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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news
He Escaped From a North Korean Prison Camp. Now He’s Showing the World His Torture Scars.
SEOUL, South Korea—In an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal, human rights activist Shin Dong-hyuk shows scars that he suffered from torture inside a North Korean prison camp. Shin was born in a North Korean prison in 1982 and made a daring escape in 2005. He allowed The Daily Signal to film his back and… -
news
Who Are the Mysterious Members of the House Freedom Caucus?
With over 40 members and no official roster, the House Freedom Caucus—a conservative group in the U.S. House of Representatives that pushed for House Speaker John Boehner to leave office—consists of a core group of leaders going against the Washington establishment. After the start of the 114th Congress in January 2015, nine members of the… -
news
Why Does It Matter Who the House Speaker Is? Looking at House Leadership’s Responsibilities
House Speaker John Boehner announced last week he would be resigning from Congress, effective October 30, and Republicans have already begun competing for the top leadership posts in the wake of his news. House Republican leadership consists of four positions—speaker, majority leader, majority whip, and conference chair—and current House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California… -
opinion
While Iran Receives Billions From Lifted Sanctions, the U.S. Military Is Cut by Billions
There are many reasons to think that the Iran nuclear deal is an awful agreement—one of those being the $150 billion (or so) that Iran will receive as sanctions are lifted. While Iran is receiving $150 billion, the U.S. military is struggling under cuts that total over $180 billion over the last four years. In… -
opinion
4 Highlights From Obama’s Ridiculous Cyber Agreement With China
Last week, the White House announced that the U.S. and China had agreed to stop cyber economic espionage and work together to stop cybercrime. Well, that was easy, wasn’t it? Too easy. The reality is that the president has just made another paper agreement that will do little to change the behavior of bad actors…. -
opinion
Obama Puts Positive Spin on Disastrous Foreign Policy in UN Speech
President Obama’s seventh speech to the United Nations was well-received on Monday. This is hardly surprising, as his policies have been a broad embrace of priorities and tactics that have long been championed by the majority of the world’s governments. As stated by Peter Wittig, Germany’s ambassador to the United States and formerly Germany’s permanent… -
opinion
Is Russia Ramping Up Military Involvement in the Middle East?
As if Syria wasn’t nasty enough after four years of bloody civil war—a brutal Syrian regime, Islamic State barbarity, an Iranian and Hezbollah influx, and the presence of al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front and its bomb-building Khorasan group. Now reports of rampaging Russians. Reports indicate that Moscow has deployed a military expeditionary force of soldiers and equipment… -
opinion
What to Watch Out For When Obama Meets With Xi Jinping
In June of 2013, Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping met at Sunnylands, the former Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The “shirtsleeve summit” was intended to promote informal discussions between the two leaders. It failed to meet even limited expectations. The Chinese leader even refused to stay at the estate. On Friday, President Xi… -
opinion
Poland Is Key to a Safe Europe, and Putin Knows It
Good news in Eastern Europe is hard to come by these days with Russian President Vladimir Putin playing the bully in Ukraine and elsewhere, along with tens of thousands of fleeing Syrians and other Muslims seeking refuge in Europe. But I can report that an organization of young conservative Poles, committed to economic freedom and… -
opinion
Why China’s Human Rights Violations Do Matter
Xi Jinping is set to visit the United States this week for his first official state visit as president of China. While strategic concerns about cyber security and tensions in the South and East China Sea will inevitably overshadow broader, systemic human rights challenges, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry must nonetheless… -
opinion
A ‘State Visit’ for China’s President Sends All the Wrong Signals
The president of China, Xi Jinping, arrives in Washington tomorrow for a “state visit.” It is certainly appropriate for President Obama to meet with Xi in order to manage the differences between the U.S. and China and to explore areas of cooperation. There is too much at stake in a relationship between the world’s two… -
opinion
Putin Looks to Remove American Influences From Russia
Last week the Russian government added one more issue to its growing heap of disputes with the United States. By pulling the plug on the U.S. sponsored America Center hosted at M. Rudomino All-Russia State Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has subtly moved against the U.S. According to a press… -
opinion
Putin Doubles Down in Syria
Civil war has left Syria a country in name only. The UN counts at least 270,000 people killed and a million more injured since fighting began in 2011. In the first eight months of 2015, half a million refugees from Syria and beyond have flooded Europe. It is a serious crisis, and both Russian President… -
news
‘Not in My Backyard’: Green Energy Mogul Who Opposed Wind Farm Adopts a Different Approach Away From Home
A green energy mogul who protested an offshore wind farm near his summer home on Martha’s Vineyard is criticizing Vermonters who oppose his company’s four-megawatt combined solar farm proposed in Bennington. In 2010, Thomas Melone, CEO of Allco Renewable Energy, petitioned to block Cape Wind, a large offshore wind farm sited in federal waters in Nantucket… -
news
Activist: China’s One-Child Policy Responsible for More Violence Against Women Than Any Other Policy
NASHUA, N.H.—The pro-life movement should be an international effort, according to Reggie Littlejohn, the president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers. Speaking at the Bringing America Back to Life conference in New Hampshire, Littlejohn said that as the American abortion debate comes to the forefront of public discourse as we wrestle with the allegations that Planned… -
news
Republican Who Attacked Senate Leadership on Planned Parenthood Draws a Line in Defunding Debate
The lead Republican sponsor of a House bill to temporarily halt federal funding to Planned Parenthood attacked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday for his failure to fight on the issue. “You don’t put up a white flag until you’ve fought the battle,” Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., told talk-radio host Dana Loesch. “We haven’t… -
news
Meet 3 Women Who Spent More Than 15 Years in Prison for Nonviolent Drug Crimes
Stephanie George has never used drugs, but she earned a prison sentence of life without parole for a drug-related crime. Today, by the luck of a commutation from President Obama, George is living again, learning to mother her 24-year-old daughter and working in a restaurant because her criminal record impedes her hair-stylist ambitions. “I thank… -
opinion
Why Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Stance on Marriage Led to His Ousting
Australian politicians have again treated the nation like a failed Pacific Island state, launching yet another coup to topple a serving prime minister. Prime Minister Tony Abbott was cut down by one of his Liberal Party cabinet ministers, Malcolm Turnbull, in a party room vote brought on Monday. Abbott, a conservative, visited the Heritage Foundation… -
opinion
North Korea Restarts Nuclear Weapons Facility, Hints at Nuclear Test
For the second day in a row, Pyongyang raised the ante on rhetoric suggesting it might conduct a prohibited nuclear or missile test in violation of numerous United Nations resolutions. North Korea may conduct either test to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Korea Workers Party on October 10. While satellite imagery previously… -
news
Refugee Crisis Has European Union Grappling With Its Destiny
As Europe has struggled to articulate a collective response to a flood of refugees from the Middle East and Africa, Germany has positioned itself as the continent’s good cop, coming to the rescue with a vow to take in 800,000 migrants. With that pledge, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hoped to inspire the European Union’s 27…