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
The Great Firewall of China Gets Even Stronger
The Chinese government is tightening its control over free speech in China. Once sheepish in the face of censorship accusations, China is now touting its “internet sovereignty” as something to be admired and adopted. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which also spearheads the anti-corruption campaign, recently conducted a two-month examination of the Communist Party’s…Jessica Liang -
- Opinion
Snapshots From a Trip to Russia to Talk ‘New Era’ Journalism
I traveled halfway around the world earlier this month for a journalism conference in an unlikely place: Moscow. It was an invitation-only event, attended by about 300 international journalists, focusing on censorship and what was termed to be a “farewell to mainstream” by Russia’s state-run Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) International Information Agency. We debated dicey…Sharyl Attkisson -
- Opinion
China Unlikely to Live Up to Its Economic Promises
U.S. and European businesses continue to find China a harder place to do business with its increasing regulations. This struggle between the West and China was made clear at the 8th annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which was held last week. The U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue is a high-level dialogue between the U.S….William T. Wilson -
- News
Meet Warren Davidson, the Man Who Took John Boehner’s Seat
Standing in former Speaker John Boehner’s empty and cavernous Longworth office, Ohio’s newest congressman seems out of place. Maybe that’s because Warren Davidson is more of a business and military man than a politician. Before being sworn in last week, Davidson made a career parachuting from airplanes as an Army Ranger, then filing patents as…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
ISIS Strikes Again in Europe
The Islamic State has struck in Europe again. Yet, with media attention focused on the terrorist attack in Orlando, it has gone somewhat under the radar. Larossi Abballa stabbed to death a French policeman, Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, outside his own home in Magnanville, France. He then went inside and stabbed his (as yet unnamed) partner to death….Robin Simcox -
- News
For Americans Who Had Cash Seized By Government, a Chance to Get It Back
In a victory for lawmakers working to make it harder for the government to take property from innocent Americans, the Internal Revenue Service plans to give people who have had money seized over the last six years the chance to petition to get their money back, The Daily Signal has learned. According to a GOP…Melissa Quinn -
- Opinion
Putin Has Imperial (Not Soviet) Aspirations
Whoever wins the race to the White House is going to have to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin from day one. Hopefully, the next U.S. president will learn from the mistakes of the past. One of the biggest foreign policy follies of the Obama administration was the so-called Russian “reset.” In March 2009, Hillary Clinton…Luke Coffey -
- Opinion
Putin Ups His Persecution of Social Media Users
The Kremlin has started cracking down with increasing severity on users of social media who dare to criticize the state of affairs in Russia or who parody Russian leader Vladimir Putin. For the crime of posting a picture of a tube of toothpaste with the caption “Squeeze Russia out of yourself,” Andrei Bubeyev was sentenced…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Flying the Unfriendly Skies: China’s Dangerous Behavior
For the second time in a month, a Chinese fighter jet has made an unsafe approach to an American military aircraft. This time, a Chinese air force J-10 fighter intercepted a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the East China Sea. The Chinese fighter approached at high speed at the same altitude, and…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
Troubled Waters Ahead for US and China in the Asia-Pacific Region
This summer promises to be a turbulent one for the Asia-Pacific region. As the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore made clear, the United States and China are each promoting a distinctly different view of the regional situation. The United States continues to reiterate the need for regional stability, while China fundamentally perceives the South China Sea as…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
Modi’s US Trip Highlights Improved Relations With India
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the U.S. this week for the fourth time in two years. While in Washington, he will hold summit-level meetings with President Barack Obama, address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, and meet with the heads of several think tanks. The visit is an opportunity to showcase the…Lisa Curtis -
- Opinion
72nd D-Day Anniversary: All Who Serve Are a Part of the Greatest Generation
Stop your average American on the street and ask them, “What happened on June 6?” Surprisingly, a few might recall that on a dreary morning while the low tide lapped lazily on the rocky coast of Normandy, France, brave men in battle armor no thicker than an olive drab shirt grimly headed toward Hitler’s Atlantic Wall….James Carafano -
- Opinion
Venezuela’s Crisis Is the Latest Example of Why Socialism Doesn’t Work
It seems the “Socialism of the 21th Century” is really no different from socialism from the past. Venezuela’s current tragedy, simultaneously culminating in food shortages, a crime epidemic, and an energy collapse, is the latest example of why centralized planning economy does not work—and how it is indistinguishable from tyranny. In the South American country,…Gabriel de Arruda Castro -
- Opinion
6 Men Who Disguised Themselves as Women to Access Bathrooms
With the departments of Justice and Education’s new announcement on transgender access to showers, locker rooms, bathrooms, and other sex-specific facilities in schools, there is reason for concern. The Obama administration has unlawfully rewritten law, meddling in state and local matters, and imposing bad policy on the entire nation. Americans agree that while we should…Melody Wood -
- Opinion
Study Shows Those Who Claimed ‘Climate Debate Over’ Were Wrong
Last summer, the editor of Science wrote a commentary on climate change where she said, “The time for debate has ended.” After appealing to policies based on economic knowledge she doesn’t have, she finished with speculation as to which ring of Dante’s Inferno would God designate for climate skeptics. All in all, it was an…David Kreutzer -
- Opinion
Remembering Those Who Never Came Home
During the mid-2000s, I attended my son’s graduation from the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, in a ceremony where the commencement address was given by then-Secretary of Defense Bob Gates. Like many who attend graduations, I have no recall of what Gates said to the collective students, faculty, and families that day. I do…Peter Brookes -
- Opinion
Don’t Let the 42 Republicans Who Voted for Obama’s Transgender Agenda Spin Their Vote
On Wednesday, 42 Republican members of Congress joined the Democrats to vote for President Barack Obama’s transgender agenda. Now they’re trying to spin their vote. These 42 Republicans voted for the Maloney amendment, which ratified Obama’s 2014 executive order barring private businesses who do contract work for the government from engaging in what the government…Ryan T. Anderson -
- Opinion
Europe Rolls Over on Greek Debt (Again), With No Reforms
European Union checklist for May 2016: 1) Greek Loans Rolled Over (again!)—Check! 2) Crisis Averted (again!)—Check! 3) Structural Problems in Greece Left Unsolved (again!)—Check! To an outsider, at least, that seems to be a good summary of how the European Union handled the most recent chapter in the Greek debt crisis. After the latest round…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
Chinese Ballistic Missile Submarines Should Definitely Cause Concern
As the United States continues to struggle with adequately funding its armed forces, other nations around the world are developing impressive military capabilities. Case in point: In a recent article published by The Guardian, China is set to deploy nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines, or what many in the naval community affectionately call “boomers,” armed…Harry J. Kazianis -
- News
Russia Releases Jailed Ukrainian Pilot
KYIV, Ukraine—As part of a prisoner swap, Russia has released jailed Ukrainian army helicopter pilot and Member of Parliament Nadia Savchenko, who became a national symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russia since her capture nearly two years ago. “This is good news for Ukraine,” said Alexander, a 21-year-old student who was out celebrating Savchenko’s release…Nolan Peterson