In The News

TechCrunch: Trump Blocks Broadcom Takeover of Qualcomm

Katie Roof and Ingrid Lunden March 13, 2018
Donald Trump cited security concerns for blocking Singapore-based Broadcom’s hostile buyout of US-based Qualcomm. “The combination of the two chipmakers would have potentially been the biggest tech merger of all time, and would have brought together two of the biggest companies that manufacture the processors that power phones, computers and almost the entire array of connected devices,” report...

BBC: Nerve Agent Attack in Britain

March 12, 2018
The British Foreign Office summoned Russia’s ambassador to explain the death of a former spy with the military-grade nerve agent Novichok, a chemical weapon developed by the former Soviet Union. Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found ill on a bench in the city of Salisbury, population of 45,000. A police officer also fell ill. Prime Minister Theresa May expects a credible response from Russia...

Quartz: China’s Growing Africa Footprint

Abdi Latif Dahir March 12, 2018
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended a five-nation diplomatic tour of Africa one day early, as African and US officials compare China’s growing trade and investment with the US security role. The US has one permanent base in Djibouti. “But last year, China opened its first overseas naval base there too, provided loans to the country, and built a railway connecting its seas to the Ethiopian...

The Week: Is Trump Walking Into Kim’s Trap?

Peter Weber March 9, 2018
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump surprised the world by quickly agreeing to a meeting before June, this after a year of insults exchanged and missile tests by North Kora. The meeting, let alone lasting peace, may not materialize, though the willingness to talk and a quest for peace by the two leaders seems hopeful. Experienced analysts raise concerns, questioning if Kim is serious about...

Washington Post: Trump Accepts Talks With North Korea’s Kim

Anna Fifield March 8, 2018
North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un has invited US President Donald Trump for talks, as conveyed by a South Korea delegation that traveled to North Korea. South Korean security and intelligence officials traveled to Washington, and said Trump agreed to a meeting before summer: “an extraordinary scene – a foreign official, unaccompanied by U.S. leaders, briefing the press at the White House about...

Financial Post: Tariffs Set Dangerous Precedent

Joe Chidley March 6, 2018
The Trump administration announced a plan to impose tariffs: 25 percent for steel imports and 10 percent for aluminum. There are many unknowns including exemptions for allies and close trading partners or certain products. The plan relies on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and World Trade Organization rules which allow blocking imports for national security purposes: “The World...

The Guardian: Gazans Rush as Egypt Opens Crossing

Hazem Balousha and Oliver Holmes February 26, 2018
Egypt opened its Rafah border, a rare occurrence since 2013. Gazans in need of medical treatment or refuge from Israeli military incursions hope to leave. Hazem Balousha and Oliver Holmes report for the Guardian: “Some 30,000 Gazans including medical patients, students and businesspeople are on a waiting list to travel through Rafah. But not all are guaranteed.” Under the joint control of the...