International News Coverage

 

U.S. Fusion Program Must Have Energy Mission

Caroline Von Wurden and Andrew Holland | The Hill

Fusion energy research holds the promise of clean, safe, and secure energy. It is not an exaggeration to say that developing fusion energy would revolutionize America’s energy security, climate policy, and global scientific leadership.

 

Middle East, Terrorism and Counterterrorism

143 Boko Haram Fighters Killed in Clashes with Cameroon’s Military

Krishnadev Calamur | NPR

More than 140 fighters from Boko Haram fighters, the Islamist group that is waging a deadly war in Nigeria, were killed in clashes with Cameroonian troops, Cameroon’s government said today.

 

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak Fraud Conviction Overturned

BBC

A court in Egypt has overturned the convictions for embezzlement of former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons and ordered a retrial. Mr Mubarak was jailed for three years in May after being found guilty of fraudulently billing the government for $14m (£9.3m) of personal expenses.

 

Reprisals Feared as Charlie Hebdo Publishes New Muhammad Cartoon

Alan Cowell and Kareem Fahim | The New York Times

Muslim groups and scholars in France and elsewhere voiced concerns on Tuesday that a satirical newspaper’s first cover since the attack on its journalists last week could ignite dangerous new passions in a debate pitting free speech against religious doctrine.

 

France Approves Extending Air Strikes Against ISIS

The Associated Press

France’s lower house of Parliament approved extending French airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq. France quickly joined the United States in conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State last year. French law requires a vote on extending such operations after four months.

 

The Americas

Haiti Marks Fifth Earthquake Anniversary

Al Jazeera

Haiti has marked the fifth anniversary of the massive earthquake that devastated an already impoverished nation, as officials struggle to resolve a political standoff that has stalled elections for three years.

 

Cuba Frees 53 Prisoners, U.S. Says

Elisabeth Malkin and Victoria Burnett | The New York Times

The Cuban government has released 53 dissidents it had promised to free under the accord with Washington to restore diplomatic relations and step up economic exchanges, United States officials said Monday.

 

Obama, Congressional Leaders Meet on Economy

Colleen McCain Nelson | The Wall Street Journal

In his first meeting with leaders of the new Congress, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he wants to work with lawmakers from both parties on economic and national-security issues including trade, taxes and cyber attacks.

 

Asia

 

Divers Retrieve Crashed AirAsia Jet’s Cockpit Voice Recorder

Charlotte Greenfield and Nilufar Rizki / Reuters

Indonesian divers pulled out the cockpit voice recorder from the sunken wreckage of an AirAsia passenger jet on Tuesday, a key step towards determining the cause of the crash that killed all 162 people aboard.

 

11 Dead in Bus Attack That Could Doom Ukraine’s Shaky Truce

Mstyslav Chernov and Peter Leonard | The Associated Press

An attack on a passenger bus in eastern Ukraine Tuesday killed 11 people, likely dealing the final blow to hopes that a short-lived and shaky cease-fire could take hold.

 

Illegally Brewed Liquor Kills Dozens in India

Al Jazeera

A bad batch of unlicensed bootleg liquor has killed at least 31 people out of more than 100 who had been admitted to a trauma centre in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the local government said.

 

Energy Security, Science and Technology, Climate Change

Australia’s Rising Solar Power ‘Revolution’

Royce Kurmelovs | Al Jazeera

Australian researchers broke the world’s solar power efficiency record last month with their design of a novel commercial energy system, raising hopes the fossil-fuel dominated country may someday switch off its reliance on coal.

 

Low-Energy Urbanisation ‘Can Help Climate Goals’

Mark Kinver | BBC

A study of 274 cities has helped shed light on energy consumption in urban areas and what can be done to make future urbanisation more efficient.

IRENA Unveils REsource- “Google” for Renewable Energy Information

Zachary Shahan / Clean Technica

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)* is about to launch an awesome new tool called REsource. The program will serve as a search engine for renewable energy information.

 

On Our Flashpoint Blog

 

CENTCOM Hack- A Big Deal? Yes, but not in the way you think.

Paul Hammill

Today CENTCOM’s twitter and YouTube accounts were hacked by an ISIL affiliated group. The hack, claimed by the ISIL affiliated group CyberCaliphate, resulted in offensive messages, distribution of already published documents that the hackers dubbed as “secret” and postings of office contact details of several generals.   During the same time of the hack, the President was speaking on the need for stronger cyber-security.

 

Taking Action on Infrastructure

Luke Lorenz

Don’t call it traffic. Call it congestion. An excessive accumulation consolidating in one artery with no possibility of swift passage.  At a minimum, we are subjected to this malady of the American causeway twice daily regardless of mode of transportation.

 

Threat of Disease Could Rise with Climate Change

Philip Rossetti

As global temperatures rise, disease vectors are changing. While it is still too early to predict how bad future disease patterns will be, the WHO claims that, “changes in infectious disease transmission patterns are a likely major consequence of climate change.”

 

President Obama Speaks at Auto Plant Idled by Low Gas Prices

Andrew Holland

One would hope that the American consumer wouldn’t be so short-sighted as to base a major    purchase – one that could affect their personal economic health for five years or more – on short term fluctuations in gas prices.

 

What if it happens here? It’s not “if” – it’s “when”

Paul Hamill

While not widely reported in the U.S. media, there have been a number of much smaller terrorist incidents in France over the last few weeks, in which the French Government even deployed military personnel all over the country to help contain these attacks.

 

Upcoming Events

 

Economic Diplomacy: How Economic Ties Can Strengthen National Security with Amb. Rivkin

January 15 @ 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Join ASP on January 15, 2015 as we welcome Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Charles H. Rivkin for Economic Diplomacy: How Economic Ties Can Strengthen National Security.

 Conference – Energy Security in the Caribbean: Unique Challenges

February 4 @ 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Join ASP as we host a conference on February 4, 2015, discussing the challenges facing the Caribbean in securing their energy future and how to move forward in the years to come.

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