In Donald Trump's perverse ambition to win the Nobel Peace Prize, he is citing his supposed diplomatic victories in ending six conflicts: Armenia-Azerbaijan, Congo-Rwanda, Israel-Iran, India-Pakistan, Thailand-Cambodia and Egypt-Ethiopia. In Episode 292 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg examines each of these examples, and breaks down how claims to have won "peace" are either extremely overstated or (more often) total Orwellian jive. The implication that Russia-Ukraine will be next, as Putin escalates his aggression, puts a hideous crown on the irony.

Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Manet, nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Aug. 7, citing his "crucial role" in restoring peace after bloody border fighting with Thailand. The gushy statement praised Trump's "extraordinary statesmanship" and "innovative diplomacy." (NYT)

Cambodia now becomes the third country to nominate the bellicose Trump for the Peace Prize after Israel and Pakistan. Islamabad's nomination followed Trump's supposed involvement in the ceasefire deal with India that ended several days of mutual missile strikes in May. The problem is that India denies that the US or any other foreign power had a hand in its decision to accept a truce. (Hindustan Times)

Amnesty International called on the People's Republic of China July 2 to halt its attempts to control the selection process for the future Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader. Amnesty's China director, Sarah Brooks, said: "The Chinese authorities must immediately end political interference in Tibetan religious practices and cease using religious succession as a tool for control and coercion."

India's government claims to have killed a top Naxalite rebel leader as part of a month-long military operation targeting the Maoist guerillas. Nambala Keshav Rao AKA "Basavaraju," secretary-general of the banned Communist Party of India–Maoist (CPI-M), was killed alongside 25 other insurgent fighters in a May 21 shoot-out in Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh state. The Naxalites have waged an armed struggle for more than two generations in the impoverished interior regions of East and Central India, but New Delhi has now vowed to clear the country of the rebel movement by March 2026. (TNH)

A May 21 suicide attack on bus serving an army-run school in Khuzdar district of Pakistan's Balochistan province killed five people, three of them children. Islamabad, which faces accusations it was involved in last month's attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, quickly pointed the finger at neighboring India and Afghanistan. Both New Delhi and Kabul have denied the allegations. Balochistan has been the subject of a decades-long armed struggle for autonomy. Ethnic Baloch communities have accused Pakistani authorities of disenfranchisement, neglect and forced disappearances.

A tragic militant attack in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 left at least 26 people dead, including Indian and foreign tourists. The incident prompted an immediate and strong response from the Indian government, which has blamed the attack on Pakistan-based groups. Within a day, India announced that it was suspending the Indus Waters Treaty—a World Bank-brokered agreement signed in 1960 that governs the use and distribution of waters in the Indus River basin between the two countries.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India some 750 miles offshore in the Indian Ocean, recently drew brief international media attention—but for bad reasons. The group of 572 islands, of which 38 are inhabited, were the scene of two disturbing incidents. In the last week of March, a foreigner was arrested for visiting a restricted island, and a local journalist was found dead.

Amnesty International on Feb. 10 called on Indian authorities to take immediate steps to end ongoing ethnic violence and ensure human rights protections in the conflict-torn northeastern state of Manipur. The statement follows the resignation of N. Biren Singh as chief minister of Manipur. In a statement, Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India, emphasized that Singh's resignation provides an opportunity for authorities to break the cycle of violence and impunity that has plagued Manipur for nearly two years. "The BJP-led governments at both the state and central levels have utterly failed to curb the violence, hold perpetrators accountable, or address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the state," Patel said.