In The News

Wrecking the WTO: Times of India

Nayan Chanda December 18, 2019
US President Donald Trump seeks partners in his push to rebalance global trade, reduce global agreements with environmental and other constraints, and build US influence based on power rather than cooperative alliances. He views the UK’s Boris Johnson as a likeminded leader, after an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections all but ensures Britain’s speedy exit from the European Union....

UK to Leave EU Before Jan 31: MacMillan

David Cameron December 17, 2019
The Brexit ball is in the hands of conservatives after an overwhelming win in the UK parliamentary election. The new government plans to meet Brexit deadlines, rejecting further extensions, including for the transition period that ends with the year 2020. So the United Kingdom takes on the challenge of negotiating a complex relationship with its major trade partner in 11 months. A revised...

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...

Hong Kong Elections: South China Morning Post

Jeffie Lam, Sum Lok-kei and Ng Kang-chung November 25, 2019
More than 70 percent of Hong Kong’s registered voters turned out for district council elections, firmly rejecting unchecked control from China. “The tsunami of disaffection among voters was clear across the board, as pan-democrats rode the wave to win big in poor and rich neighbourhoods, in both protest-prone and non-protest-afflicted districts and, in downtown areas as well as the suburbs,”...

Power Void in Bolivia: Associated Press

November 11, 2019
After weeks of protests, the Bolivia’s military chief convinced President Evo Morales to resign Morales had been president since 2006, and as many as 20 other officials resigned as well. “Crowds of jubilant foes of the socialist leader celebrated in the streets with honking horns and fireworks after Morales's announcement Sunday, treating as a triumph of democracy the ouster of a man who...

UK December Election: BBC

October 29, 2019
Lawmakers in the United Kingdom failed to reach agreement about how to exit the European Union so they will give voters a chance to select a new set of members in parliament. “By a margin of 438 votes to 20, the Commons approved legislation paving the way for the first December election since 1923,” reports BBC News. Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggests “the public must be ‘given a choice’ over...

Brexit Is a Cultural Revolution: Atlantic

Yascha Mounk October 27, 2019
Boris Johnson’s Brexit withdrawal agreement, similar to one proposed by former Prime Minister Theresa May, won approval in the House of Commons. Members of parliament who feared Britain would lose influence with May’s plan have higher expectations for a similar plan proposed by Boris Johnson. “The next weeks still hold a lot of uncertainty; from new elections to a no-deal Brexit, all options...