France is in the line of fire. Of the 16 terrorist incidents that took place in Western nations this year, five were in France, including the deadliest one — Thursday’s apparent lone wolf attack in Nice, which killed at least 84 people. A little more than a week before the attack, a commission set up by the French parliament …

Russia’s lease of the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at $115 million per year, extends until 2050. Although Russia’s new spaceport, the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Far East, saw its first successful launch in April, the facility is a long way from completion and already behind schedule. Periodic reports that Russia intends to leave Baikonur before 2050–such as news last summer …

  Noah Smith After a landslide victory in Japan’s election on July 10th, the Liberal Democratic Party now has a supermajority in both the upper and lower houses of the Diet. Essentially, there is no longer any effective political opposition in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has more power than any leader in decades — even more than his famous …