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
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… -
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… -
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… -
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,… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
news
House and Senate Pressure President Obama to Send Military Aid to Ukraine
Resolutions asking President Obama to send lethal aid to Ukraine so that the country can defend its borders from Russian aggression have passed in both the House and Senate. A resolution by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asking Obama to send military aid to Ukraine and condemning the “deliberate targeting of civilians” by “Russian-backed rebels” passed… -
news
NATO Intercepts Russian Warplanes as US Convoy Enters Poland
WARSAW, Poland— As a U.S. Army Stryker convoy crossed from Lithuania to Poland Tuesday—within about 12 miles of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad—nearby NATO warplanes scrambled to intercept Russian bombers and fighters over the Baltic Sea. While neither Washington nor Moscow have suggested the parallel timing of the Russian flyby with the U.S. convoy was… -
news
How a $300 Million Bet on Australian Satellite Company Went Wrong for Export-Import Bank
As lawmakers grapple with whether to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, an Australian satellite company with a "significantly uncertain" future that received more than $300 million in loans from the bank is in jeopardy of defaulting on its loans. NewSat, an Australian satellite communications company, has benefited from more than $304 million in loans from the Export-Import… -
opinion
If You’re a Middle Class Taxpayer Who Gets a Raise, Government Will Take This Much
How high is the marginal tax rate on each additional dollar the average American earns? In other words, if you got a raise of one dollar, how much of that dollar would be taxed away? A middle-class taxpayer’s additional income (when a single person earns more than $37,450 a year) is subject to a 25… -
opinion
Foreign Ministers of South Korea, Japan, and China Finally Meet
Saturday, the Foreign Ministers of East Asia’s largest economies met for the first trilateral meeting in three years. The ministers have met on the sidelines of regional meetings before, but the hope is that this first three-way meeting between Ministers Yun Byung-se, Fumio Kishida, and Wang Yi is a step toward stabilizing relations amongst the… -
news
Amid Fear of Russian Invasion, Baltic Countries Welcome US Support
MARIJAMPOLE, Lithuania—Citizens of the three Baltic countries have showed up in droves to welcome a U.S. Army Stryker convoy, which is traveling across Eastern Europe to underscore NATO’s commitment to defend the region from Russia. Soldiers from Iron Troop, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment arrived here Monday after a three-day journey that began Saturday in… -
opinion
China’s Economy—Hard or Soft Landing?
A panel at The Heritage Foundation on March 11 discussed whether China’s economy is heading toward a “hard” or “soft” landing. Heritage’s Walter Lohman chaired this panel of experts, which included Dr. James Dorn of the Cato Institute, Pieter Bottelier of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins Univeristy, and Heritage’s Dr. William…