Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom

Genaro García Luna, who previously served as Mexico’s security minister, has been arrested in the United States. He is accused of having accepted bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel. According to prosecutors, García Luna gave drug traffickers both safe passage as well as information in exchange for millions of dollars. García Luna served as public […]

The U.S. State Department is offering a $5 million prize for information leading to the arrest of Jehad Serwan Mostafa, an American citizen on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Robert Brewer, Mostafa is believed to be the “highest-ranking U.S. citizen fighting overseas with a terrorist […]

Leaders from across the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation arrived in London to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the alliance. Yet the gathering was noted for its tensions rather than its harmony. While Boris Johnson (the British Prime Minister and the summit’s host), reaffirmed his country’s “rock solid” commitment to NATO and reiterated the idea of […]

President Trump has announced plans to put tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Argentina and Brazil. Though increased tariffs were introduced last year, as result of pressure from home and abroad both South American countries had received waivers exempting them. Trump justified his decision on the claim that the two countries are allegedly engaging […]

In the aftermath of the killing of members of the U.S.-Mexican Mormon family on November 4th, the Trump administration is set to formally designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. The killing, which resulted in the deaths of three women and six children, has sparked renewed interest in the years-long bloody drug war that has engulfed […]

The U.S. military announced that it lost an unarmed drone that was flying over Tripoli. According to AFRICOM, the aircraft was engaging in reconnaissance in order to determine the current situation on the ground, namely security and violent activity by extremists. Tripoli has been the site of intense fighting in recent months. Libya is currently […]

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reversed decades of U.S. foreign policy and declared that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories will no longer be considered illegal. The new American position on the settlements puts it at odds with the overwhelming majority of states around the world, including most of the U.S. allies. Arguing that […]

President Donald Trump has reportedly requested that the Japanese government more than quadruple its annual contribution for stationing American troops in the country. This would mark a significant increase from the roughly $1.8 billion (197.4 billion yen) currently earmarked for the purpose in Japan’s fiscal budget. This is part of a wider move to get […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that his country has found a new oil field, which contains an estimated 53 billion barrels of crude oil, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. The discovery increases Iran’s proven reserves by a third. Covering roughly an area of 2,400 sq km, it’ll be the country’s second largest oil field, […]

During the course of 2019, Russia renewed its effort to exert its presence beyond Eurasia and Syria — its most recent target is Africa. In October, the president of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin-Archange Touadéra revealed that he was open to the prospect of a Russian military base in the country. In an interview […]

Ahead of Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s visit to Asia, the Department of Defense is hoping to renew efforts to bring back the remains of American soldiers that died or went missing in action in China. According to Randall Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Esper is set to meet his Chinese counterpart, […]

The U.S. airbase in Agadez, Niger, which cost $110 million, has already begun carrying out missions in the region. Its primary tasks will be reconnaissance and surveillance flights, though it could potentially be used for carrying out strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles. Completed earlier this year, Air Base 201 (as it is officially called) was […]