In The News

PBS NewsHour: Tear Gas at the US Border

Joshua Barajas and Amber Partida November 28, 2018
US border patrol officers fired tear gas to deter asylum seekers crossing the border from Mexico. The asylum seekers, many starting in Honduras, formed a caravan hoping for strength in numbers and media attention on their flight from poverty and drug-cartel violence. US officials regard the caravan as a security threat although photographs and videos show a crowd consisting of many women and...

CNN: Post-Brexit UK-US Trade

Euan McKirdy and Hilary McGann November 27, 2018
Every step in Brexit negotiations and new procedures creates winners and losers for industries and workers throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and beyond. Members of the European Union reached draft agreement with the government of UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and the UK Parliament’s approval is now required. “Under the draft agreement, the UK will stay inside the bloc's single market...

BBC: Russia-Ukraine Tensions Rise

November 26, 2018
Russia is expanding control over Ukraine step by step – annexing Crimea in 2014, supporting militants in eastern Ukraine, inspecting vessels passing through the Kerch strait, and most recently opening fire on and confiscating three naval vessels off the Crimean coast. The Ukrainian vessels were trying to sail from the Black Sea port of Odessa to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov, and Russia’s control...

Japan Times: Delay in UN Security Council Reform

November 25, 2018
Developed and developing nation alike are impatient for reforms in the UN Security Council with its governance structure of permanent members, any of which can veto actons. “The negotiations have been going on for the past 10 years with various groups representing different positions on how reform should be manifested and has relied on a consensus-based decision-making style,” report Kyodo and...

New York Times: Trump Pardons Saudi Arabia

Mark Mazzetti and Ben Hubbard November 22, 2018
For the US president, only his opinion matters as he regularly ignoring professionals with years of experience. The latest example is Donald Trump dismissing a finding by US intelligence agencies that the Saudi Crown Prince ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi diplomatic consulate. “Trump has long viewed foreign policy as a series of business deals, stripped of values and...

Foreign Affairs: The Next Arab Uprising

Marwan Muasher November 21, 2018
The Arab Spring uprisings, the low price of oil and the disregard for human rights as displayed by the murder of a journalist in a Saudi diplomatic consulate – ordered by the Saudi crown prince, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency – is prompting nations and businesses around the globe to reassess stability of the Middle East. Likewise, citizens living in the region under authoritarian...

RTÉ : Draft Brexit Deal

November 20, 2018
Great Britain has reached a draft agreement on how it will proceed in exiting its European Union membership. Key players are unhappy, and the Irish – both the nation and Northern Ireland – quarrel whether no deal actually means a hard border. WTO rules require border checks between different customs rules. The British argue for a “better agreement,” too, with numerous disagreements about more or...