in Riga Latvia regarding the future of Iraq and how to fully defeat Daesh (also known as ISIS). The conference “TOWARD PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN IRAQ“, heard from U.S. policy makers, European politicians, Iraqi leaders, Arab diplomats as well as a wide range of experts and journalists.
ASP in Florida: Climate Change Threatens Security of Florida
Andrew Holland
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 17, 18, and 19, representatives of the American Security Project visited Orlando and Tampa, Florida for a series of meetings, public events, and briefings on how climate change is affecting security, how institutions in the region are planning for it, and how that will impact the careers of military and civilians working on national security in the future.
Debt and Decisions: Puerto Rico
Luke Lorenz
While the small American territory of Puerto Rico struggles to overcome the most significant economic crisis that it has faced in its history, the importance of this affair is receiving little attention from the U.S. mainland. The tragedy of this apathetic attitude is that Puerto Rico’s recovery is dependent upon the actions of the U.S. Congress.
House Bill Focuses on Reorganization of National Labs
Philip Rossetti
On February 27th, Representative Hultgren introduced H.R. 1158, the Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015 intended “to improve management of the National Laboratories, enhance technology commercialization, facilitate public-private partnerships, and for other purposes.”
ASP in: “Investing in America’s Next Energy Boom”
William George
Last week, ASP Board Member Norman Augustine co-authored an article with Chad Holliday in The Hill calling for more investment in energy research and development (R&D) to improve US energy security and the quality of life within the country.
Upcoming Events
Congressional Breakfast Conversation on National Security Strategy
March 11 @ 9:30am – 10:00am
Well-informed congressional leaders are key to ensuring the national security of our nation. For that reason, American Security Project (ASP), is hosting a breakfast roundtable discussion on strategic approaches to national security issues from a nonpartisan perspective.
Discussion with Gov. Christine Todd Whitman: Climate Change Calls for Clean and Safe Energy
April 10 @ 10:00am – 11:00am
Join Governor Whitman at the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head Island as she discusses the important issue of climate change and its impact on clean, safe energy. She will recount her experience as governor as well as the Administrator of the EPA. Come join this exciting event.
ASP Recently Published
Energy Security in the Caribbean
American Security Project
On Wednesday, February 4th 2015, the American Security Project hosted a half-day conference examining energy security in the Caribbean. Nearly 100 experts from academia, International Financial Institutions, the US government, and private corporations attended the conference.
Global Natural Gas Pivot to Asia
American Security Project
Asia currently has two of the world’s three largest economies, and its energy needs to fuel these economies are continuing to grow. Energy suppliers are increasingly looking to exploit this market demand, trying to secure their market share in an economy with a long term demand. To this effect, energy suppliers are looking to how they can best fulfill the needs of the Asian energy markets.
Effective Measures for Tackling Climate Change — Divestment
American Security Project
This report focuses on how effective fossil fuel divestment campaigns in the United States would be in combating the effects of global climate change, as well as explore various solutions that aim to mitigate and eventually reverse the effects of our current accelerating climate change.
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