International News
Coverage of international events and global policy shifts. The Daily Signal offers news reporting with opinion and commentary on world affairs.
-
opinion
In Cold War Flashback, Russia Designates VOA, Radio Free Europe as Foreign Agents
The Russian Duma is engaging in tit-for-tat with the U.S. government by designating American government-funded broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as foreign agents. In late November, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a measure rushed through the Duma to push back against the United States. As a result, reporters working… -
opinion
Russia Has Repeatedly Flouted This Missile Treaty. It’s Time to Scrap It.
Thirty years ago Friday, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The treaty was unprecedented. For the first time in the history of nuclear arms control, it actually eliminated an entire class of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 to 5,500 kilometers. But the good news didn’t last…. -
news
As China Invests in Ukraine, Russia Stands to Gain
KYIV, Ukraine—A top Chinese official visited Kyiv this week to announce a host of new infrastructure projects and investments in Ukraine, underscoring a burgeoning economic relationship between the two countries that could nudge Kyiv away from the West—a scenario that would ultimately benefit Moscow, some say. “Russian-Chinese relations have no reason to diverge over Ukraine,… -
opinion
China Cutting Tariffs Just Weeks After Trump’s Asia Trip
Following President Donald Trump’s recent trip to Asia, China has released a long list of dramatic tariff cuts on a range of imported consumer goods. In fact, over 200 different products will see an average reduction of approximately 10 percent. U.S. cheese exporters have been particularly vocal about the importance of China lowering tariffs. Demand… -
opinion
How Affirmative Action Hurts Asian-Americans in College Admissions
Michael Wang stared at the letter in dismay. It marked the sixth Ivy League university he had been rejected by, out of the seven he had applied to. In addition to his perfect ACT score and grade-point average, he was ranked third nationally in piano, sang at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, and had received accolades… -
news
In Ukraine It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, and a Lot Less Like Russia
KYIV, Ukraine—The weekend after Thanksgiving, shopping malls across Ukraine touted special Black Friday sales. Of course, Ukrainians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving (not yet, at least), so there was no post-holiday food hangover to slow down shoppers’ clip as they flooded the malls and shopping centers. Nevertheless, just like in the United States, the Ukrainian holiday season… -
news
Obama Says He Can’t Have a Discussion With People Who Say the ‘Climate Is Not Changing’
Former President Barack Obama said he can't have a debate with someone who thinks man-made global warming is a hoax while speaking at a summit in India on Friday. Obama is in India as part of a three-country tour to promote the Obama Foundation. It’s the first speech Obama has made in India since leaving… -
opinion
Tillerson Speech Hits Right Notes on Europe, but Weak on Support for Brexit
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s speech on Tuesday at the Wilson Center on strengthening Western alliances rightly placed U.S. alliances in Europe front and center for U.S. national interests. The secretary reaffirmed America’s commitment to NATO, robustly defended the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and pushed back against Russia’s aggressive behavior in the region…. -
opinion
Meet the Woman Who Helped Make Thanksgiving a US Holiday
For much of the 19th century, Thanksgiving was celebrated only by New Englanders and Northeastern transplants in the upper Midwest and New York. Without the dogged activism of Sarah Josepha Hale—a novelist, poet, and the editor of “Godey’s Lady’s Book,” a lifestyle magazine with an impressive pre-Civil War circulation of 150,000—Thanksgiving may never have become… -
opinion
What Trump’s Designation of North Korea as State Sponsor of Terrorism Will Mean for Country’s Future
The Trump administration has re-designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. It’s a proper and pragmatic, if belated, acknowledgement that North Korea’s repeated, deadly actions legally constitute terrorist acts under U.S. law. As President Donald Trump commented, “It should have happened years ago.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the re-designation was to… -
news
Russia’s Hybrid War Against the West Began on the Battlefields of Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine—Russian revanchism has spread beyond the battlefields of Ukraine’s Donbas region into a global, hybrid conflict that has redrawn the balance of power in Eastern Europe and pitted the world’s two largest nuclear powers against each other. "When a country can come interfere in another country’s elections, that is warfare,” U.S. Ambassador to the… -
opinion
America Needs a Stronger State Department, Not an ‘Independent’ Foreign Aid Agency
President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development to come up with a plan to reorganize themselves to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. After decades in which trillions of taxpayer dollars have been sent overseas in the form of foreign assistance, it is not an unreasonable… -
opinion
What Happened to Colonel Who Didn’t Want to Praise an Airman’s Same-Sex Marriage
After flying in the B-2 bomber, Air Force Col. Leland Bohannon knows a thing or two about stealth. And the attack against his faith isn’t it. In fact, the military seems to be going out of its way to punish the Christian dad of five, despite a distinguished career defending the same freedom the Air… -
news
Ukraine Turns to American Coal to Defend Itself Against Russia
KYIV, Ukraine—Sometimes, wars aren’t won by tank battles and infantry assaults. Sometimes, it comes down to keeping the heat on. As Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine nears its fifth calendar year—and as Ukraine’s infamously cold winter draws near—American companies are incrementally cutting into Russia’s de facto monopoly as a supplier of nuclear fuel and coal… -
opinion
What China’s New Leadership Cohort Means for the US
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 19th Party Congress came to a close last month, new members of Chinese leadership emerged on the national stage. This leadership exists in the form of the CCP Central Committee’s Politburo, and in particular, a new Politburo Standing Committee. The seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, which includes President Xi Jinping… -
opinion
Trump’s Message for China
President Donald Trump’s visit to Asia has now taken him to the People’s Republic of China, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping staged an elaborate welcome, complete with a personally guided private visit to the famous Forbidden City. Observers have expected that two of the main concerns to be discussed by Trump and Xi would be… -
opinion
Q&A: How the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s Views on Islam, Economy Could Change Country
Jim Phillips, senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at The Heritage Foundation, gave his insight into the recent events related to succession that have taken place in Saudi Arabia in an interview Tuesday with The Heritage Foundation’s Genevieve Wood. Here is an edited transcript of the interview. Wood: So people understand, so currently the… -
opinion
Those Who Disagree on Marriage Can Coexist. For the Sake of Our Society, We Must.
In 2015, a majority of the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges wrote that the view that marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman is “based on decent and honorable religious or philosophical premises.” Yet increasingly, the traditional view of marriage is being equated with anti-LGBT bigotry—and not without consequences. Take what happened… -
opinion
How to Respond to Those Who Want to ‘Do Something’ After Texas Shooting
The world reacted in horror when news came Sunday of the massacre of Christians at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. They gathered—and Jesus was among them, as He promised believers—but somehow evil penetrated their worship. The shooter, Devin Kelley, killed Pastor Frank Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter Annabelle. He killed eight members of the… -
opinion
Major NATO Exercise With Sweden Highlights Ability to Deter Russian Aggression
Sweden, a country with a close defense relationship with the U.S. and NATO, hosted its largest military exercise in 23 years this September as a demonstration of deterrence against Russian aggression. U.S. forces played an important role and in doing so helped to strengthen the U.S. military position in Europe. Exercises are a key means…