International News Coverage

ISIS, Middle East, Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Senior Islamic State figure killed in Mosul: sources
Saif Hamid, Raheem Salman, Mark Hosenball, and Dominic Evans | Reuters
An Islamic State leader has been killed in an air strike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, residents and a local medical source said on Thursday.

Egypt arrests Brotherhood leader as crackdown intensifies
Omar Fahmy and Shadi Bushra | Reuters
Egyptian police on Thursday arrested Mohamed Ali Bishr, one of the few Muslim Brotherhood leaders to escape jail after last year’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, in the latest sign of a crackdown on political dissent.

Video Shows French ISIS Fighters Calling for Attacks in France
Dan Bilefsky and Maia de la Baume | New York Times
The seven-minute clip, released by an Islamic State affiliate, appears to be part of an intensifying effort to recruit young Europeans.

Iraq, Turkey vow to work together against IS group
Lori Hinnant | Associated Press
Iraq’s prime minister said on Thursday that his country and neighboring Turkey have agreed on closer security and intelligence cooperation in the face of the threat posed by the Islamic State group.

 

Nuclear Security

Kerry Strives for Unity as Iran Nuclear Talks Deadline Nears
Jay Solomon, Laurence Norman and Stacy Meichtry | Wall Street Journal
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry crisscrossed Europe trying to ensure a united front among the U.S. and its main European and Arab allies as negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program drew closer to a Monday deadline.

Iran nuclear talks stuck, deadline may be extended: officials
Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi | Reuters
A deadline for resolving a 12-year-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program may be extended from Monday until March, because of sharp disagreements between Tehran and Western powers, officials close to the talks said on Thursday.

Iran talks show promise, but deadline unlikely
Elise Labott and Jim Sciutto | CNN
As world powers are gathering in Vienna this week for a final round of nuclear talks with Iran, Western diplomats put their chances of a comprehensive deal at 50 percent at best and a breakthrough before the Nov. 24 deadline appears highly unlikely.

North Korea Threatens to Conduct Nuclear Test
Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times
North Korea said the actions would be in response to a United Nations committee’s recommendation to prosecute North Korean leaders for rights violations.

 

Africa

WHO: Ebola transmission ‘intense’ in Sierra Leone
Clarence Roy-Macaulay | Associated Press
The spread of Ebola remains “intense” in most of Sierra Leone even as things have improved somewhat in the two other countries hardest hit, the World Health Organization says

Ebola Response in Liberia Is Hampered by Infighting
Donald McNeil Jr. | New York Times
Poor coordination and serious disagreements between Liberian officials and the donors and health agencies fighting the epidemic are hindering results

 

Asia, Europe, Latin America

New York-born London mayor Boris Johnson refuses to pay US tax bill
Haroon Siddique | The Guardian
Boris Johnson has revealed that he is refusing to pay a tax demand issued to him by US authorities – despite previously lambasting the US embassy in London over its failure to pay the congestion charge.

Swedish Court Rejects Appeal by Julian Assange
Alan Cowell | New York Times
Mr. Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, had argued that an order for his detention could not be enforced and infringed on his civil rights.

Japan’s Exports Rise Most in 8 Months in Recovery Sign
Masaaki Iwamoto | Bloomberg
Japan’s exports rose the most in eight months in October, supporting an economy that fell into recession last quarter.

 

Climate Change, Science and Technology, Energy Security

Round 2: Buffalo faces another wintry wallop
Carolyn Thompson | Associated Press
A new blast of lake-effect snow roared through western New York with thunder and lightning on Thursday, raising to nearly 6 feet the three-day total in parts of the Buffalo area before pummeling already buried towns to the south with the threat of 1 to 3 feet more.

National Water Plans $1.1 Billion of Saudi Infrastructure
Deema Almashabi | Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s largest water supplier is planning 4 billion riyals ($1.1 billion) of infrastructure projects in the desert kingdom for early next year.

Yahoo usurps Google in Firefox search deal
Alexei Oreskovic | Reuters
Yahoo Inc struck a deal with Firefox maker Mozilla Corp to replace Google Inc as the default search engine on the Firefox Web browser in the United States, a move that Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said will help boost its flagging search market share.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

Iran’s Negotiating Team: Who’s Who
Marylin Carino

Nuclear fusion laser cleans up coal emissions
Caroline Julia von Wurden
The Naval Research Laboratory is developing a way to clean up coal emissions from a laser developed for nuclear fusion.

Partnering for Prosperity: The State of U.S.-EU Relations
Sophia Dahodwala
In the wake of Russian aggression, ISIL, climate change, Ebola, trade negotiations, elections in the European Union and the United States, and new leadership in the European Commission, U.S.-EU cooperation comes at a time when partnership is more important than ever.

Challenges in Nuclear Verification: The IAEA’s Role on the Iranian Nuclear Issue
Marylin Carino
Yukiya Amano, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke at the Brookings Institution to discuss the challenges in verifying Iran’s nuclear program.

Amidst Concerns Over Repression, Egypt Means Business
Giancarlo Lima
A significant delegation of U.S. companies recently completed a two-day visit to Egypt which was designed to explore possible investment opportunities for U.S. companies.

Getting the old band back together? A possible partnership between ISIS and al-Qaeda
Matt Suber
ISIS and al-Qaeda are now in direct competition to carry the banner of jihad. It would be a significant development if al-Qaeda and ISIS were to reemerge as partners in Syria.

 

Upcoming Events

ASP Conference – Pakistan: Aid, Trade, and Security
December 9 @ 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Location: TBA
Join ASP and FTI Consulting as we host an event that will discuss current conditions of economic aid, trade and security in Pakistan, and will feature experts of military and development backgrounds.

 

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