Japan PM takes a gamble; calls for snap election on October 22
Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, called a snap election on Monday, cashing in on the increase in popular support for his hard line against North Korea’s ballistic missile programme.
World politics
A War With North Korea Is A Risk Which Cannot Be Ruled Out
Unfortunately, the stakes are being upped in this strange and perverse game between Trump and Pyongyang, with increasing possibilities of China becoming involved. A war with North Korea cannot be ruled out.
Generals Gain Influence Over Trump, But This Is Not a Junta
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel | Top military officers are exerting increasing influence in Donald Trump’s administration and causing some to wonder if it’s the start of an American junta. But nobody really expects John Kelly, James Mattis and H.R. McMaster to attempt a putsch.
Confusion helps defuse a dangerous crisis between US-North Korea
Mr Trump would be wise to avoid further threatening once he’s made clear that the US will immediately retaliate should North Korea launch even a harmless attack close to Guam. Undoubtedly Mr Kim got the message. That said, no-one knows how he might react next time.
Global warming, a dramatic reality
After the storm Sandy has hit New York, Spanish renewable energy company Acciona asks what “global warming” really means: “as well as temperature increases, it means alterations in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena.”