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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news
After 4.5 Years of a Stalemated War, Ukraine Braces for a Full-On Russian Invasion
KYIV, Ukraine—Sunday’s Kerch Strait crisis underscored how quickly Russia’s simmering, 4.5-year-old, low-intensity war against Ukraine could escalate into a historic catastrophe. “Yesterday we were close to war. In fact, war happened,” Capt. Andrii Ryzhenko, the Ukrainian navy’s deputy chief of staff for Euro-Atlantic integration, told The Daily Signal on Monday. On Sunday, Russian ships fired… -
opinion
DeSantis Gets Unexpected Boost From African-American ‘School-Choice Moms’
Conservative Republican Ron DeSantis and progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum presented voters with starkly different choices on an array of issues, none more distinctively polar than their plans for charter schools. In short, DeSantis proposed expanding them while Gillum espoused “siphoning them off” as drains on the public school system. That distinction—rather than the personalities and… -
opinion
Podcast: After Russia’s Act of Aggression, What the View on the Ground Is in Ukraine
Why did Russia decide to ratchet up tensions with Ukraine and seize three ships Sunday? Do Ukranians fear their long war with Russia is about to reach a new, more intensive stage? Nolan Peterson, The Daily Signal’s foreign correspondent, joins us from Ukraine to share what he’s seeing and hearing. Plus: A new survey shows… -
opinion
Why Russia’s Latest Aggression Against Ukraine Could Be Aimed at Boosting Putin’s Sagging Approval Ratings
Russian Federal Security Service border patrol boats opened fire Nov. 25 on three Ukrainian maritime vessels—two navy artillery ships and a tugboat—in a standoff in the Kerch Strait, a narrow body of water connecting the Black Sea and Azov Sea. Russia struck two of the vessels and wounded six crew members in the process. The… -
opinion
Podcast: The Latest Border Crisis Through the Eyes of Someone Who Visited Caravan
Did it have to come to tear gas? Why have asylum claims rocketed in recent years? David Inserra, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation who focuses on immigration and homeland security, talks about this, as well as what he found out when he visited the caravan for himself in Mexico City recently, and what… -
news
On the Brink of Major War? Ukraine Grapples With Russian Attack
KYIV, Ukraine—On Sunday, Europe’s two largest standing armies went to the precipice of a major war. That day, Russian military forces attacked and captured three Ukrainian navy vessels that were transiting through the Russian-controlled Kerch Strait on their way from Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa to Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov. “This attack,… -
news
‘Nobody Wanted This’: After 4 Years of War in Ukraine, All Is Not Quiet on the Eastern Front
KYIV, Ukraine—At the end of August 2014, the battle for the city of Mariupol loomed as a climactic showdown in Ukraine’s defensive war to repel a Russian armored invasion. The stakes were dire. Should Mariupol fall to Russia’s combined-separatist forces—an amalgamation of thousands of Russian regulars, pro-Russian separatists, and foreign mercenaries—Moscow would gain a virtually… -
opinion
Election of Russia’s Abuser-in-Chief to Lead Interpol Would Raise Fundamental Questions
Reports in the British press indicate that Alexander Prokopchuk, who has served in Russia’s Interior Ministry since 2003 and as Interpol’s vice chairman for Europe since 2016, will be elected as the new president of Interpol at the meeting of the Interpol General Assembly now taking place in Dubai. If accurate, this report raises fundamental questions… -
opinion
In a War With China, the US Could Lose
Two separate government commissions issued reports this week, and each highlighted the growing threat stemming from the People’s Republic of China. The National Defense Strategy Commission is a congressionally mandated panel comprised of both Republican and Democratic officials, charged with examining the new U.S. national defense strategy, which came out in 2017. The national defense… -
opinion
EU Risks Dangerous Blowback by Undermining Iran Sanctions
Since the election of President Donald Trump, the European Union and the United States have increasingly disagreed on Iran policy. The divergence widened in May with Trump’s announcement that the United States was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. Washington has since reimposed nuclear sanctions on Iran in two rounds in August and November. Meanwhile, the EU… -
opinion
Podcast: New Report Shows Our Military Isn’t Prepared for Conflict With China, Russia
“The U.S. military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict. It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia. The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously.”… -
opinion
A Day to Honor All Who Have Served
Our national holiday of Veterans Day did not start with that name. In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, hostilities on the Western Front ceased and World War I came to an end. That day became internationally known as Armistice Day. But the name eventually changed in the… -
news
3 Million Venezuelans Have Fled the Country
The number of refugees and migrants fleeing Venezuela amid the country’s severe economic downfall has now reached 3 million, the United Nations refugee agency announced Thursday, the most since 2015. Data from national immigration authorities revealed surrounding countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have taken in nearly 2.4 million Venezuelans as the country undergoes one… -
news
‘Multiple Men’ Were ‘Ready to Take a Bullet for Any Single One of Us,’ Says Woman Who Survived California Shooting
Multiple men reportedly put their bodies on the line to protect patrons at the club in California where a gunman entered Wednesday night, killing 12 and reportedly taking his own life. “While we were all dog-piled at the side, there were multiple men that got on their knees and pretty much blocked all of us… -
opinion
Good News for Americans Who Object to Obamacare’s Contraception Mandate
Those who cherish religious liberty can celebrate a major victory this week. On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services published final rules that provide much-needed relief from one of Obamacare’s most egregious assaults on rights of conscience and religious liberty: the mandate that nearly all health insurance plans cover abortion-inducing drugs and contraception…. -
news
As House Intelligence Panel Chief, Schiff Would Reopen, Broaden Trump-Russia Probe
With Democrats taking control of the House, Rep. Adam Schiff is likely to assume the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee in the next session of Congress. Schiff, D-Calif., currently the ranking member of the committee, would likely seize the opportunity to restart and widen the scope of the panel’s investigation of alleged collusion between… -
opinion
Those Who Carried Out Operation Choke Point Should Face Penalties
Last August, the Department of Justice more or less told Congress it would no longer help the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. break the law. The real crime is that there won’t be any punishment. Of course, the nation’s highest law enforcement authority didn’t so plainly admit to aiding unlawful activity. The Justice Department now run by… -
news
‘I’ll Never Be the Same’: My Ukrainian Wife’s First Trip to the United States
KYIV, Ukraine—How do you measure America’s greatness? By the size of its economy, or the strength of its military? By the height of its city skylines, or the audacity of the moon landings? Perhaps, by the heroism of the Marines who landed on Iwo Jima, or of the Army soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach?… -
opinion
Treasury Can’t Go Wobbly When Sanctions Against Russians Are Starting to Hurt
Anybody in the inner circle of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin who might have cheered President Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 must now be sorely disappointed. When it comes to dealing with Russia, Trump has been the toughest president since Ronald Reagan. He has sent advanced weapons to the Ukrainians and Georgians, increased U.S. defense spending in… -
news
Meet 5 Young African-Americans Who Want to Give Trump a Chance
For hundreds of young African-Americans gathered in the nation’s capital for a few days to learn about leadership, visiting the White House to be encouraged by President Donald Trump definitely was a high point. The surging economy under Trump, participant R.C. Maxwell said, "should be the single most important issue for the black community." In…