Ukraine crisis: Leaders to hold more talks amid clashes
BBC
The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France are to hold more talks to resolve the conflict in east Ukraine. Germany and France have urged Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to extend a ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists – due to end on Monday evening – for a second time. The truce remains under strain, with five Ukrainian soldiers killed in clashes in the east.
Syria fighters hail declaration of Islamic ‘caliphate’
Reuters
Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria’s northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic “caliphate” after the group captured territory in neighboring Iraq. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot, was previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
North Korea proposes end to hostilities with South – with conditions
CNN
North Korea on Monday proposed that all “hostile military activities” with South Korea “come to a complete halt” this week, but it attached a number of conditions that Seoul is likely to reject.
Wave of attacks leaves dozens dead in Nigeria
Al Jazeera
Suspected militants killed dozens of people on Sunday in an attack on three Nigerian villages, including one assault targeting worshippers at a church, three miles from Chibok, the scene of an abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram.
Indonesia Surpasses Brazil in Deforestation Rate
World Bulletin / News Desk
A new study has shown that Indonesia lost about 60,000 sq km of virgin forest – an area close to the size of Ireland – over a period of 12 years. Indonesia has for the first time surpassed Brazil in the rate of its clearance of tropical forests due to the increase in the rate of deforestation. The researchers have said that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and a loss of biodiversity in the area was due to this deforestation.
Jean-Claude Juncker named as next president of European Commission
Economic Times
Jean-Claude Juncker has been named as the next president of the European Commission with backing from most EU leaders, dealing a bitter blow to opponent David Cameron and threatening ot increase the chances of Britain leaving the bloc.
Warming threat to emperor penguins
Climate change is likely to cut Antarctica’s 600,000-strong emperor penguin population by at least a fifth by 2100, a study suggests. The main threat to the penguins comes from changes to sea-ice cover in the Antarctic, which will affect their breeding and feeding.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
Four Maps That Explain Islam in Africa
John Bugnacki
These four maps, ‘Percentage of Muslims Per Country,’ ‘Number of Muslims Per Country,’ ‘Presence of Sharia Law,’ and ‘Traditions of Islamic Jurisprudence’ give a compelling account of where African Muslims live and how they understand the world.
Naman Jain
Important leaders, decision makers, government officials, and private organizations of countries are relying ever-greatly on social media sites such as Twitter to communicate with the large number of modern internet-savvy citizenry. What are the implications of this?
Civic Media: Knight Foundation News Challenge
Thomas Campbell
On February 27, in partnership with the Ford and Mozilla Foundations, the Knight Foundation opened a News Challenge to the public with the following prompt: “how can we strengthen the Internet for free expression and innovation?”
Event Review: Deputy Secretary Higginbottom on the QDDR
Maggie Feldman-Piltch
On June 24th, the American security Project hosted an opportunity for Congressional engagement on the upcoming Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review with Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom, Special Representative Tom Perriello, and Assistant to the Administrator of USAID Alex Their.
Upcoming Events
What’s Next? Fostering the Next Generation of Energy Security Conference
September 30 @ 9:00AM – 4:30PM
The next steps in building a cleaner, more resilient energy system and economy will not be easy. The American Security Project intends to build on its years of research into energy security and climate policy by initiating a study into the next generation of energy policy.Join ASP and our panelists as we discuss the next generation of energy technology and climate policy
The post What We Are Reading … June 30, 2014 appeared first on American Security Project.
