The IAEA has found itself in the thick of two global political crises—securing a Ukrainian nuclear power plant and enforcing oversight of Iran’s nuclear program. Its chief, Rafael Grossi, has managed both files with dexterity, but his ongoing success will depend on his ability to avoid alienating any of the parties involved.
On Aug. 18, a truth commission report on the 2014 disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa detailed the Mexican military’s involvement in the incident. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador believes those responsible should be punished. But his security policies do nothing to prevent similar atrocities in the future.
On Aug. 18, nearly eight years after 43 students from a teacher’s college in the rural town of Ayotzinapa disappeared, a truth commission set up by the government released a sprawling report that confirmed what many had long argued: The state was involved. But whether the findings will result in accountability remains to be seen.
In the aftermath of Mikhail Gorbachev’s death last week, many observers wondered if another Gorbachev-like figure could reverse Russia’s course after President Vladimir Putin leaves power, like Gorbachev did for the Soviet Union. But that’s unlikely. And the image of Gorbachev that guides such hopes is less than accurate.
Swedish voters head to the polls on Sept. 11, with no clear sign of what the outcome will be, and the leading coalitions running neck-and-neck. The general election comes at a time of global geopolitical and economic instability due to the war in Ukraine, which has had a major impact on Sweden’s foreign policy orientation.
Yemen’s latest truce extension was reached with difficulty, in part because the Houthis no longer feel they have any incentive to make further concessions. With the clock already running down on the two-month extension, the group’s lack of meaningful engagement poses a serious threat to the prospects for reaching a lasting peace.
Many Americans were reminded last week that the United States remains actively engaged in military combat. But this conflict is not in Afghanistan, where the U.S. withdrew its forces last August. Nor is it in Ukraine, where President Joe Biden has gone out of his way to avoid direct military involvement. It’s in Syria.
European Union bureaucrats are busy figuring out how to implement the agreement reached this week in Prague by EU foreign ministers to end visa facilitation for Russian tourists visiting the union. But many of the bloc’s members fear that the policy could strengthen Putin’s hand and hurt ethnic Russians living in the union.