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
State Department Is Misleading Americans About Russia’s Treaty Violations
The State Department isn’t being honest with Americans about Russia’s violations of arms control treaties and other politically binding commitments. Take the State Department’s annual compliance report, which was published earlier this month. The report outlines U.S. and international compliance with arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements, both legally binding and political. The State Department’s… -
news
How a Shuttered McDonald’s Symbolizes the Fight for Peace in Ukraine
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—In 1995, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman coined the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention, also known as “McPeace.” The idea was that countries stable enough economically and politically to court a McDonald’s franchise share too many democratic values to go to war with one another. “People in McDonald's countries,” Friedman wrote, "don't… -
news
Renewed Violence in Ukraine Spurs Fears of All-Out War With Russia
KYIV, Ukraine—For those who might have thought the Ukraine conflict was finally fading from the headlines, this week should serve as sufficient evidence to the contrary. Renewed fighting has left the Feb. 12 cease-fire, as well as towns in eastern Ukraine, shattered, and edged the conflict closer to a full-on war between Ukraine and Russia…. -
opinion
China’s Plan to Challenge US as a Rising Global Power
What is China up to? It’s been building artificial islands in the South China Sea. Recently, two motorized artillery pieces were spotted on one of these artificial islands. Experts believe the Chinese may plan to use them as airstrips. On May 20 the Chinese navy challenged a U.S. surveillance aircraft flying near one of the… -
opinion
China, US Keep Their Defenses Up at Asian Security Conference
Dean Cheng, senior research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center, has been in Singapore, where he was a guest at the region’s premier security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue. With the close of the events here in Singapore, Southeast Asia and regional security analysts are busily mulling over this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue. The Dialogue… -
opinion
Challenges, and Successes, for United States at UN Small Arms Meeting
Today, the second meeting of government experts for the U.N. “Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons” wraps up in New York. In theory, the PoA, as it is known, is about controlling international arms smuggling. In practice, a lot of nations want to make it about gun control. So far, the U.S…. -
news
Pro-Russian Separatists Launch Attack as Ukraine Braces for Possible Offensive
KYIV, Ukraine—In the predawn hours Wednesday, pro-Russian separatist tanks and artillery bombarded Ukrainian troops in the eastern town of Marinka, spurring Ukrainian military officials and media to speculate whether a major separatist offensive, anticipated for months, had begun. “There were many casualties. Krasnohorivka and Marinka are on fire," Ukrainian Member of Parliament and Kyiv-1 Battalion… -
news
Despite Russian Denials, Ukraine Bracing for Violent Summer
KYIV, Ukraine—Despite Moscow’s warming rhetoric in recent weeks, the Ukraine conflict is showing little evidence of cooling off this summer. On Sunday, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in combat in eastern Ukraine, at least seven more were wounded, and another two were taken prisoner, according to the Ukrainian military. These casualty figures are not exceptional,… -
opinion
Japanese Pension Fund Hacked
Following a trilateral defense meeting Saturday of the U.S., Australia, and Japan, the Japan Pension Service (JPS) was hacked. The personal information of over 1.2 million Japanese people was apparently stolen from the pension management system. Ninety percent of the information that was stolen was names, birthdates, and the Japanese equivalent of Social Security numbers…. -
news
Emails Raise Questions of Bias in Case Against Bakers Who Denied Service for Same-Sex Wedding
The Daily Signal has exclusively learned that the government agency responsible for enforcing Oregon’s anti-discrimination law appears to be working closely with a powerful gay rights advocacy group in its case against Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Communications between the agency, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the… -
opinion
An Alliance Carrying the Torch of Freedom in Europe
Last weekend, I had the honor of attending a meeting of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists in Winchester, England. The organization consists of members of the European Parliament from 15 European Union nations and Turkey and works with several “regional partners” including Canada, Australia and the United States. The Alliance opposes the centralized… -
opinion
South Korea–Japan Relationship: Time to Move Forward
After Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s successful trip to America, South Korean media and its people were up in arms. Seoul criticized Abe for not making unambiguous apologies for Japanese wartime brutalities during his speech to the U.S. Congress and critiqued his use of the term “human trafficking” in reference to Japanese soldier’s abuse of… -
news
Report Details Widespread Prisoner Abuse, Torture in Ukraine Conflict
KYIV, Ukraine—Prisoner abuse, including torture and summary execution, is a daily occurrence on the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, reflecting a brutal, ongoing conflict in which both sides are accused of human rights violations and war crimes, according to an Amnesty International report released this week. The 36-page report, titled, “Breaking Bodies: Torture and Summary Killings… -
opinion
5 Steps the Next President Could Take to Boost Our Relationship With Latin America
For much of the last century, Latin America has seldom been a major focus for U.S. foreign policy. Yet President Obama’s controversial Cuba policy appears to have brought the region back into play. But Obama’s days in the Oval Office are numbered. How will the next occupant of the White House treat our neighbors to… -
opinion
North Korea Claims Miniaturized Nuclear Weapons
Pyongyang claimed on Wednesday that it already has developed nuclear weapons small enough to fit on missiles. The powerful National Defense Commission declared “it is long since [North Korea’s] nuclear striking means have entered the stage of producing smaller nukes and diversifying them.” It also highlighted its ability to put miniaturized nuclear warheads on short-range,… -
opinion
U.S. Should Support Media Freedom in Africa
The state of media freedom in Africa is “grim,” according to the media freedom group Reporters Without Borders, which took stock of the situation recently on World Press Freedom Day. Outside the traditional bastions of democracy—North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan— the media in much of the world are increasingly troubled. In the Middle East… -
opinion
China Military Moves Into South China Sea Dispute, Solidifying China’s New Area Grab
CNN broadcast an exclusive report, as one of its reporters hitched a ride on a U.S. Navy P-8 patrol aircraft overflying the artificial islands the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building in the South China Sea. The Chinese repeatedly tried to warn off the aircraft, in English language broadcasts that CNN included in its… -
news
Top US General ‘Impressed’ With Ukraine’s Treatment of Captured Russian Commandos
KYIV, Ukraine—The top U.S. Army commander in Europe praised the Ukrainian military Tuesday for how it handled the capture of two Russian special forces soldiers during a battle on Ukrainian territory over the weekend. "I was impressed and want to congratulate Ukrainian armed forces with how they handled the capture of the two Russian solders,”… -
opinion
U.S. Talks of Stronger North Korea Sanctions….and Talks…and Talks
While in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry lambasted Pyongyang for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, flagrant disregard for international law, and human rights abuses. Kerry criticized the regime’s “provocative, destabilizing and repressive actions [and] unacceptable behavior.” To respond, Secretary Kerry declared international intent to “increase the pressure and increase the… -
news
Russian Dissident Looks to Raise ‘Rebel Army’ in Ukraine to Overthrow Putin
KYIV, Ukraine—Andrei Kuznetsov leans forward, clinches his angular jaw, narrows his sharp blue eyes and says: “I could tell you things that would shock Americans.” For emphasis, the 32-year-old Russian exile then raises his eyebrows and nods as he slowly leans back in his chair and takes a sip of beer. Patrons and servers at…