In The News

Netanyahu Should Step Down: Economist

March 23, 2019
Recent charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust against Binyamin Netanyahu have drawn the Israeli prime minister into tangled public controversy as opponents and critics call for his resignation. As a recent article for the Economist observes, “Netanyahu refuses to go.” From all indications, he has no intentions to resign and still hopes to be re-elected. He helped engineer an electoral...

State of Emergency in Sudan: Economist

March 23, 2019
In response to tens of thousands of protestors mobilizing against rising food prices in Sudan and the resignation of president Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese leader instead declared a national state of emergency. On February 22, what began as a conciliatory national address, under rumors that Bashir would step down, ended with suspension of the constitution. The Economist observes, “in practice...

India, Pakistan, Kashmir: The Guardian

Amanda Holpuch March 23, 2019
Tensions run high between Pakistan and India in recent weeks after political violence in the disputed Kashmir region. The Guardian reports that the path to possible war opened up after “Indian aircraft crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, carrying out what India called a pre-emptive strike against militants blamed for a 14 February suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian troops.” Although Kashmir is...

France Bans Some Protests After Riots: AP

Sylvie Corbet and Angela Charlton March 19, 2019
France’s prime minister has announced a ban on some protests after repeated and violent clashes in several locations, including the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris. France has been under siege by yellow-vest protests for four months and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the ban after “rioters set life-threatening fires, ransacked luxury stores and attacked police around the Champs-Elysees...

Venezuela’s Blackout: New York Times

Anatoly Kurmanaev and Isayen Herrera March 12, 2019
Venezuela, with the world’s largest oil reserves, struggles to deliver power to most of its citizens. The four-day blackout combined with political divisions has triggered protests, looting, economic hardship and anger in the country of 32 million people. “The blackout is the latest crisis to befall a country in seemingly perpetual crisis,” reports the New York Times. “Venezuela has been...

Algerian Judges on Presidential Vote: Reuters

Lamine Chikhi March 11, 2019
Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, has held office for four terms since 1999 and seeks a fifth despite allegations of fraud in previous votes and his stroke in 2013. “More than 1,000 judges said they would refuse to oversee Algeria’s election next month if President Abdelaziz Bouteflika contests it, in one of the biggest blows to the ailing leader since the start of protests now in...

Massage Parlor Owner and Trump Access: Mother Jones

Daniel Schulman, David Corn and Dan Friedman March 11, 2019
Embarrassing sexual behavior can compromise an individual’s ability to handle classified government information, and foreign intelligence agencies strive to identify individual weaknesses in order to obtain sensitive information or disrupt government operations. Police raided a Florida massage parlor in February after the facility was reported to be providing sexual services with women...