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
Australian Hostage-Taker Poster Boy for ISIS Propaganda Efforts to Incite ‘Lone Wolf’ Terrorist Attacks
Australian police yesterday locked down the financial district of Sydney in response to a hostage-taking incident reportedly carried out by an Iranian refugee with a long criminal record. Man Haron Monis, who is also known as Sheikh Haron, held an unknown number of hostages before being shot and killed in a police raid earlier today…. -
news
Meet the Right-Winger Who Made Barbara Walters’ ‘Most Fascinating People’ List
Barbara Walters’ annual “10 Most Fascinating People” list included the expected mix of celebrity and media types–and one unusual person. David Koch, a political activist on the right and billionaire business leader whose donations have earned him repeated mentions from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, made the list this year. In an interview with Walters… -
news
31 Chilling Tweets From the Australian Hostage Crisis
It began at 9:24 a.m. local time, when an armed man took 17 customers and staff hostage at Lindt Café in Sydney, Australia. After more than 15 hours of failed negotiations, armed police stormed the site, attempting to rescue the hostages. At 2:35 a.m., Sydney police declared the crisis over. Two people, including the gunman,… -
news
Why Australians Responded to the Sydney Hostage Crisis With #IllRideWithYou Tweets
A Twitter campaign called #IllRideWithYou spread across Australia today following news that a gunman, reportedly Muslim, had taken hostages in a Sydney cafe. Amid the chaos, Australians banned together in hopes of combating “anti-Muslim sentiments” and started a Twitter campaign using #IllRideWithYou. The hashtag began after an Australian woman named Rachael Jacobs saw a Muslim… -
news
Fetal Surgery Still Considered ‘Radical’ in Europe and Other Countries
Fetal surgery has existed for more than three decades in the United States, but in many countries the life-saving procedure is just being introduced. In October, doctors in Hyderabad, India, conducted their first successful fetal surgery. After noticing 90 percent blockage in the aortic valve and shrinkage of the left heart ventricle in a patient’s… -
opinion
Putin’s Long Game
Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have picked a bad time to try to restore the Russian empire. Collapsing energy prices are weakening the value of the ruble, causing inflation and depriving Putin of badly needed income. We might expect his troubles to curb his appetite for aggression. Alas, it has not. If anything, the… -
opinion
Children Repatriated by China and Laos May Have Been Executed or Imprisoned
In 2013, Laos and China forcibly repatriated nine North Korean children. Now, the fate of these children is in question. Recent reports from North Korea suggest that at least two of the children may have been executed, and the remaining seven children are allegedly imprisoned in Camp 14, a brutal forced labor camp. North Korea… -
opinion
Could the Nicaragua Canal Project Bring Russia Back to Central America?
Following a unanimous vote in the National Assembly’s Infrastructure Committee, Nicaraguan officials have begun preparations for the so-called Interoceanic Grand Canal, which will connect to Lake Nicaragua by means of a 177.7 mile (286 km) waterway. President Daniel Ortega signed an agreement for the ambitious construction project with Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company… -
opinion
China’s Pyrrhic Victory in Hong Kong Will Come Back to Haunt It
Cars began transiting through Hong Kong’s Admiralty district overnight for the first time in 75 days, as police finally brought an end to that city’s cry for democracy. But Hong Kong’s communist overlords in Beijing will not enjoy their victory forever. There were still a few hundred “randomly walking” through the streets of the Asian… -
opinion
A Day to Remember Those in Asia Persecuted for Their Faith
Today, Human Rights Day, countless individuals in Asia are facing immense religious persecution. The Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life found that religious hostilities in 2014 are at a six-year high. Pew estimates that one-third of the world’s worst oppressors of religious freedom are in Asia. And almost half of the worst social hostilities… -
news
George W. Bush Says Putin Has Become More of a ‘Zero-Sum-Type Thinker’
Former President George W. Bush today said that in the six years since he’s left the White House, Russian President Vladimir Putin has become more of a “zero-sum type thinker.” Bush, who attempted to mend relations with Putin during his presidency, spoke about how the Russian president’s thinking has evolved in an interview with CNN’s… -
opinion
Putin May Have Just Lost One of His Best Friends: Angela Merkel
“Saturday Night Live” often acts as a good barometer of what’s going on in the world. Last week, its opening sketch nailed just how grumpy Americans are over President Obama’s executive action on immigration, which kicks the rule of law down the Capitol steps. But later in the show’s “Weekend Update,” a guest appearance by… -
opinion
China Just Broke Another Promise. Can One Country, Two Systems Be Saved?
Demands by Hong Kong’s people for the autonomy and freedom that China promised has gotten Beijing’s autocrats into such a tizzy that they’re losing sight of their long-term interests. At some point, they will have to understand that keeping promises is not just a matter of civilized behavior, but also a matter of successful statecraft. A… -
opinion
U.S. Should Support NATO Membership for Georgia
On November 15, a crowd of 30,000 Georgian protestors took to the streets of Tbilisi to protest Russian policies in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In 2008, Russia invaded and occupied these regions, which account for about 20 percent of Georgia’s territory. Russia is one of only four nations that recognize the “sovereignty” of these regions…. -
opinion
Is North Korea Behind This Hollywood Studio Getting Hacked?
Last week, Sony Pictures was the victim of a cyber intrusion. So far, at least 5 motion pictures, including war film “Fury” with Brad Pitt and the remake of “Annie” starring Jamie Foxx, have subsequently been leaked online. Speculation has it that North Korea, a known cyber aggressor, may be behind the attacks, even though… -
opinion
Russia Intimidating Religious Groups in Ukraine
Remember the KGB? According to Canada’s ambassador for religious freedom, Andrew Bennett, Russia is back to its old tricks of intimidation—specifically in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Bennett says Russian security officials have been found sitting in the back of Kiev Patriarch Orthodox churches taking notes during liturgies with the goal of intimidating worshipers and the clergy. In… -
opinion
Why It Doesn’t Matter Who the Next Secretary of Defense Is
After news of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s resignation Monday, analysts immediately predicted that Hagel will be made a scapegoat for the administration’s poor leadership on issues such as the Islamic State’s rise and the spread of Ebola. But is that fair? Two of Hagel’s predecessors argue that challenges in implementing sound national security policy have… -
opinion
Those Who Confront Death
The Kurdish people are often described as the largest ethnic group in the world without a nation-state; nevertheless, they have greatly influenced regional events—most recently in combating the Islamic State (IS), which now controls large swaths of territory within Iraq and Syria. Historically a nomadic people, the Kurds (today numbering about 20–30 million) inhabit a… -
opinion
Taxpayers May Be on the Hook for Another Massive Bailout. This Time, It’s Unions Who Might Benefit.
If you’re a worker and you have a pension, there’s a government agency that will pay that pension if your company is unable to fulfill the financial promises made to you and your colleagues. There’s just one catch: That government agency has a massive deficit right now. According to the recently released 2014 annual report… -
opinion
Obama Just Got Punked by the Chinese: They Won’t Honor New Climate Change Deal
That sound you’re hearing from across the Pacific is the Chinese rulers and Beijing laughing at us. President Obama and the “green” lobby actually think China is going to honor the new U.S.-China climate-change agreement that pushes both nations to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions over the next 15 years. China agreed to a “target” of deriving…