World Aug 26 Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai on life under new national security law Hong Kong police arrested 16 people Wednesday, including two opposition lawmakers, on rioting charges from pro-democracy demonstrations last year. Beijing’s power to punish its critics is increased due to a new national security law allowing authorities to sentence demonstrators to…
World Aug 25 TikTok ‘absolutely not’ a U.S. security risk, says top executive The social media giant TikTok has sued the U.S. government for threatening to ban the company from the country. The Trump administration’s targeting of the video-sharing platform is part of a larger effort to confront what the U.S. says are…
World Aug 20 Is Putin’s ‘paranoia’ to blame for apparent poisoning of Russian opposition leader? Russia’s leading opposition figure is seriously ill in a Siberian hospital, the victim of a possible poisoning. Alexei Navalny is a crusading anti-corruption activist and aspiring politician who has been a thorn in President Vladimir Putin’s side for years. Nick…
World Aug 20 Pompeo demands ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran for violating nuclear deal U.S. abandoned The United States formally demanded Thursday that the United Nations “snap back” all sanctions on Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear deal, from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018. But several European…
Politics Aug 18 Mostly bipartisan Senate Intel Committee report on Russia highlights Manafort’s role The Senate Intelligence Committee has released the fifth and final report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. It concludes that the 2016 Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia posed a grave national counterintelligence threat but offers no determination on…
World Aug 14 Post-election unrest, government torture make for some of Belarus’ ‘darkest days’ In Belarus, tens of thousands of protesters marched through the capital of Minsk, angered over a disputed election and the brutal police crackdown that followed. Police have freed about 2,000 people arrested during demonstrations, but reports of widespread torture of…
World Aug 13 Will Israel-UAE deal represent a ‘seismic shift’ in the Middle East? President Trump has announced a deal normalizing relations between United Arab Emirates and Israel. The two countries will open embassies and sign bilateral agreements over trade and technology. Trump hailed the deal as a historic moment, marking only the third…
World Aug 11 Challenger to Lukashenko flees Belarus amid post-election unrest More than 2,000 people in Belarus have been detained in violent anti-government protests over Sunday’s disputed election. Amid the crackdown, the top opposition candidate on Tuesday was forced to flee the country and urge her supporters to stop the unrest.
World Aug 10 How China is limiting freedom of the press in Hong Kong China expanded its crackdown on Hong Kong Monday, arresting a prominent pro-democracy activist and media owner. Jimmy Lai was paraded through his newsroom in a move designed to silence the press in the semi-autonomous territory. And it comes as the…
World Aug 07 In Belarus, these 3 women are challenging a longtime authoritarian Voters in Belarus will head to the polls this Sunday in the country’s most contested election in decades. Alexander Lukashenko has been called Europe’s last dictator, leading a regime accused of human rights abuses, stifling dissent and running sham elections.