"What in the World?" - Week of Mar 5-11, 2017

The United Nations has made a rare formal declaration of famine in THIS country where a civil war has resulted in rebels and government forces intentionally blocking supplies to the populace. The UN says more than one million people could perish.

President Trump is expected to release a revised travel ban this week that will include all of the countries listed in an earlier order [Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen] that was blocked by a court challenge EXCEPT:

Germany and THIS NATO ally have been in a war of words over permission for campaign rallies on German soil. On March 5th THIS president compared current German policies to the Nazi era, a charge challenged by a spokesman in Berlin, "Such comparisons are always absurd and out of place because they lead to only to one thing: a trivialization of crimes against humanity."

North Korea (DPRK) continued an “unprecedented” level of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile testing, defying UN Security Council Resolutions, with the launch of four missiles this week. The launch comes as U.S. and Republic of Korea armed forces conduct annual exercises aimed at deterring DPRK aggression. About how many American military personnel are based in the Republic of Korea?

What is “gender budgeting?”

The British Foreign Minister accepted an invitation from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit Russia for meetings on differences between the countries. A British spokesperson said, "This is not a return to business as usual and the Foreign Secretary will continue to be robust on those issues where we differ." The British Foreign Minister is:

President Trump announced a ten percent boost in military spending for his proposed budget and “fairly dramatic reductions” in the international affairs budget. WHICH Trump cabinet official famously said, “If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately,” referring to the consequences of diminished American “soft power” resources.

The international affairs budget (“foreign aid”) which faces a 37% cut in the budget announced by President Trump has been about WHAT percent of the U.S. Federal Budget.

The budget proposal floated by the Trump Administration last week that would cut as much as 37% of funding for international affairs programs, such as foreign aid, was denounced in a letter by more than 120 retired three and four-star generals and admirals to Congressional leaders. They said adequate funding was necessary to “ensure that resources for the International Affairs Budget keep pace with the growing global threats and opportunities we face.” Which of these organizations would not be directly affected by foreign aid cuts.

Iran and this neighbor agreed on Sunday to work together on a railway connection that would serve as part of a link between Northern Europe and South Asia.