On March 14th, thousands of doctors and nurses across Haiti went on strike to protest inadequate security amidst a rise in gang-related kidnappings. The most recent incident involved two doctors who were abducted the week before the strike, prompting Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital to join the protest and shut down. Across
Yesterday marks one year since the military takeover in Myanmar. Things looked promising for the fledgling democracy in the years leading up to the coup; in 2015, the National League for Democracy (N.L.D.) established Myanmar’s first civilian government after 50 years of military rule. In November 2020, Aung San Suu
Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply criticized Western forces on Thursday for the escalating military tensions along the Ukrainian border. During his year-end news conference, Putin stressed that Russia wants to avoid conflict with Ukraine, but that the onus is on the West to provide security guarantees that it will not
On Monday, the United Nations (U.N.) called for immediate action to prop up Afghanistan’s banking system as it sits on the brink of collapse. In a three-page report issued earlier this week, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) warned that rising credit defaults and a worsening liquidity shortage threaten to topple
Children were among the 10 people killed last Thursday during a military airstrike by Ethiopia’s government forces on Tigray’s capital city of Mek’ele. This is the latest in a series of airstrikes by the Ethiopian government on the Tigray region, where fighting with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is
Last weekend marked the sixth and latest round of negotiations between Venezuela’s government and its opposition. The two actors are working to move the country past its dictatorial rule and out of its protracted humanitarian crisis. For over two years, opposition leader Juan Guaidó has sparred with Venezuela’s incumbent president,
On Monday, August 9th, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a damning report on the state of our global climate. The report is the sixth of its kind since the IPCC’s creation in 1988 and the first to declare that the human impact on global warming
In South Africa, the death toll has exceeded 200 as rioters and looters continue to wreak havoc. Tensions peaked earlier this month after former President Jacob Zuma was arrested for refusing to appear before a judicial inquiry into corruption charges brought against him. Violence erupted when, on July 7th, Zuma
On Thursday, July 8th, President Biden vehemently defended his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, offering his most extensive comments to date on the reasons for the withdrawal. In a tone the New York Times described as often blunt and defensive, Biden insisted that the United States had
Venezuela is in the throes of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere. The numbers continue to set records: an exodus of 5.6 million people since 2015 marks the largest migration crisis in Latin America’s recent history, and an economic contraction of 80% since 2012 marks the
United States ambassadors were conspicuously absent from the tarmac when President Joe Biden touched down in three different countries during his European tour last month. During his first trip abroad as president, he met with foreign leaders flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan,
On June 25th, three workers for the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders were murdered by unknown assailants in Ethiopia’s conflict-ridden Tigray region. Their deaths mark a tragic escalation in hostility towards aid workers by armed forces since war broke out in Tigray seven months ago. The war has killed thousands
European officials arrived at last week’s NATO summit anxious to hear from President Biden, who announced in April that the United States would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan unconditionally by September 11th. Prior to the summit, several officials expressed their frustration with Biden’s failure to properly consult NATO allies before the
Brussels is losing patience with London over Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, said European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic after meeting with his British counterpart Lord David Frost on Wednesday, 10 June. A key part of the Brexit deal that took effect in January requires inspections for various goods coming
Just three and a half months after the United States and Russia agreed to extend a bilateral treaty limiting their nuclear arsenals, Moscow has voiced concerns over Washington’s compliance. On Monday, May 24th, Russia’s foreign ministry claimed that the number of U.S. launchers and bombers exceeded the limit outlined by
Greece and Turkey have endured a turbulent relationship for centuries. Since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830, the two countries have opposed each other in four major wars. They came close to entering their fifth just last summer during a naval standoff in disputed Mediterranean waters.
On May 3rd, the European Parliament voted to approve the E.U.’s landmark climate change law, which European lawmakers had preliminarily agreed to back in April after months of intense debate. The law makes the bloc’s goal to cut emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and eliminate
At least three rockets were fired last Monday towards the Iraqi military airbase in Balad, just north of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials told the AFP news agency. The base houses American company Sallyport, which maintains F-16 Iraqi aircraft purchased from the U.S. There were no casualties, the Pentagon said in
Bulgaria held its parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 4th, just days after its daily COVID-19 infection rate reached a record high since the start of the pandemic. Early election results indicate a loosening grip on power for incumbent Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, whose conservative GERB party has dominated Bulgarian politics
