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
China Has More Billionaires than US
The number of Chinese billionaires has increased by almost 70 percent in the past year, according to figures in the 2015 “Hurun Rich List,” an annual report released by the Hurun Research Institute. Last year’s report indicated that China had 354 billionaires. This year’s report found there are now 596 Chinese billionaires. China has now…Thomas Whittaker -
- Opinion
Thanks, Russia, for Spurring American Action on ISIS
I never thought I’d say this, considering recent events, but we may have to—gulp—thank Russia for something: a potential positive (and long overdue) shift in our Iraq/Syria/Islamic State/al-Qaeda policy, which has been both flailing and failing. While the White House would deny it, it’s very likely that the Kremlin’s intervention into the Syrian civil war…Peter Brookes -
- News
North Korean Defector’s ‘Winter Butterfly’ Film Unveils Extremes of Starvation in North Korea
Young 11-year-old Jin-ho treks into the North Korean mountains every morning collecting firewood to earn just enough to keep him and his starving mother alive. One morning, he trips and breaks his leg, leaving him unconscious for multiple days in the isolated, freezing woods. He eventually staggers home, but his injury takes him out of…Natalie Johnson -
- News
As China Abandons One-Child Policy, Experts Agree Change Won’t Be Enough to Avert Demographic Crisis
China is abandoning its controversial “one-child policy” in favor of a universal two-child policy, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua. The move comes after several years of the Chinese government slowly relaxing the 35-year-old mandate. The most recent policy modification came last year, when Chinese men and women who are only children were told that…Madaline Donnelly -
- Opinion
Recent Elections in Latin America Carry Heavy Consequences
Over the weekend, four important elections occurred in the Western Hemisphere. Argentina and Guatemala held presidential elections; Colombia held local and municipal level elections. (Haiti also had an election, but the result will be unknown for several weeks.) For now, the results in Argentina, Guatemala, and Colombia raise key questions for the United States and…Ana Quintana -
- Opinion
People Who Sell Jelly With Six Fruits or More as Food Are Criminals
Pushing the boundaries of jelly science is risky. You may sell food labeled as “jelly” only if it has a combination of two, three, four or five fruit juice ingredients pursuant to the specifications in paragraph (b)(1) of section 150.140 of title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations. You are free to sell a…John-Michael Seibler -
- Opinion
What the US Achieved by Sailing Into the South China Sea
After months of discussion, and an interval of three years, the United States has finally matched actions to its verbal challenges of China’s island-building in the South China Sea. The destroyer USS Lassen (DDG-82) sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Chinese construction effort on Subi Reef in the Spratlys. When PACOM Commander Admiral Harry…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
Russia and Iran Are Winning a War of Images in Syria
The leaders of Russia and Iran both have ramped up their propaganda machines to project images of surging regional influence within Syria. This aggressive news management by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, not so incidentally, coincides with the waning of U.S. power and influence. Since the start of the Russian…Helle Dale -
- News
Baker Who Doesn’t Want to Make Wedding Cakes for Same-Sex Couples Takes His Case to Colorado Supreme Court
Another layer has unfolded for cake artist Jack Phillips. He has asked the Colorado Supreme Court to rule that the government cannot force him to bake a cake in celebration of a same-sex wedding. In August, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that Phillips and his bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop, must bake cakes for same-sex weddings,…Leah Jessen -
- News
Lawmakers Probe Taxpayer-Funded Academic Who Wants Obama to Prosecute Climate Change Skeptics
Taxpayer-funded college professors and researchers who cite climate change to advocate regulations that would raise energy costs for consumers have some explaining to do, congressional investigators say. A House committee wants to know more about the relationship between taxpayer money received by the academics and their urging of President Obama to use federal racketeering law…Kevin Mooney -
- News
Meet the Lawmakers Who Will Serve on the House’s Select Panel Investigating Planned Parenthood
Outgoing House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Friday the Republican appointments to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., will serve as the panel’s chair. “No issue is more deserving of our undivided attention than protecting the dignity of human life,” Blackburn said in a statement provided…Kate Scanlon -
- Opinion
When It Comes to Prosperity and Poverty, the UN Still Doesn’t Get It
The announcement last week that Angus Deaton of Princeton University won the 2015 Nobel Prize in economics offers an opportunity to celebrate the gains the world has made, and to reflect on how we can do better. Unfortunately, the United Nations has not taken that opportunity. Deaton’s research focuses on the use of data from…Ted Bromund -
- Opinion
China Breaks Cyber Agreement: Congress Should Move Beyond “I Told You So” and Address the Problem
Last month, President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China announced that “neither country’s government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors.” When the agreement was announced, The Heritage Foundation was incredibly…Angelica Hickerson -
- News
Meet the Yale Law Grad Who Abandoned Her Career to Help Save 200 Chinese Babies
The past month marked two important milestones for human rights activist and lawyer Reggie Littlejohn. As of Sept. 25, China’s so-called “one-child policy” has officially been in effect for 35 years. On Oct. 11, Littlejohn observed the third anniversary of a campaign her organization, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, launched to protect women and female children…Madaline Donnelly -
- Opinion
State Department Fumbles Response to Palestinian Violence
For a brief moment the State Department got its reaction right to the Palestinian knife attacks against Israeli citizens last week. A very brief moment. Then it was back to business as usual. Posting on Oct. 15, the State Department on its official twitter account correctly characterized the attacks, advertising remarks by Secretary of State…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Obama’s Middle East Strategy Continues to Fail as Cuban and Iranian Troops Join Russian-Backed Offensive in Syria
Russia is not the only country that feels free to intervene in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime and attack U.S.-supported Syrian rebels. Cuba and Iran, two countries eagerly courted by the Obama administration that have recently signed controversial diplomatic agreements with the United States, also are deploying troops to join the fight there….James Phillips -
- News
NRA Reacts to California Lieutenant Governor’s Proposed New Gun Laws: ‘State Will Be Next Australia’
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new ballot initiative Thursday that would tighten restrictions on ammunition purchases and gun ownership should voters turn out in support of the proposed legislation. According to the Associated Press, Newsom’s proposal comes in response to national levels of gun violence “and three recent San Francisco Bay Area killings…Joshua Gill -
- Opinion
Putin Begins Propaganda Blitz to Sell his Syrian Bombing Campaign
The Russian government has launched an all-out media campaign to sell its involvement in Syria to the Russian people. On all official television channels (which are pretty much the only ones in Russia that count), viewers have been subjected to a nonstop barrage of the Russian bombing campaign over the past two weeks. Bombers are…Helle Dale -
- News
The Daring Escape From a North Korean Prison That Took One Life but Saved Another
SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea will be at the top of the agenda when President Barack Obama meets with his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye at the White House Friday. Shining light on North Korea’s human rights abuses has been a priority of activist Shin Dong-hyuk for a decade. He wants the international community to know…Ed Frank -
- Opinion
Masters of Psychological Warfare: How the Chinese Are Winning a Secret War
The comprehensive nature of issues discussed during Xi Jinping’s visit once again illuminated the extent of China’s political and social influence in the United States. On October 6, The Heritage Foundation, in cooperation with The Project 2049 Institute, cosponsored the public program event “Influence Operations: Chinese Political Warfare in East Asia and Beyond.” The event…Thomas Whittaker