| | | | The Message Hidden in Putin's Sanctions Response | | Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russia is responding to new U.S. sanctions by ordering the United States to slash staff at its diplomatic mission in the country by 755 is likely an opening salvo in potential negotiations, argues Joshua Yaffa in the New Yorker.
"Putin has not yet given up on Trump entirely. The goal of this latest move is not to break with Trump or to forswear working with him but, rather, to provide him with both a warning and an opening," Yaffa writes. "The tactic of sowing discord and exploiting existing fissures is one of the more consistent motifs in Russia's Putin-era foreign policy. For years, Moscow has tried to split the United States and Europe, driving a wedge between Washington and Brussels on everything from sanctions to nato, while also looking to exacerbate disagreements among E.U. member states themselves.
"Putin is now trying out the same trick in his relationship with the Trump Administration, by trying to appeal to Trump the individual and to peel him away from other institutions less inclined to make nice with Russia, whether it be Congress or the intelligence services…Perhaps Putin believes that Trump could now refuse to sign the bill in its current form, citing the impending damage to U.S. diplomatic operations. Also, the cuts required by Putin's edict don't go into effect until September -- enough time, potentially, to amend or soften its provisions if relations with Trump take a more hopeful turn."
| | A New Strategy for Taming Kim Threat | | North Korea's latest missile test is a reminder that the crisis over its nuclear program is accelerating, the Wall Street Journal editorializes. It's time for a change in strategy, and recent remarks by CIA Chief Mike Pompeo suggest the administration may be on to something: Pushing for regime change.
"A policy of regime change needn't require an invasion or immediate unification of North and South Korea. Security in Northeast Asia could also improve if the Kim regime is overthrown from within by generals or a political faction that wasn't determined to threaten the world with a nuclear arsenal," the Journal argues.
"The U.S. does have policy tools to promote this strategy, especially if the goal of regime change is clearly stated. Some are economic, such as the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act that cuts off North Korean banks from the dollar-based international financial system. The Trump Administration recently began to sanction Chinese banks and trading companies that violate U.N. sanctions, and the list should be expanded.
"Washington could also promote the truth to the North Korean people and elites about the Kim family's crimes. If army officers believe that Kim is leading the regime toward disaster, they will have an incentive to plot against him."
| | Do We Face a Childless Future? | | | Dystopian visions of a childless future feel a little less like science fiction following the results of a new study on male infertility, Robin McKie writes for The Observer. We appear to be hurtling toward such a future – and scientists don't really know why.
"According to scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, sperm counts among men in the west have more than halved in the past 40 years and are currently falling by an average of 1.4% a year," McKie writes.
"It was a chilling and alarming revelation. Western nations – although not developing countries – appear to be facing disaster. But what could be triggering this decline in sperm? And what can be done to counter it?
"Answering these questions turns out to be a lot more awkward than was previously realized, and while the most strident apocalyptic warnings that have followed publication of the Jerusalem study are dismissed by experts, most believe its findings suggest we face a major social and biological problem. Worryingly, there is little evidence that any action is being taken to address the coming crisis." | | Russia's Remarkable Afghan Comeback | | In expanding its embassy staff, signing a security agreement with Afghanistan and pledging to bolster the country's housing sector, Russia is trying to reshape its image among Afghans and exploit disillusionment over the results of 16 years of U.S. intervention, suggests Arturo G. Muñoz in Newsweek. Now, "Russia is enjoying a remarkable comeback in the land that once fought so violently to expel it.
"Regardless of the gains that have been made in some areas, masses of unemployed Afghans have lost hope and are emigrating in unprecedented numbers. Afghan soldiers are fighting valiantly, but terrorist attacks are on the rise and the U.S.-backed Afghan government appears incapable of establishing security across the country. The bulk of U.S. and NATO military forces have departed, aggravating Afghan fears of being abandoned again by the West."
| | Africa's Looming Land Crisis | | High birthrates and increasing life expectancy could see Africa's population swell to some four billion, around 10 times what it was four decades ago, notes Jeffrey Gettleman in the New York Times. But a looming land crisis raises serious questions over whether it will become ever more difficult to feed the continent – and is already stoking conflict.
"Population swells, climate change, soil degradation, erosion, poaching, global food prices and even the benefits of affluence are exerting incredible pressure on African land. They are fueling conflicts across the continent, from Nigeria in the west to Kenya in the east," Gettleman writes.
"Large groups of people are on the move, desperate for usable land. Data from NASA satellites reveals an overwhelming degradation of agricultural land throughout Africa, with one recent study showing that more than 40 million Africans are trying to survive off land whose agricultural potential is declining."
"It is a two-headed problem, scientists and activists say, and it could be one of the gravest challenges Africa faces: The quality of farmland in many areas is getting worse, and the number of people squeezed onto that land is rising fast."
| | Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Georgia on Monday as part of a trip that also takes in Estonia and Montenegro. "About 800 Georgian and 1,600 U.S. troops are taking part in the Noble Partner 2017 drills -- the largest ever in the Caucasus nation since it fought a brief war with Russia in 2008," AFP reports.
Rwanda holds its presidential election on Friday, with President Paul Kagame expected to be reelected. "What can be done to stop African autocrats like Kagame from simply refusing to step down when they are supposed to?" Brian Klaas writes in the Washington Post. "In countries where democracy hasn't yet taken root, term limits are essential. In Africa, the fight over them is intensifying. Gray-haired strongmen are crushing the democratic aspirations of their people. But term limits can give democracy a fighting chance against entrenched autocrats." | | | | | | |
