Newsletter Archive

With Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump suggesting the November election may be rigged, and security officials blaming Russia for a politically sensitive hack of the Democratic National Committee, election cybersecurity is getting a closer look. The risks are real, experts say, though it’s another question how likely they are to happen.

The United States expressed fresh concern after North Korea indicated it had renewed nuclear activity that would allow it to churn out at least enough plutonium for one bomb annually. Pyongyang’s Atomic Energy Institute confirmed to Japan’s Kyodo News agency that it has resumed activities at a nuclear complex. That’s “obviously a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions,” a U.S. State Department spokesman said.

Wildfires spreading in parts of California have destroyed more than 100 structures and chased more than 1,000 people from their homes. Firefighters anticipate that the worst is yet to come, what with gusting winds and dry tinder.

The militant group al-Shabab has expanded its aspirations, operations and aims beyond Somalia. Now it’s preparing to wage a long war of extremist violence in much of East Africa, according to analysts and experts. One says, “Even if al-Shabab were to be defeated tomorrow, I think it has inspired a generation of jihadists from across the region, from different countries, who are likely to continue.”

Each year, an estimated 2.6 million babies are stillborn and another 2.7 million die within 28 days of birth, mostly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the World Health Organization says. But these are only estimates, likely undercounted. As part of new guidelines, the WHO is calling for better reporting on the cause of infant death to improve health outcomes. In some countries, stigma surrounds newborn death, discouraging reporting.

Africans outnumber Americans on the roster of track-and-field athletes at Middle Tennessee State University in a Nashville suburb. The emphasis on international recruiting has paid off in prestige: Two of the university’s athletes are competing in the Rio Olympics, both on behalf of their native Ghana. John Ampomah, 26, will pick up the javelin in competition Wednesday night; his teammate, Janet Amponsah, 23, will run in the women’s 4×100-meter relay Thursday. Their assistant coach and fellow countryman, former triple jumper Andrew Owusu, competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.