International News
Coverage of international events and global policy shifts. The Daily Signal offers news reporting with opinion and commentary on world affairs.
-
opinion
Russia’s Information Warfare Continues
Speculation about Russian interference in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is flowing fast in the U.S. media. Russia was widely believed to be responsible for embarrassing email hacks at the Democratic National Convention. Speculation abounds in the media that the Russian government might try to throw the U.S. election this way or that with a… -
opinion
6 Moves Putin’s Russia Could Make in Its Old Stomping Ground
Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea have left many wondering: Where next for Moscow? While no one can read Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mind, we can examine historical precedent to construct feasible scenarios for future Russian action. Here, we'll review six such scenarios, each reflecting three assumptions regarding how Putin sees Russia’s… -
news
2 Years After Airliner Downed, Eastern Ukraine Remains a De Facto No-Fly Zone
KYIV, Ukraine—More than two years after a Russian surface-to-air missile shot down a civilian airliner over eastern Ukraine, the embattled region remains a de facto no-fly zone for both civilian and military aircraft. On Wednesday, an international investigative team concluded there was “no doubt” the Buk missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on… -
opinion
Report Confirms Russia’s Responsibility for Shooting Down Malaysian Airliner
In interim findings, a team of investigators says Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from an area controlled by Russian-backed fighters in eastern Ukraine. The team, comprised of investigators from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine, is conducting a criminal investigation into the downing of MH17 on July 17, 2014, which killed all 298… -
opinion
China’s Economy Is Headed for a Hard Landing
The world’s second-largest economy is going to make a hard landing one day, China watchers have speculated for several years. The fact is, though, the Middle Kingdom already is well on its way. Let’s first examine the “official” top-line numbers. In 2007, a year before the great global crisis, China’s real gross domestic product expanded… -
opinion
Remembering Douglas Munro, US Coast Guard Medal of Honor Recipient Who Helped Save Hundreds
Of the 3,498 Medal of Honor recipients in American history, only one was from the U.S. Coast Guard: Signalman 1st Class Douglas Albert Munro. On this day 74 years ago, Munro sacrificed himself at the Matanikau River at Point Cruz in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, while saving hundreds of his fellow service members. In recognition, Munro… -
opinion
Sweden’s Smart Move to Return Troops to an Island Eyed by Russia
Sweden’s decision to reintroduce permanent troops to the island province of Gotland is wise in light of recent Russian aggression. Swedish soldiers exercising on Gotland received an order Sept. 14 not to leave. The 150 troops will remain on the island until mid-2017, when a planned permanent unit should be fully established there. Sweden, which… -
news
Syria Cease-Fire Collapse Highlights How Far US-Russia Relations Have Fallen
KYIV, Ukraine—The story is depressingly familiar. On Friday, the cease-fire in Syria, which was brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, collapsed as Russian and Syrian warplanes resumed their scorched earth airstrike campaign in Aleppo. “Russia has no vested interest in stability in the Middle East,” Stephen Blank,… -
news
A War on Their Doorstep, Ukrainian Millennials Enjoy a Night Out in a Front-Line City
KYIV, Ukraine—In Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city on the Sea of Azov only about 10 miles from the front lines, you can frequently hear artillery exploding from inside the city. Sometimes it sounds like tree branches knocking in the wind. Sometimes it’s loud enough to rattle windows. I was at dinner with a group of… -
opinion
Obama’s Use of UN to Advance Partisan Agenda Hurts the Organization Long Term
President Barack Obama gave his eighth and final address to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday morning. The tone was reminiscent of past speeches in a number of ways, both good and bad. The rhetoric was soaring in parts and it was well delivered. However, his characterization of the world and his successes tended toward… -
opinion
Regulations in Benin, West Africa, Stunt Business Growth for Entrepreneurs Like Glwadys Tawema
The Heritage Foundation has taken its message of economic freedom on the road.One stop was Cotonou, the capital of Benin—a small country of about 9 million next door to Nigeria in West Africa. It was there that we met Glwadys Tawema, a young entrepreneur who is struggling to keep her small business profitable in spite of costly,… -
opinion
Major Attack on Indian Army in Kashmir Puts South Asia on Crisis Footing
Indo-Pakistani tensions have been heightening over the last several months, but Sunday’s attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir that left 17 soldiers dead has put the region in crisis mode. The attack took place near the Line of Control that divides Indian and Pakistani Kashmir and marks the most deadly attack against Indian… -
opinion
With North Korea’s 5th Nuclear Test, Time for Obama to Pressure China
On Sept. 8, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test, the second since January 2016. The regime confirmed the nuclear test, claiming to now have “a variety of smaller, lighter, and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power … standardized [to be] mounted on strategic ballistic rockets. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 5.3 magnitude… -
news
Journalists Caught in the Crossfire of the Ukraine-Russia Conflict
KYIV, Ukraine—There is a memorial to murdered Ukrainian journalists on Khreshchatyk, Kyiv’s central boulevard. It’s a simple, nondescript metal plaque flanked by flowers on the side of a building. Some of the names are faded now, worn down by the years and the elements. The names date from 1992, the first year after Ukraine gained… -
opinion
2 Years Ago, I Thought the War in Ukraine Was Over. I Was Wrong.
KYIV, Ukraine—Two years ago, on Sept. 5, 2014, the Ukraine war’s first cease-fire went into effect. For a brief moment, the guns fell silent along the front lines in Ukraine’s embattled southeastern Donbas region. These areas included the outskirts of the southern port city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian and combined Russian-separatist forces were engaged in… -
news
Russia’s Military Exercises Fuel Fears of Continued Aggression
KYIV, Ukraine—As the late summer weather begins to cool, Russian military exercises have kept the tensions hot in Ukraine and across Eastern Europe. Periodic flare-ups in the ongoing war in Ukraine’s embattled Donbas region this summer have renewed fears of a full-on Russian invasion and spurred an unprecedented post-Cold War redeployment of NATO military forces… -
opinion
I’m an African-American Woman. Here’s My Advice to Conservatives Wooing My Community.
The moment Donald Trump urged black voters to consider supporting him—asking, “What do you have to lose?”—the consultants and pundits sprang into coordinated action, bombarding the airwaves with their “r” and “b” words. “Donald Trump is a racist,” posted Daily Kos. “Donald Trump is a bigot,” piped in The New York Times’ Charles Blow. There’s… -
opinion
North Korean Sub-Launched Missiles Threaten US Allies
North Korea conducted its most successful test launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Tuesday. The missile traveled 500 kilometers (300 miles), a considerable improvement over the 30-km range of the previous launch, and landed within Japan’s air defense identification zone. South Korean military officials report that North Korea used an unusual 500-km high trajectory… -
news
‘The War Won’t Be Over Soon’: Ukraine’s Long Fight Against Russia for Freedom
MARIUPOL, Ukraine— For more than two years, Ukraine’s military has been fighting a ground war against a combined force of pro-Russian separatists and Russian regulars in the Donbas, Ukraine’s embattled southeastern territory. As Ukraine prepares for the 25th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union this Wednesday, the ongoing war in the Donbas highlights… -
opinion
Violence in Burundi Highlights the Fragility of Democracy in Africa
The small central African country of Burundi is approaching its 17th month of violence sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term in office. Once a relative success story, Burundi’s democracy is now on life support. Its plight is a reminder of the fragile state of African democracy, and is part of…