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
Trump Affirms Human Rights, Ends US Funding for UN Population Fund
According to the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, which has been regularly attached to foreign appropriations bills since 1985, the president has the authority to withhold federal funding from any organization that “supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” On April 3, a State Department memo announced that the U.S….Melanie Israel -
- Opinion
We Hear You: I’m a Sailor, a Marine, and a Transgender Woman Who Was Born This Way
Editor's note: One reader who we heard from awhile back marked March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility. So this weekend seemed like a fitting opportunity to publish the letter as the lead item in our mailbag.—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: At first I was going to ignore Kelsey Harkness' video report and the comments, but there comes a…Ken McIntyre -
- Opinion
UN Takes a Key Step to Address Humanitarian Crisis in Burma
The United Nations approved a resolution on March 24 authorizing a fact-finding mission into human rights violations in Burma. The resolution is the most serious intervention thus far in Rakhine State, where the majority of the 1.2 million Rohingya Muslim population resides. The resolution, adopted by consensus, addresses a wide range of human rights concerns….Yujin Lee -
- News
Obama’s IRS Chief Who Dodged Impeachment Continues Under Trump
In the heart of tax season, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen will address the National Press Club next Wednesday even as many members of Congress question why someone who dodged impeachment during the Obama administration continues to be the face of the tax collecting agency under President Donald Trump. “If we saw more pressure…Fred Lucas -
- News
In Ukraine, Russia Weaponizes Fake News to Fight a Real War
KYIV, Ukraine—As the Russian shells and rockets rained down on them in the front-line town of Debaltseve in February 2015, Ukrainian troops began to receive curious, anonymous SMS messages on their cellphones. “Your comrades nearby already left their positions, so you should leave yours as well,” one message read. The messages also claimed that Ukrainian…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Putin Using Thug Tactics to Silence Anti-Corruption Protesters and Political Enemies
Russian anti-corruption protestors and activists are feeling the brunt of the Kremlin’s wrath. Unlike in the United States, where the right to protest is constitutionally enshrined and whistleblowers are legislatively protected, in Russia, those who have the courage to stand up to corrupt leaders place their freedom as well as their lives on the line….Helle Dale -
- Opinion
The Opportunities Brexit Gives Britain to Reshape Itself
Today, British Prime Minister Theresa May formally notified the European Union that Britain will leave the union. This is a great day for believers in democratic self-government, here and around the world. The process of Britain’s leaving the EU will not be easy, and today’s step—the triggering of the EU’s Article 50—is a vitally important…Ted Bromund -
- Opinion
Corrupt Venezuelan Regime Failing to Quell Humanitarian Crisis
Not too long ago, oil reserves and natural resources made Venezuela the richest country in South America. Now, President Nicolas Maduro’s corrupt socialist policies have left the country in ruins. Unsurprisingly, Maduro has become very unpopular, earning an approval rating hovering around less than 20 percent nationwide. It’s a well-earned failing mark. Maduro has recently…Gabriela Anciola -
- Opinion
French Nationalist and Presidential Contender Is Schmoozing With Putin
During the Cold War, the U.S. spent billions trying to keep Western Europe from falling into Russian hands. Some of our best foreign policy minds, from Dean Acheson to George Shultz, concentrated their intellectual firepower on containing, if not rolling back, Kremlin influence. Now along comes Marine Le Pen, and all this effort may have…Mike Gonzalez -
- News
Vandals Spray-Paint LGBT Slogans on Marriage Groups’ Tour Bus Near UN
Two men spray-painted and smashed the windshield of a tour bus used by the National Organization for Marriage in “broad daylight” Thursday in New York City, the pro-marriage group says. The two men “approached the bus with a can of spray paint and a hammer and they began spray-painting on the side of the bus,”…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
We Don’t Have to Choose Between Putin and George Soros
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is a proverb that has long, and apparently mistakenly, been attributed to Bedouins. It’s unfair to them, as it contains the false-dichotomy fallacy. Sometimes the saying is correct, as when the Allies decided in World War II to side with Josef Stalin against Adolf Hitler. Other times,…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
State Department Gives Long Overdue Approval to Keystone XL Pipeline
If you had a child when TransCanada first submitted its application to build the Keystone XL pipeline, he would be halfway through the first grade by now. Seven years after TransCanada submitted its first permit application for the Keystone XL pipeline, the Trump administration has overcome the prevaricating defeat-by-delay strategy of the last administration. The…Nicolas Loris -
- News
Russia May Have Taken Advantage of Attention on London to Ignite Violence in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine—With the world’s eyes on London the day after a lethal terror attack outside of Parliament, a series of violent incidents swept across Ukraine on Thursday, highlighting what lawmakers in Kyiv said was a covert effort by Moscow to destabilize the country. The broad daylight assassination of an exiled Russian lawmaker in central Kyiv…Nolan Peterson -
- News
Who Knew What About Trump Surveillance? New Details Raise More Questions
The chairman of the House intelligence panel acknowledged Wednesday that President Donald Trump and members of his team were likely under surveillance, at least incidentally, between Election Day and the presidential inauguration. Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also refused to rule out the involvement of senior Obama administration…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
As Russia Flexes Muscles in Afghanistan, US Must Not Cede Influence
Russia is seeking to gain diplomatic leverage in Afghanistan by hosting a regional meeting next month with governments that have a stake in Kabul’s future. The U.S. should avoid attending the meeting and instead develop its own plan for driving regional economic and political initiatives that aim to promote peaceful cooperation among Afghanistan and surrounding…Lisa Curtis -
- Opinion
What Trump’s Meeting With Angela Merkel Means for NATO
In his first in-person meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week, President Donald Trump conveyed America’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance, stating, “I reiterated to Chancellor Merkel my strong support for NATO.” The president also repeated his call for European members of NATO to increase spending on defense. As I stated last week, Trump…Daniel Kochis -
- Opinion
Why US-Russia Cyber Cooperation Is So Problematic
The Russian government is a notoriously bad actor in cyberspace, but this hasn’t stopped it from advocating greater cyber cooperation abroad. Last year, the United States agreed to resume the 2013 discussions on cyber cooperation that were halted after Russia invaded Crimea. Russian connections to the recent breaches of the Democratic National Committee and Yahoo show…David Chinn -
- Opinion
Trump Administration Sends Strong Signal to Russia by Indicting Hackers
Of all the security threats facing the U.S. today, cyber threats are among the most pernicious. Thankfully, the administration is taking some concrete steps to confront them. Last week, the Justice Department indicted four individuals on charges relating back to the 2016 hack into Yahoo’s network that compromised at least 500 million user accounts. Of…Garrison Rutledge -
- Opinion
Britain’s CPAC Celebrates Brexit
Britain’s fourth annual Freedom Festival, organized by the Freedom Association and held in the traditional seaside resort of Bournemouth, concluded on Sunday. Like the U.S. Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the festival brings together conservatives and libertarians to discuss, debate—and this year, to celebrate. Founded in 1975 by Norris McWhirter, the creator of the…Ted Bromund -
- Opinion
Why Trump’s Budget Proposal for the State Department Makes Sense
President Donald Trump has made some promising proposals to trim government spending in his recently released budget blueprint. Trump’s significant 2018 budget cut of 28 percent for the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other U.S. government foreign affairs agencies makes a lot of sense. The cut seems dramatic, but comes…James M. Roberts