In The News

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...

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...

Haaretz: Airbnb and West Bank Settlements

Noa Landau, Yotam Berger and Jack Khoury November 21, 2018
Most of the world has condemned the Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank for complicating peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Airbnb is removing rental listings of West Bank Jewish settlements, reports Haaretz, and Israel has countered by restricting the company’s operations nationwide, calling the removal “discriminatory.” The decision affects about 200 listings. Israel also...

NPR: Genocide Verdict for Khmer Rouge Leaders

Scott Neuman November 16, 2018
Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime terrorized Cambodians and killed about 2 million people and displaced millions more in an attempt to restore an agrarian society, as explained by the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor. Scott Neuman, writing for NPR, explains how the Khmer Rouge came to power after the Vietnam War and ended only after a 1979 invasion by Vietnam. An international tribunal – the...

New Statesman: Revenge of the Nation State

John Bew November 15, 2018
The death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi reveals that the international community has little control over rogue states that resist criticism by any means necessary. Khashoggi had criticized Saudi Arabia’s horrific and wasteful war in Yemen, and his murder “conforms to a general pattern of degeneration in 21st century international relations, in which respect for human rights is eroding,...

Live Science: DPRK Missile Program Very Much Alive

Rafi Letzter November 14, 2018
The Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report with commercial satellite images showing that North Korea continues to develop its nuclear missile program. The country could have as many as 20 active bases. The presidents of South Korea and the United States have been negotiating with North Korea for an end to the nation’s nuclear program. “This seems to contradict President...

BBC: Israel-Gaza Violence Erupts

November 13, 2018
Palestinians and Israelis exchanged rocket fire in Gaza after Hamas militants stopped an Israeli unit’s vehicle a few kilometers inside the Gaza strip, apparently exposing an intelligence-gathering mission. “Due to the secrecy of the operation, Israel has not revealed specific details about the mission,” reports BBC News. “The IDF said, however, that the operation was ‘not intended to kill or...