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
How Saudi Arabia Is Laying the Foundation for Improved Relations With Iraq
The Iraq-Saudi Arabia relationship, while historically rocky, appears to be on the mend. Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 prompted Saudi Arabia to close its border with Iraq. Since then, only Iraqi religious pilgrims have been allowed to cross once a year during the hajj season. After 27 years, the two nations are now…Madyson Hutchinson Posey -
- News
This Ukrainian Regiment Began With Civilian Volunteers. Now It’s Going Pro.
URZUF, Ukraine—At the Azov Regiment’s base in this beach resort town on the Sea of Azov coast, you can sometimes hear the sounds of shelling from the front lines, which are about 42 miles east of here, toward the Russian border. Yet, on this blustery summer day in late August, tourists are out swimming on…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
How the Trump Administration Is ‘Draining the Swamp’ at State Department
The State Department’s special envoys have long needed reform. That reform could be just around the corner if Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s new proposal pans out. Earlier this week, Tillerson sent a letter to Chairman Bob Corker of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee detailing his plans for eliminating and reorganizing nearly 70 special envoys,…Brett Schaefer -
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Iran Could Become Fiercer Adversary Than North Korea, Experts Say
In a decade, Iran could emerge as a major nuclear power—and an entirely legal one under the international nuclear agreement reached by the Obama administration, experts fear. “In about 10 years time, Iran will have, thanks to this deal, an industrial-sized nuclear program,” said Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, during…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
How Ivy League Schools Discriminate Against Asians
Earlier this month, The New York Times ran an article titled “U.S. Rights Unit Shifts to Study Antiwhite Bias” on its front page. The article says that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is going to investigate and sue universities whose affirmative action admissions policies discriminate against white applicants. This is an out-and-out…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
Russian Actions in Belarus Are Cause for Concern
Russian actions in Belarus, an Eastern European country slightly smaller than the state of Kansas, are causing concern among neighboring countries. Russia is planning massive joint military exercises next month in both Belarus and Russia, and is even constructing a nuclear reactor in the country, close to the Belarus-Lithuania border. A former Soviet nation, Belarus…Daniel Kochis -
- News
With Mattis’ Visit to Ukraine on Its Independence Day, the US Sends a Message to Moscow
KYIV, Ukraine—A nation doesn’t always reveal its pride or its undying hope for a better future through military parades and presidential speeches. Sometimes, it’s a 40-year-old combat veteran standing rigid in his military fatigues, a medal pinned to his chest, bowing his head in remembrance of fallen comrades while tears run down his cheeks and…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Closure of Kerch Strait Is Russia’s Latest Attack on Ukrainian Sovereignty
In May 2015, Russia began constructing a planned 11.8-mile bridge across the Kerch Strait, a body of water that sits between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Russian bridge project is meant to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, the region of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Two…Daniel Kochis -
- News
Ukraine Says Its Rocket Engines Not Behind North Korea’s Missile Success
KYIV, Ukraine—In 2011, Denys Antipov, who was then a Korean language student at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, received an unusual request from the Security Service of Ukraine—the country’s successor agency to the KGB. The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, needed Antipov’s help in a delicate counterintelligence operation. In an undercover sting, the…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
What Europe Should Be Doing to Prevent Another Terrorist Attack Like Barcelona
Not so long ago, scenes of death and carnage on the streets of major European cities were a rarity. Not so any more. In this year alone, there have been major Islamist attacks in London (twice), Manchester, and Stockholm. We can now add Barcelona to that list. Smaller-scale acts of violence in France (on multiple…Robin Simcox -
- News
Desperate for Cash, Venezuela Gives Putin Control of Oil Assets
Venezuela is handing over unprecedented control of its state-owned oil assets to longtime financial backer Russia in an effort to stave off insolvency and economic collapse. Battered by civil unrest that threatens to become a total political meltdown, the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro has offered an ownership stake in up to nine of Venezuela’s most…Will Racke -
- News
Underreported: Meet 2 Political Prisoners From Socialist Venezuela
In recent months, Venezuela has spiraled into a full-blown humanitarian and political crisis. Politicians with criminal backgrounds run the country, employing violence and arresting peaceful, anti-government protesters. In The Daily Signal’s feature series, “Underreported,” we interview Francisco Marquez, an ex-political prisoner who now lives in the United States, and Wuilly Arteaga, who recently was thrown…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
The Other Russia Story We Need to Talk About Is Adoption
The Russian government uses orphans as political pawns. The story of thousands of innocent Russian children in need of adoption has been lost amid the daily flood of news about Russia and the hyped-up debate over whether “adoption” is some kind of code for “sanctions” when it comes to high-level Russian-American meetings. We shouldn’t miss…Mary Vought -
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- News
Venezuela’s Socialist Leader Asks for UN Meeting With Trump as His Nation Crumbles
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he is ready to meet with President Donald Trump, just days after Washington hit the ruling socialist regime with sanctions. Speaking Thursday to the newly installed National Constituent Assembly, an all-powerful legislative body packed with Maduro loyalists, the socialist leader called on Venezuela’s foreign minister to arrange a phone call or face-to-face…Will Racke -
- News
Not Too Late to Prevent ‘Death of Europe,’ British Author Says
Europe’s migration crisis is a lesson in historical and philosophical degeneration, a best-selling British author argues. “Almost everything in this book is also a warning, in my view, to America,” said Douglas Murray, author of “The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam,” in remarks earlier this summer at The Heritage Foundation. “All the things…Katrina Willis -
- News
Trump: Maybe Warning to North Korea ‘Wasn’t Tough Enough’
President Donald Trump said Thursday that his “fire and fury” warning to North Korea’s dictator may not have been strong enough. He also turned up the heat on Kim Jong Un’s threats toward the U.S. territory of Guam. “Let’s see what he does with Guam. He does something in Guam, it will be an event…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
The Truth About the War in Ukraine
In September 2014, I watched a tank battle from a hilltop in Mariupol, Ukraine. I toured that battlefield, the day the first cease-fire was signed, on Sept. 5, 2014. I witnessed a wasteland of charred, destroyed tanks, and armored personnel carriers. And scores of dead soldiers who reminded me of the plaster molds of the…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
This Young Violinist Inspired Venezuelans to Stand for Freedom. Now He’s Rotting in Prison.
One of the stories coming out of Venezuela that has simultaneously saddened and inspired has been that of Wuilly Arteaga, a talented young violinist who grew up in the poorest part of Valencia, Venezuela's third largest city. Wuilly taught himself violin and won a place in one of Venezuela's youth orchestras that are part of…Paul Coyer -
- News
Trump Promises ‘Fire and Fury’ If North Korea Advances Nuclear Threat
President Donald Trump issued his strongest warning yet to North Korea after published reports that the communist dictatorship has developed a nuclear warhead. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen,” @POTUS says. “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Trump said Tuesday from…Fred Lucas