The coup in Thailand poses a threat to one of the country's most successful industries: tourism. There's no question the country is a major tourist destination. Visitors travel from around the world to see attractions such as the markets of Bangkok, the beaches of Phuket and Koh Samui and the forests and mountains of Chiang Mai. Monthly visitor numbers have fallen by about 400,000 - or roughly 16% - since the end of last year, coinciding with the escalation in protests.

My previous article on what Russia was likely to do in Ukraine described the costs of a Russian attempt at territorial aggrandizement. The title and subtitle were picked by the editors; my read on the situation did not give me certainty that Russia wouldn’t invade Crimea, and indeed I argued that an invasion was likely if there was violence against ethnic Russians there (which is why I urged the Ukrainian government not to rise to the bait by permitting or encouraging anti-Russian violence in Crimea).

Egypt is spiraling toward instability and radicalization. Since last summer’s coup, the military-backed regime has used brute force to try to restore peace and manage its form of “democratic transition.” But its repressive strategy to physically eliminate political opponents, restore stability and end society’s acute polarization is backfiring.

Egypt’s deposed government filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting investigations into what it described as crimes committed by the military against its members. The complaint accused the military of staging a coup d’etat against the country’s first elected president Mohamed Morsi and his government, which was followed by the detention of its members and the usage of “extreme force to remove civilians who gathered to protest against the coup."

Rebels in South Sudan have seized some oil wells and captured half of the capital of the main oil-producing region, the government and army said on Thursday as African leaders held talks to avert civil war. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met South Sudan's President Salva Kiir in the capital Juba in an attempt to end nearly two weeks of fighting in the world's newest state.

The United States says all members of the U.N. Security Council support a proposal to send 5,500 peacekeepers to South Sudan in order to protect civilians from worsening violence. The Security Council is due to vote Tuesday afternoon on a resolution to transfer troops from other U.N. missions in Africa following the proposal from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon.

US President Barack Obama has warned South Sudan that Washington and its allies would cut aid to the country over any attempted military coup, amid growing fears of civil war. Obama also urged South Sudan's leaders to help protect US personnel and citizens in the conflict-ravaged country, after four US military service members were wounded when their aircraft were fired upon on Saturday during a mission to evacuate American citizens.

They were an unlikely pair to lead the world’s newest nation — from different tribal groups and different regions, having taken vastly different paths to power. President Salva Kiir, a field commander with little formal education, was known for his black ­cowboy hat. His vice president, Riek Machar, had earned a doctorate in Britain and preferred Western suits.