This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

The failed Russian coup, 20 years later

Mikhail Gorbachev returns to Moscow from the Crimea in August, 1991, after attempted coup (Reuters)

August 16 is the 20th anniversary of the attempted coup by Soviet hardliners to eliminate President Mikhail Gorbachev and to take control of the government. They put Gorbachev under house arrest in his vacation villa on the Black Sea in the Crimea. All communications were cut off, and no one knew whether he was dead or alive. The hardliners claimed that Gorbachev was ill and there was disorder in various, unspecified parts of the Soviet Union. Gennady Yanaev signed the decree naming himself as acting USSR president on the pretext of Gorbachev’s inability to perform presidential duties due to “illness.” The political winner of coup attempt was Boris Yeltsin, because he happened to be at the right place at the right time, and took over when the coup failed. That was the event that signaled the final end of the Soviet Union. Jamestown

Libya’s rebels predict victory ‘within the month’

Libya’s rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) is claiming that their forces now totallt control the town of Zawiya, about 30 miles west of Tripoli, cutting off the major route that was keeping the capital, Tripoli, supplied with food and fuel. The TNC is claiming that the war against Muammar al-Gaddafi had entered a “decisive phase,” and that victory is possible within the month (which, I assume, means in the next two weeks). Tripoli Post

U.S. restores funding to aid groups in Gaza

The U.S. has restored funding to international aid groups in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas rulers backed down from a demand from one of the groups to turn over its books for auditing and to allow Hamas officials to search its officials. Aid groups have refused to allow the audit from concern that Hamas would try to control its activities. Hamas is listed as a terror organization by the US and EU. A Hamas official said that they backed down from the demand to audit the International Medical Corps., but said that the organization had agreed to independent auditing. AP

Hamas claims that Fatah is violating their reconciliation agreement

Hamas today accused Fatah of going back on previous agreements between the two political groups and violating the reconciliation deal that had been signed in Cairo earlier this year. The accusation concerns a detail involving voter registration. Future elections will determine which organization is in control of the unity government. Palestine News Network

North Korean slams joint U.S-S. Korea Yellow Sea naval drills

Tens of thousands of American and South Korean military personnel are taking part in joint military drills that began on Tuesday in the Yellow Sea. The exercises will last for 10 days. The U.S. calls the exercises routine and defense-oriented because they’re aimed at simulating the destroying of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction. peaking through its official media, Pyongyang has urged Seoul and Washington to call off the drills, saying they increase the likelihood of nuclear war. VOA

China’s new aircraft carrier vulnerable to attack in South China Sea

China’s new aircraft carrier has returned to port after completing its initial sea trials. The carrier is hugely popular in China, where it is being touted as a symbol of the country’s ascent to great-power status. Ardent online fans have already christened the vessel Shi-Lang, after the 17th century Taiwan-conquering admiral. The carrier would seem to decisively shift the palance of power in the South China Sea, where China has territorial disputes with Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. However, the carrier would be extremely vulnerable in those waters, because it has inadequate protection against incoming missiles. Asia Times

Russia moves to return border guards to Tajik-Afghanistan border

Russia has been pressing Tajikistan hard to allow the return of Russian border guards to the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Russian officials are genuinely concerned about the impact of Afghan narcotics, most of which are smuggled into the country through Central Asia. An estimated 130,000 people in Russia die each year from heroin overdoses and drug-related crime. Last year, Russia’s anti-narcotics chief, Viktor Ivanov, suggested that about 60 percent of Russia-bound Afghan heroin is smuggled through Tajikistan, which needs support in fighting drug trafficking through its borders. However, Tajikistan is balking at giving up its sovereignty to allow the Russian border guards. Jamestown