In The News

Unknowns of Trump Impeachment: Bloomberg

Jonathan Bernstein January 17, 2020
So much of politics depends on appearances and voter perceptions rather than evidence. Proceedings resume January 21, and surprises emerged beforehand. Ukraine accused Russia of hacking into Burisma, a firm targeted by Trump associates for wooing the son of a former US vice president for board service. Lev Parnas, accused of campaign irregularities, turned over emails, photographs and other...

Russia Cabinet Resigns: DW

January 16, 2020
Russia struggles to transition away from President Vladimir Putin’s leadership. In power for two decades, Putin announced constitutional reforms that could influence the parliamentary elections in 2021 could keep him in power beyond 2024. Russian law prohibits him from running for a third consecutive six-year term. In the past, Putin and former Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev abided by the law by...

Debate Goes Dark in Beijing: The Guardian

January 5, 2020
China’s human rights violations with regard to the ethnic Turkic minority of the Xinjiang province attract international criticism. The Chinese government’s detention of Uighurs into concentration camps was the subject of a segment of a US Democratic presidential debate. China refuses to acknowledge the criticism, and a live CNN broadcast of the debate “went dark in Beijing,” reports the Guardian...

Young Urge Climate Action: Sydney Morning Herald

Alexandra Smith January 2, 2020
Fire conditions in Australia are horrific, and the rest of the world questions a strategy that relies on a largely volunteer firefighting force and poor examples of leadership, allowing a massive fireworks display to welcome the New Year. More than 12 million acres have burned. Tens of thousands have evacuated, hundreds of homes destroyed, and roads are closed with infrastructure under threat....

A Hong Kong Generation Criminalized: CNN

James Griffiths and Jessie Yeung December 24, 2019
More than 6,000 people have been arrested for protesting in Hong Kong. That number could climb as authorities review surveillance recordings. The protests began in June over a bill allowing extradition of accused to China. “The early demonstrations were legally-approved marches, however, almost everyone who has attended protests in recent months has been at an event deemed unlawful,” reports CNN...

Gulf States Reconsider Feud With Qatar: The Economist

December 23, 2019
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ recent decision to take part in the Gulf Cup in Doha has signaled a cooling of tensions since the 2017 rift over an embargo of Qatar by the majority of members in the Gulf Co-operation Council, or GCC. The embargo stemmed from Qatar’s refusal to “comply with a list of demands from the Saudi-led camp, such as cutting ties with Islamist groups and...

Boris Johnson and Conservatives Win in UK: BBC

Laura Kuenssberg December 13, 2019
Boris Johnson risked calling an election and won decisively with his call to get Brexit done. Solid results remove Brexit uncertainty as voters entrust the Conservative Party, which won 364 votes of the 650 required, to manage exit from the European Union. “The Conservative Party's Commons majority is its largest since Margaret Thatcher won a third term in 1987,” reports BBC News. Many...