East Asia

South Korean anti-missile protesters score victory

As Trump and and Kim Jong-un exchange nuclear threats, anti-missile protesters in rural South Korea scored a win, prompting Seoul to delay plans to expand the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery that the Pentagon installed in April. The announcement came as villagers and activists were blocking the road to the THAAD base.

South Asia

Linguistic struggle heats up in Pakistan

A proposed amendment to Pakistan's constitution, making Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi "national languages" along with Urdu, is sparking an angry backlash from nationalists.

East Asia

Korea: protests as US begins THAAD installation

Protesters blocked roads and clashed with police in South Korea’s rural Seongju county as US forces began installing the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system.

North America

Trump-Putin breach: real or charade?

Is Trump's breach with Putin real, or is all the sudden sabre-rattling part of an elaborate charade to throw Congress off the scent of ongoing Trump-Putin collusion?

Iran

Iran bank drops dollar amid new sanctions

The Central Bank of Iran formally dropped its use of the US dollar as Trump slapped new sanctions on the Islamic Republic in response to its latest missile test.

Planet Watch

Doomsday Clock: 2.5 minutes of midnight

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the minute hand of its symbolic Doomsday Clock from three minutes to two-and-a-half minutes to midnight.

East Asia

Taiwan Strait in the Trump world order

Did Tsai Ing-wen exploit Trump's anti-China stance to score a point against Beijing? Or was she herself played by Cold Warriors who seek to exploit Taiwan in the Great Game?

Greater Middle East

The new Axis: Moscow, Damascus, Washington

Trump's election has given Russia a green light for the destruction of Aleppo; Bashar Assad now has the open support of both superpowers in his war of extermination.

Iraq

Syria and Iraq in the Trump world order

Trump intends to divide Syria with Putin the way Hitler divided Poland with Stalin—but will the US will be able to control its sphere amid social collapse and sectarian maelstrom?