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
Poverty, Not Climate Change, Bigger Concern for China and India
According to a recent news story, President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will not attend the upcoming UN climate summit. The clear, but unsaid, implication is that the two most populous and still poor countries do not want to attend a bashing of CO2 emitters—of which they are major… -
news
‘Horrific, Hellish and Awful’: Ohio Man Treats Ebola in Africa, Helps Save U.S. Aid Workers
Dr. Kent Brantly, the American doctor infected with Ebola while working in West Africa, only saw Tim Mosher’s eyes. As part of his mission in Liberia with the nonprofit aid group Samaritan’s Purse, Mosher treated Brantly, a colleague whom he had never formally met but whose life he was now helping save. With six or… -
opinion
Al-Qaeda Announces New Affiliate in South Asia
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s video announcement launching an al-Qaeda wing in the Indian Subcontinent is almost certainly part of the organization’s efforts to compete with the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq for recruits, money and ideological supremacy. The recent military gains by the IS—an al-Qaeda breakaway group–in Iraq and its increasing efforts to recruit militants… -
opinion
North Korea: Oh Where is Dennis Rodman When You Need Him?
North Korea is a land of “signals” where every action, good or bad, seems some sort of clever harbinger of change. The regime fires a short-range rocket? It’s a signal of Pyongyang’s displeasure with U.S. policy…and a cry for renewed diplomatic engagement. It allows a foreign journalist, sports team or cultural group to enter North… -
opinion
NATO Summit 2014: U.S. Leadership Needed More Now Than Ever
This week’s NATO Summit in the United Kingdom couldn’t come at a more important time. Russian aggression is on the rise. NATO’s combat mission in Afghanistan is ending. The Alliance needs focus. The U.S. should use this opportunity to refocus NATO on the basics, with renewed emphasis on collective security and territorial defense as envisioned… -
opinion
China, With an Eye to the U.S., Is Aggressively Building Up Their Military
China recently conducted its third land-based missile-intercept test. These tests, most likely designed to facilitate “hit to kill” technologies critical for China’s missile defense and anti-satellite programs, are part of a well-planned, enormous military buildup in which the Chinese have been engaged for nearly 20 years. Here are some features of that effort: They have created a large… -
opinion
Japan: Abe Needs to Take Diplomatic Hippocratic Oath
Upon graduating from medical school, physicians typically take the Hippocratic Oath. Though the oath doesn’t actually contain the phrase “first do no harm” that is so prevalently linked to it, the underlying premise is there. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would do well to adopt such a code for his foreign policy. Abe’s needless and… -
opinion
How Britain Became a Breeding Ground for Jihadists
The Islamists have … infiltrated a lot of schools in Britain and indoctrinated young British Muslims who have then become jihadists and gone on to fight in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. -
news
Who Was Missing From Acceptance Speeches at the Emmys and VMAs
The MTV Video Music Awards and Emmy Awards this week offered pop culture fans a foretaste of awards season, which — say those who notice such things — kicks off in November. As the winners took the stage and clutched their trophies, they voiced immense gratitude to fans, producers, writers, agents, directors and so on…. -
news
Poll: Terrorist Who Beheaded James Foley Should Die
About three out of four voters say the terrorist killer of American journalist James Foley should be sentenced to death if convicted for the murder, a new survey shows. At the same time, Americans strongly oppose paying the ransom demands of terrorists and have mixed feelings about trying to rescue hostages, according to the survey… -
opinion
The Not So Cold War: State Department Bans Ice Bucket Challenge for Diplomats
With terrorists running rampant in Iraq and Russian convoys violating Ukrainian borders, the U.S. State Department is fussing over a new unnerving threat: its own diplomats taking the “Ice Bucket challenge.” The ice bucket challenge is this summer’s social media fad with a philanthropic twist (donations go to the ALS Foundation, which funds research to… -
opinion
‘Green Devil’ Attack on Tony Abbott Ignores Environmental Reality in Australia
In a column for Foreign Policy, environmental advocate Will Potter attacked Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as “the Green Devil,” further labeling him as “the Australian environment’s worst nightmare.” As evidence, he offered up Abbott’s recent repeal of the nation’s carbon tax, his support for expanded logging in Tasmania, and the planned expansion of a… -
opinion
Free Lunch for Students Who Don’t Need It
On July 1, the Obama Administration began distributing free lunches to kids who don’t need them. Under the new Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), only 40 percent of a school’s students need to qualify for free lunch in order for the entire school to be eligible. The pilot program began July 1 and is going nationwide… -
opinion
How the West Can Stop Terrorists From Attracting More Recruits Like Jihadist Who Beheaded Foley
American photojournalist James Foley was beheaded by a member of the Islamic State, his death shown in a YouTube video released on Tuesday. Foley’s executioner spoke fluent English with a strong East London accent, leading experts to believe that the jihadist is a British national. British foreign secretary Philip Hammond stated in an interview with… -
opinion
Historical Tensions in Northeast Asia: An Obstacle to Improved Security and Policymaking in the Asia Pacific
Tensions in Northeast Asia are at an all-time high, particularly between South Korea and Japan. North Korean belligerence and Chinese aggression contribute to rising tensions in the region, while animosity from historical issues, recent insensitive commentary, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Yasakuni shrine in December 2013 have exacerbated tensions between Japan and… -
opinion
Japan in a Virtuous Cycle to Nowhere
Preliminary data from Japan show a 6.8 percent drop in quarterly gross domestic product. Although a drop in consumption was expected after Tokyo raised the consumption tax rate from 5 percent to 8 percent in April, the decrease is more than experts had expected. And while the government of Japan sees increasing the consumption tax… -
opinion
U.S. MIA on North Korea
Five months have passed since the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea released its report, and still the U.S. has done little to hold North Korea accountable for its crimes against humanity. In the absence of executive action, Congress is taking matters into its own hands. The Senate’s version… -
opinion
Russia Bans U.S. Agricultural Imports: What Effect Will It Have?
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to impose a one-year ban on many agricultural imports from the United States and other countries that have imposed economic sanctions against Russia in connection with its actions in Eastern Ukraine—namely Australia, Canada, the European Union (EU), and Norway. The impact on the U.S. should be relatively small…. -
opinion
Unlocking Energy Opportunity in Africa
Visiting America for the U.S.–Africa Leaders Summit last week, heads of African nations had plenty to say about the need to increase access to reliable, affordable energy. Yet some are trying to dissuade African investment in conventional energy sources such as coal and natural gas in an effort to stave off global warming. Roughly 550… -
opinion
State Department Rejects Most Critical Security Recommendations Post-Benghazi
The State Department released a report earlier this month on implementation of the Best Practices Panel’s (BPP) recommendations on diplomatic security. Interestingly, the two most important ones were rejected by the State Department. The panel of five seasoned security experts was established according to the recommendation of the Benghazi Accountability Review Board (ARB). The BPP…