In The News

Trump’s Middle East Plan: Time

Joseph Hincks February 3, 2020
The Trump administration released an 80-apage plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The plan would create a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem and “permit Israel to extend sovereignty over all major settlements blocs in the West Bank, uphold Jerusalem as ‘Israel’s undivided capital,’ and require the Palestinians to concede far more land to Israel than in past proposals,”...

Trump, Bolton and Pressure on Ukraine: NY Times

Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt January 31, 2020
US Senators have finished questioning house managers and the defense team in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Democrats called for witnesses, especially John Bolton after other witnesses described him as angry about attempts to investigate a political rival of Trump. Bolton, a far-right Republican, wrote a book to be published in March and describes Trump asking for help with his campaign...

Will Bolton Testify in Impeachment Trial?

January 27, 2020
Case managers for the House of Representatives and the US president’s legal team present evidence on whether or not Donald Trump abused power and obstructed a congressional investigation into blocking military aid for Ukraine in exchange for an announcement into an investigation of a political rival. Trump blocked his staff from testifying, but multiple witnesses report such an exchange was his...

Gambia vs Myanmar at the ICJ: Dhaka Tribune

Manzoor Hasan and Jessica Olney • January 24, 2020
Gambia filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice over Myanmar's harsh treatment of Rohingya people, denying the minority group citizenship and launching military attacks on villages that have resulted in the deaths of thousands and displaced more than 700,000 people. Many Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. Bangladesh ended entry for Rohingya in March 2019. The International...

Threats on Nuclear Arm Control: Financial Times

Tony Barber January 24, 2020
The United Nations’ nuclear non-proliferation treaty has been remarkable for limiting nuclear arms over the past 50 years, but three trends threaten those efforts. The first is slow breach of nuclear arms control agreements between Russia and the United States. The second is that nine known nuclear-armed countries are still spending a lot to modernize their own arsenals. The last one is the...

The West’s Stake in Hong Kong: Diplomat

Brian C.H. Fong January 23, 2020
Hong Kong protests continue after seven months, bringing scrutiny to the territory’s relationship with China and the promises for semi-autonomy through 2047. Disagreement between protesters and the Hong Kong government is not a local issue, but a “complicated geopolitical issue involving great power competition,” explains Brian C.H. Fong for the Diplomat and HongKong Brief. He describes the...

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...