Iran is notorious for the opium flowing within its borders. A significant portion of their population is plagued with addictions to opiates, and their meth problem is pretty severe as well. Some estimates in 2015 put the number of those addicted to illegal drugs at 2.2 million -- 2.75% of the overall population. It has been credited as the country with the highest population of … [Read more...] about Iran’s drug problem
Until now, the Bangladesh government has been labeling Rohingya refugees out of Myanmar as "forcibly displaced" since October of last year. At that point in time, approximately 500,000 people had fled from the military violence in Myanmar across the border and into Bangladesh. Since then, an additional 200,000 has made for a total of 700,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh due … [Read more...] about Bangladesh to stop labeling refugees ‘forcibly displaced’ due to Myanmar request
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said recently that a Navy hospital ship would be deployed to Colombia in an aid mission set to help the Venezuelan migrants there. According to the U.N., 2.3 million migrants are flooding away from Venezuela to places like Colombia (also to Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru) -- that's approximately 7% of its total population. Mattis made sure to … [Read more...] about Mattis: US Navy hospital ship to aid Venezuelan migrants
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered yet another temporary peace agreement on a religious holiday, akin to the agreement honored by both sides in mid-June. This cease fire will revolve around Eid al-Adha, and the despite the heavy fighting between NATO forces and the Afghan government against the Taliban in Ghazni recently, the Taliban have agreed. ....we announce a … [Read more...] about The growing talks of peace: Taliban agrees to another religious holiday cease-fire
Monsoons around the world have been particularly devastating this year -- from the refugee camps in Myanmar and Bangladesh to south India to the trapped kids in Thailand, the heavy rainy season has been brutal and unrelenting. In south India, BBC has reported that approximately 324 people have died due to the rains -- many of which were killed because of landslides caused by … [Read more...] about Monsoon season around the world
You probably know the image -- a worn and weathered man with salt-and-pepper hair, a gruff 5 o' clock shadow, and that thousand-yard stare emanating from his aged, experienced eyes. He's been fighting since he was 18-years-old, and the actor is probably in his 40s. He's the leading man in the vast majority of action films. Sometimes that image is accurate. If the character … [Read more...] about Hollywood and the old man warfighter
"Hawala" has long been a method of both legitimate money transfer among Muslim nations, as well as a method of financing terror organizations through illicit and difficult to trace channels. It's a system based not on checks, balances, account numbers or debts, rather, it's based on honor. The brokers who operate hawala (hawaladars) base their entire careers off this honor … [Read more...] about Methods of financing terror: The uses of ‘Hawala’
The United States Air Force and Army air support have been busy this week. Ghazni has seen fierce fighting, as the Taliban have been pushing to take the city -- to no avail. Fighters from the U.S. Air Force and Army Apache gunships have killed over 220 Taliban fighters in the area since Aug. 10, according to a statement from Lt. Col. Martin O'Donnell, Operation Resolute Support … [Read more...] about Analysis: US air support takes out over 220 Taliban fighters
An explosion ripped through an education center in Kabul, Afghanistan. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive strapped to their person, killing at least 48 and wounding approximately 67 -- these numbers are still coming in and will likely change as more details become apparent. The mass majority of the victims, who were civilians, were young men and women, studying in a … [Read more...] about Analysis: At least 48 killed in suicide attack in Kabul, likely the Islamic State
Officials are searching for the bodies of 22 Sudanese children who drowned as they traveled by boat to school on the Nile. Reports indicate some sort of engine failure in turbulent waters, resulting in the sinking of the boat. While headlines are typically dominated with the comings and goings of politicians, violence abroad or some viral epidemic, more “regular” dangers … [Read more...] about 22 Sudanese children drown in boat on the way to school
Personally speaking, I've had a great experience at the VA. I've taken a couple trips to the ER, had some routine checkups, received quality treatment for a broken finger, and a couple other small things here and there. Many (not all) of the people I have met that complain about the VA are often forgetting to mention the faults of their own -- they didn't show up to an … [Read more...] about Opinion: The root of the problems in the VA
Six men were pushed before the watching eyes of countless men, women, and children -- they were thieves and murders, and they were set to be executed in public. The style of execution? Beheading. One might expect such a scene from medieval England or ancient China, but this particular anecdote? Early June 2017 in Saudi Arabia. Six men publicly executed in a single day -- … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia’s death penalty
