The bold, would-be hegemon that is China today is unrecognizable compared with the nation it was 40 years ago, when it was struggling with a very poor, stagnant, isolated economy.

Few words invoke such a sense of forsaken hopelessness as “Sahara.” The political status of the region known as the Western Sahara, which is at the center of the modern history of Northwest Africa, is the single most important political issue affecting the area.

Under normal circumstances, 4,000 square km of picturesque mountain forest does not immediately lend itself to being the arena for a potentially destabilizing regional conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh, however, finds itself squeezed between the ambitions of Russia, Turkey and Iran.

In the wake of the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden’s favorability rating rose to about 45 percent. The announcement of Kamala Harris as a running mate — plus the vocal approval of three previous presidents — gave a much-needed boost to his campaign.