WORLD ROUNDUPStorms in South America | Is Support for Ukraine Waning? | Germany’s Nuclear Power, and more

U.S. Considering Joint Weapons Production with Taiwan  (Reuters / VOA News)
The U.S. government is considering a plan to jointly produce weapons with Taiwan, a business lobby said Wednesday, an initiative intended to speed up arms transfers to bolster Taipei’s deterrence against China.
U.S. presidents have approved more than $20 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan since 2017 as China has ramped up military pressure on the democratically governed island Beijing claims as its own territory.
But Taiwan and the U.S. Congress have warned of delivery delays because of supply chain difficulties and backlogs caused by increased demand for some systems due to the war in Ukraine.

White House Pushes Back Concerns That Ukraine Support Is Waning  (Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News)
The White House pushed back against growing concerns that Republican lawmakers would not keep aid flowing to Ukraine should they retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November midterm election.
The United States has authorized more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, with more than $17 billion in security assistance disbursed since the war began in February.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, however, indicated that aid could slow down should the chamber be controlled by Republicans.

UN: Colombia Coca Leaf Cultivation at Two-Decade High  (DW)
Colombia saw its coca leaf cultivation and potential cocaine production rose sharply from 2020 to 2021 despite longtime anti-narcotics efforts by the government.

Can a Non-Gandhi President Revive India’s Congress Party?(Murali Krishnan, DW)
The Congress party held onto power for decades. But despite its new leadership, the party’s near-term prospects continue to look bleak after the loss of two national elections in a row.

German Cabinet Approves Nuclear Plant Lifespan Extension  (DW)
Germany’s cabinet has greenlighted the chancellor’s executive decision to delay the country’s nuclear power phaseout by several months. The move comes amid fears of an energy shortage over winter.

Germany Is Arguing with Itself Over Ukraine  (Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic)
The fight over which weapons to give Ukraine is really a disagreement about Germany.

Storms in South America  (Paul Brian, The Critic)
For the most part, Brazilians are not the type to let politics intrude on their relationships, but that is changing lately. There has recently been a troubling trend of people blocking friends and family members and cutting them out of their lives for their political views. Fatal political violence unfortunately has also occurred, committed by Lula and Bolsonaro supporters.

What will stop Vladimir Putin?  (Lawrence Freedman, New Statesman)
Calls for negotiations to end Russia’s war with Ukraine tend to be directed more at Kyiv or Washington than Moscow, as if it were the former two that were the main stumbling blocks to peace. Yet it is Vladimir Putin that is demanding that this war leads to a fundamental change in borders and political arrangements – which he has no right, on any reading of international law, to demand.

The Russia-Iran Axis  (Charlotte Lawson, The Dispatch)
Deeper ties create risks for the West on battlefields far beyond Ukraine.