International News
Coverage of international events and global policy shifts. The Daily Signal offers news reporting with opinion and commentary on world affairs.
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opinion
Why Ending US-South Korea Joint Exercises Was the Wrong Move
The Trump administration made a decision that could weaken U.S. and South Korean readiness in a conflict with North Korea. On Saturday, the Pentagon and South Korea’s Ministry of Defense announced an end to the joint military exercises that both countries normally partake in each spring. As justification, the Pentagon cited its “desire to reduce… -
news
Trump Exits Early From North Korea Summit, but Hints at Future Deal
No deal is better than a bad deal, a leading North Korean expert said of President Donald Trump’s walking away early from the summit in Vietnam with North Korea’s dictator. “President Trump walked away from the opportunity to reach a flashy but poorly crafted deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” Bruce Klingner, a… -
opinion
From Vietnam, an Analysis of the US-North Korea Summit
The U.S.-North Korea summit is under way. We hear from The Heritage Foundation’s Olivia Enos, who’s on site for the summit in Vietnam. Listen to the interview in the podcast or read the transcript below. Plus: The Methodists, which are America’s third-largest religious body, just reaffirmed their opposition to same-sex marriage. Mark Tooley, president of the… -
opinion
6 Things Trump Should Demand of North Korea
Since the first U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, there has been no progress on North Korean denuclearization. And there has been no reduction in the North Korean nuclear, biological, and chemical weapon threat to the United States and its allies. Rather than denuclearizing, the regime instead continues to nuclearize with new capabilities at an accelerated… -
opinion
Venezuela and the Myth of Kinder, Gentler Socialism
Venezuela is a socialist country. Venezuela is also a dictatorship. Currently, Venezuela has fallen into open violence and complete chaos, with the strongman Nicolas Maduro ordering troops to open fire on those attempting to bring humanitarian aid into the country. Yet, strangely, Maduro still has his defenders. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the leading declared Democratic… -
opinion
What a Denuclearization Agreement With North Korea Should Include
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump are now meeting in Vietnam. Going into his second summit with Kim, Trump has stated his primary objective is progress on North Korean denuclearization. But what is denuclearization? For instance, some say denuclearization includes ballistic missiles, U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula, or even human rights. … -
opinion
No One Is Safe in Maduro’s Venezuela
Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos and his team were detained in the presidential palace of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela on Monday evening. After Ramos inquired about electoral fraud and human rights abuses, and played a video of hungry Venezuelans rummaging through garbage, Maduro’s thugs confiscated their equipment and apprehended the journalists. They were released and… -
opinion
Podcast: Meet the Man Who Is Calling Out Ocasio-Cortez With a Times Square Billboard
On today’s podcast we feature an interview with Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of Job Creators Network, an advocacy group for small businesses. Ortiz and his organization played a critical role in passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. Now he’s working to defend tax reform and fight proposals such as the… -
news
Even After World War II, Europe in Denial About Evil
“There are none so blind as those who will not see.” One might think that after denying the evidence of Adolf Hitler’s rise and objectives that resulted in World War II, Europeans might be more attuned to modern threats. Last week on a visit to Munich (oh, the irony), Vice President Mike Pence criticized Europe’s… -
opinion
How Putin Uses Russian Orthodoxy to Grow His Empire
When Vladimir Putin rose to the presidency of Russia in 2000, he inherited the remains of a once-fearsome communist-atheist imperial state. In the intervening 19 years, he has transformed Russia back into an imperial power with global ambitions. One of his key tools in that transformation has been the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin often invokes… -
opinion
How the Space Force Can Restore Our Edge Against China, Russia
The U.S. just moved one step closer to creating a Space Force. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense to draft legislation to establish the Space Force as a new branch of the military under the secretary of the Air Force. This move is an important step toward defending the space domain,… -
news
US Won’t Take Back Alabama Woman Who Joined ISIS
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the United States would not allow an American-born woman who joined the Islamic State terrorist group back into the country. In 2015, Hoda Muthana, then 19, gained national attention for leaving her family in Birmingham, Alabama, to join the Sunni Muslim extremist group. Now, the remorseful 24-year-old is… -
opinion
Pompeo’s Tough Diplomacy on Display in Europe
Europeans routinely complain about being neglected by U.S. administrations. As much as Europeans doted on then-President Barack Obama, he indeed treated them with benign indifference, taking their support for granted. But now, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo having made his way through their capitals last week, Europeans have gotten a taste of a new… -
opinion
3 Major Threats China Poses to the US
China is a mass of contradictions. Intellectual property thief. America’s largest trading partner. Home to 476 billionaires. Choked with air and water pollution. A rapidly aging population. And leadership eager to project its national will. I believe China is potentially the greatest national security threat facing the United States. But while China’s brilliant engineers-turned-politicians orchestrate… -
news
Trump Says Venezuela Crisis Marks ‘Twilight Hour of Socialism’
The movement for freedom in Venezuela reveals that the “twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere,” President Donald Trump said Monday night in a speech in Miami. “The Venezuelan people have spoken, and the world has heard their beautiful voice,” Trump said in his remarks at Florida International University to an audience that… -
news
Maduro’s ‘Criminal Enterprise’ in Venezuela Must Go, Rubio Says
Sen. Marco Rubio said Monday that the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro isn’t a legitimate government, calling it instead a “criminal enterprise.” Rubio, R-Fla., speaking at The Heritage Foundation, addressed the crisis in the South American nation, noting that some 50 other countries have joined the United States in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido… -
opinion
This UN Tobacco Policy Is Backfiring Around the World
Turkey recently became the latest in a slew of countries to adopt mandatory plain packaging rules for cigarettes. This tobacco control measure bans the use of brands or logos on cigarette cartons to supposedly reduce their attractiveness, in an attempt to deter smoking. The United Nations World Health Organization has backed this move, but such… -
opinion
Short Is the Road That Leads From Abortion to Infanticide, Euthanasia
A Democratic senator blocked on Monday night the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would have ensured children who survived abortions were given medical care. Unfortunately, this shouldn’t be a complete shock. In the years since Roe v. Wade, our culture has continued its downward trend to supporting death, not life. The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors… -
opinion
Exiting the INF Treaty Over Russian Violations Would Send a Signal of US Resolve
On Feb. 1, more than a decade after we now know Russia began developing a banned ground-launched cruise missile, the United States formally initiated withdrawal proceedings from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Russia has been violating the treaty since 2008 and has deployed weapons that pose a serious military threat to America and its…