Egypt’s new dictator. Gregg Carlstrom profiles Abdel Fatah el-Sisi.

Germany considers how to respond to NSA surveillance. A report on preparations for German counterespionage directed against allied governments.

The (mostly) forgotten war between China and Vietnam. Rachel Lu describes the official silence about the war in both countries, and recounts the varying Chinese views of the conflict 35 years later.

Will a governor win in 2016? Larry Sabato reviews the possible candidates.

The Little Ice Age and the upheavals of the seventeenth century. Deborah Coen reviews Geoffrey Parker’s Global Crisis: War, Climate Change, and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century.

Germany’s government is bogged down in scandal and recriminations. Der Spiegel reports on the new coalition government’s internal problems.

North Korea’s crimes against humanity. A summary of the U.N. report on North Korean atrocities and abuses.

Why did Venezuela’s opposition leader hand himself over to the government? Leopoldo Lopez explained his reasons in his final speech before being imprisoned.