By RUSSELL GOLDMAN* – The New York Times HONG KONG — President Trump and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, traded threats this week about the size, location and potency of their “nuclear buttons.” The image of a leader with a finger on a button — a trigger capable of…
BY ROBERT MALLEY* – Foreign Policy From North Korea to Venezuela, here are the conflicts to watch in 2018. It’s not all about Donald Trump.
By Roberto Savio* ROME, Jan 2, 2018 (Other News / IPS) – Among Bloomberg’s many profitable activities is a convenient Bloomberg Billionaires Index that has just published its findings for 2017. It covers only the 500 richest people, and it proudly announces that they have…
Jon Henley* – The Guardian How the EU deals with members flouting core western liberal norms and values could overshadow Brexit wrangling in 2018 In 2017, Europe survived the crunch Dutch, French and German elections that – after Brexit and Trump – many predicted would mark the…
Roberto Savio My best wishes for a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Even if we do not have many reasons to believe that 2018 will be markedly better than 2017: Trump ends the year much stronger.
Editorial – The Guardian In a nation worn down by war, Isis’s ability to turn latent divisions into bloody slaughter should not be underestimated Afghanistan’s 16-year war has largely been fought between the Taliban and a regime in Kabul backed by the US and Nato forces. The…
By ERNESTO LONDOÑO and LIS MORICONI- The New York Times RIO DE JANEIRO — From another president, a Christmas decree relaxing eligibility rules for nonviolent criminals seeking pardons might have been viewed as a benevolent act. Yet benevolence is a not a sentiment Brazilians…
Mark Seddon* – The Guardian Thanks to ‘America First’, the UN’s annual budget is down. But Palestinians and the United Nations itself could benefit in the longer term Just ahead of the announcement by the UN that its annual budget is to be cut by 5%, at a time of almost…
By Julianne Hing* – The Nation The total number of deportations is down under Trump, but don’t confuse that with leniency Deportations are down. In the 2017 fiscal year, which ended in September, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 226,119 people—14,000 fewer than…
By LUKE PATEY* – THE NEW YORK TIMES The warning bell is ringing on China’s global effort to suppress Western values and undermine the freedoms enjoyed in the world’s democracies. Beijing has baited some of America’s leading corporations with offers of access to its giant…
