In The News

Lawful Settlements in West Bank? New York Times

Lara Jakes and David M. Halbfinger November 19, 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reversed 40 years of US policy by suggesting Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law. The move dashes Palestinian hopes for a peace settlement providing land for their own state. The New York Times suggests the internet is to influence politics in Israel, lending support to Benjamin Netanyahu and prompting need for a third election....

Go Back to RCEP: Times of India

Nayan Chanda November 18, 2019
As strong emerging economies, India and China understand smaller Asian markets. For example, India manufactures more than 90 percent of the three-wheel auto rickshaws sold in 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations Despite such success and high expectations for the Modi government, India resists opening its economy to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP. “After seven years...

Fake Media Outlets on India Topics: EU DisinfoLab

EU DisinfoLab November 18, 2019
A EU Disinformation Task Force exposed a publication that purports to cover the European Parliament, eptoday.com, and is managed by Indian interests. The magazine has “ties to a large network of think tanks, NGOs, and companies from the Srivastava Group.” The task force quickly figured out the network produced a number of odd publications, hosted by the same server and sharing staff. A tip by an...

Europe Divided Again: Wall Street Journal

Bojan Pancevski November 17, 2019
Three decades after the Berlin Wall fell, political divisions are again rising between East and West Europe, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Despite the economic success of German reunification and the triumph of democracy across Eastern Europe, the two regions are drifting apart again in a clash of values that is threatening the cohesion of the Western alliance and the European Union,” the...

Vietnam’s Human Trafficking: Diplomat

Thoi Nguyen November 16, 2019
Human trafficking and slavery continue in poor and advanced nations alike, with people forced into situations they would never choose. Only a fraction of these horrific cases are exposed, as when 39 Vietnamese people were found dead in a freezer truck in England. “Traffickers take children and adults for labor or sexual exploitation from Vietnam to countries such as Russia, Germany, or France...

US Allies, Trump and Syria: Atlantic

Uri Friedman November 15, 2019
The United States withdrew about 50 US Special Forces from Syria in October and “generated a wave of angst across the world about the United States unceremoniously dumping its allies and terminating the international system it has led for more than 70 years,” writes Uri Friedman for the Atlantic. The abrupt, chaotic withdrawal compounded a humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of Kurds have died, more...

Scarborough Shoal: Rappler

Jose Antonio A. Custodio November 14, 2019
China has repeatedly harassed foreign ships in the South China Sea. “The harassment of the Liberian registered tanker the Green Aura by Chinese naval and coast guard elements off Scarborough Shoal has generated a huge amount of debate and discussion, especially with regard to the manner in which the Duterte administration attempted to sweep it under the rug,” reports Rappler. “The man of the hour...