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
Firing of Officer Who Shot Unarmed Suspect Shows Benefits of Non-Unionized Police Departments
Americans were stunned last week by graphic video of North Charleston, S.C. Police Officer Michael T. Slager shooting an unarmed suspect in the back after a routine traffic stop. The video led to Slager both being charged with murder and fired from the North Charleston Police Department. Slager’s quick dismissal from the department stands in…Alex Belica -
- Opinion
How the Next President Can Stand Up to a Resurgent Russia
Usually, domestic issues are front-and-center in presidential campaigns. Not so this year. From Islamist terror in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to the growing Iranian nuclear threat, foreign and national-security policy is the hot topic among White House aspirants. That’s not a bad thing. The next leader of the free world must be able…James Carafano -
- News
Visit to a Mariupol Hospital Lays Bare Ukraine War’s Toll
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—In "All Quiet on the Western Front," Erich Maria Remarque wrote: “A hospital alone shows what war is.” The hospital here is no exception. The faces of soldiers, both young and old, recovering from wounds and sickness incurred on the front lines — located only eight miles away from here — speak to the…Nolan Peterson -
- News
Ukraine Moves to Ditch its Soviet Past
KYIV, Ukraine—The Ukrainian parliament approved a law Thursday renaming the Great Patriotic War as the Second World War, underscoring a sweeping move by the post-revolutionary government here to ditch its Soviet past. Also on Thursday, Ukrainian lawmakers passed a law banning the promotion of symbols of “Communist and National Socialist totalitarian regimes,” as well as…Nolan Peterson -
- News
What Americans Think About Business Owners Who Refuse to Serve Same-Sex Weddings
A new poll found that Americans are split on whether business owners should be allowed to decline to participate in same-sex marriages due to their religious beliefs. A poll conducted by NBC News, the University of Pennsylvania’s Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies and SurveyMonkey found that 48 percent of Americans believe businesses and…Kate Scanlon -
- News
Ukraine Bracing for Separatist Offensive
KYIV, Ukraine—Pro-Russian separatists have been put on “full alert” for a major offensive that Ukrainian and U.S. military officials anticipate will happen in the next two months, a Ukrainian military spokesman said here Wednesday. Ukrainian military officials and front-line troops say the attack will begin sometime from Orthodox Easter on April 12 to May 9,…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Would China Have Launched the AIIB If Congress Had Approved IMF Reforms? Yes.
Does anyone really believe that China would have shelved its newly launched, $100 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) if Congress had approved the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “Reform Package” negotiated by the Obama Administration in 2010? That’s what proponents of the IMF reforms would have you believe as they fired off a new round…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
GOP, Democrats Unite in Opposing UN Arms Treaty
Since the Obama administration announced in October 2009 that it would seek to negotiate an Arms Trade Treaty through the United Nations, Congress has regularly cautioned the White House that such a treaty is not in the interests of the United States. After Secretary of State John Kerry signed the agreement in September 2013, Congress…Ted Bromund -
- Opinion
Cyber Sanctions: The Right Move
In the wake of constant cyber attacks and acts of cyber espionage against the United States, the President signed an Executive Order effectively initiating the first program to impose sanctions on foreign individuals who engage in destructive and malicious behavior in the cyber realm. This “national emergency,” which President Obama deemed imminent, has created the…Emily Runge -
- News
Why a Russian Decided to Fight for Ukraine
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—Even while speaking through a translator, Andrey is a man of few words. When asked why he defected from Russia to join a Ukrainian National Guard regiment, the 22-year-old Muscovite simply replied: “Common sense.” After an assurance that his face would not be photographed or his last name used, Andrey opened up, explaining in…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
The Middle East Today Looks Like Europe Right Before World War I
For years, the great nations of Europe spent huge sums of money to build their military might. They assembled themselves into blocs, all the better to play a dangerous game of power politics. Slowly, surely, they were stumbling toward war. In June 1914, an assassin shot the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,…Steven Bucci -
- News
How One Ukrainian City Has Been Transformed by War
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—Like manmade thunder, the artillery concussions cut through the light drizzle on the grey, overcast day. Standing in the unpaved parking lot of the Ukrainian National Guard Azov Regiment camp, Ivan Kharkiv, a 20-year-old soldier who has been with the unit since May 2014, smiled and pointed in the direction of the shelling. “You…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act
In a recent event, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R–Utah) emphasized the importance of the timely renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): [W]e have to renew [AGOA] before the end of this summer. As you all know, the AGOA program encourages African countries to further open their economies to international trade…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Nigeria’s Successful Election Is an Example of Democracy for African Nations
The main opposition contender in Nigeria’s presidential election, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has been declared the winner, unseating incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan. Buhari, leading the All Progressives Congress, won by more than 2.57 million votes, a 53.95 percent majority. Compared to the last presidential elections in 2011, Buhari did not cede any states to Jonathan, but in…Charlotte Florance -
- News
Raw Footage: Watch Ukrainian Soldiers, Separatists Battle for Valuable Prize
BERDYANS’KE, Ukraine—Pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian Azov Regiment have been battling over the town of Shyrokyne for weeks. The small town on the Sea of Azov is only about nine miles east of Mariupol, an industrial port city on the Sea of Azov, which is considered by some Ukrainian military officials to be the last…Nolan Peterson -
- News
Rand Paul: Democrats Taking African-American Vote ‘For Granted’
In a video clip you won’t see anywhere else, Sen. Rand Paul tells a group of pastors that the Democrat Party is taking African-American voters for granted. “There’s an eagerness for someone to meet with them,” Paul, R-Ky., said. “The Democrats have completely taken this whole body of voters for granted.” When talking about a…David Brody -
- News
US Sending Soldiers to Train Ukraine National Guard
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—As part of a joint Department of Defense-State Department effort to bolster Ukraine’s internal defense capabilities, the United States will be sending Army paratroopers to train Ukraine’s National Guard, a U.S. Army Europe spokesman confirmed to The Daily Signal Monday. U.S. Army Europe spokesman Donald Wrenn said paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne…Nolan Peterson -
- News
Ukraine Cracks Down on Oligarchs and Volunteer Fighting Battalions
KYIV, Ukraine—In the course of one day last week, Ukraine’s government made several ambitious moves to centralize political and military control over the revolution- and war-torn country. “The war is a very good curtain to hide the corruption,” says a reserve lieutenant in the Ukrainian army. On the morning of March 25, Ihor Kolomoisky, one…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Pakistan’s Selective Fight Against Terrorism Threatens U.S. Security Goals in South Asia
Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared all terrorism in Pakistan “unacceptable” and offered $250 million to aid refugees displaced by the Pakistani military offensive against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in North Waziristan. The Pakistani military has repeatedly tried to assure Washington that it is committed to cracking down on all terrorist…Lisa Curtis -
- Opinion
Europeans Agree to Counter Russian Propaganda War
Ministers from European Union countries decided last week to work strategically to counter Russian’s propaganda offensive in Ukraine and other former Soviet states. EU countries intend to collaborate on broadcasting to give citizens in the target countries, e.g. the Baltics, an alternative to the relentless bombardment of Russian media, which produces a highly distorted version…Helle Dale