Diplomacy & Crisis News

Beijing promises reforms, but won't take the steps that really matter.

On April 11, 16 weeks of non-violent popular protests in the streets of Khartoum and other major Sudanese cities culminated in a military takeover. The demonstrators had called for an end to economic austerity and the 30-year rule of President Omar al-Bashir. Forced to choose between firing on the vast crowds, many of them sons and daughters of the country’s middle class and even of some army officers, and disobeying orders, soldiers chose the latter. The vice president and minister of defense Lieutenant General Awad Ibn Auf announced that Bashir had been removed from power.

That, however, was not enough to win over the opposition Coalition for Freedom and Change. Ibn Auf was Bashir’s ultra-loyalist heir apparent and he made no reference to conceding to the demonstrators’ demands. Rather, it appeared that a cabal of Bashir’s security henchmen had simply taken over.

Read More

Monarchs of old used to clip currency. Shaving slivers of gold or silver off coins was a crude but effective way to acquire seigniorage—revenue from minting money—which they often used to finance unpopular foreign wars. Nations don’t do that anymore; there aren’t enough gold and silver coins left to make a difference. Instead, they generate seigniorage by printing money to finance debt and allowing the resulting inflation to erode the value of the currency in circulation and, if the inflation surprises markets, to erode the value of the pre-existing debt.

Which brings us to U.S. President Donald Trump and his plan—now hastily modified—to put both Herman Cain and Steven Moore on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Trump has expressed extreme unhappiness—anger, even—over the actions taken by the politically independent Federal Reserve. He would like to clip its wings by placing sycophants like Moore (and, before he withdrew, Cain) on its board. Economists and businesspeople, almost to a man and woman, think this is a terrible idea.

Read More

Bolsonaro will claim credit for the good news, but his policies may erase the country’s hard-won gains.

Top news for Monday include: the celebration of International Mother Earth Day, efforts by the UN to push for a political solution to the Libyan crisis, the opening of the annual Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the UN Security Council's condemnation of the Sri Lanka attacks, and an upcoming UN high-level mission to Bangladesh to highlight the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees settled there.

Tokyo wants to swerve past Trumpian pitfalls—and get a deal done.

Ukraine’s incoming comedian president has sent mixed signals on Russia. But the Kremlin may not sit still while he figures out a policy.

Marking International Mother Earth Day, the UN on Monday debated how best to build “an equitable and sustainable future” for all, through enhanced education and climate action, on the road to a key international summit on the issue due to take place in September.

Traditional knowledge is at the core of indigenous identity, culture and heritage around the world, the chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues said at the annual event’s opening day on Monday, stressing that it “must be protected”.

By seeking to cut Iranian exports to zero, the U.S. president is taking a major economic and political risk.

In the wake of social and economic reforms, some Saudis are speaking out.

In his fight against corruption, Zelensky will face real challenges—not least from his own constituents.

The Ecuadorian president is seeking to broadly reverse Rafael Correa’s legacy.

https://www.quiz-maker.com/QBXU988

The post Foreign Affairs Quiz appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

Beijing promises greener and fairer projects, but it has to keep its promises at home as well.

Massive bombings strike island nation, leaving nearly 300 dead.

On a sunny afternoon in Yogyakarta, many of the neighborhood women have gathered to share tea, exchange gossip, and select the president of the world’s fourth-largest nation. Whom have they picked? They can’t say: any type of electioneering—even so much as wearing a candidate’s T-shirt—is banned today. Not just at polling sites but throughout Indonesia. But the women find a sly way around the restriction. They hold up their ink-purpled forefingers to indicate that they’ve already voted—and to reveal their choice: “Number One” (that is, the first candidate on the ballot), President Joko Widodo. In case there was any doubt about their meaning, a few subtly angle their fingers toward a mural on the wall, showing all of Indonesia’s past leaders. Widodo (more commonly known by the nickname “Jokowi”) is in the lower right corner, looking slightly bemused to be in the company of such towering figures. Just as he does in real life. And that, perhaps more than for any policy position, is why the women at Voting Station 105 are so smitten by him.

Read More

The release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report has generated pitched debate over whether it vindicates President Donald Trump or damns him. But lost in this partisan fight is one of the investigation’s most important findings: its detailed documentation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which Mueller concluded was “sweeping and systematic.” If Democrats and Republicans cannot unite to take action against this threat to U.S. national security, they will leave Americans vulnerable to further attacks. Luckily, there are clear steps policymakers can take to secure American democracy—but they will require bipartisan leadership.

Read More

Coordinated blasts recall the island country’s violent past.

Il aura fallu plusieurs milliers de morts pour que le gouvernement — et aussi la société française — découvre la détresse de beaucoup de personnes âgées. Il promet de rétablir les aides qui leur étaient consacrées et qu'il avait réduites. Mais il n'entend revenir ni sur la baisse planifiée des retraites (...) / France, Protection sociale, Santé - 2003/09 Impasses