Ketty Nivyabandi, African Arguments
On 25 April 2020, exactly five years after Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would run for a third term, I attended the virtual screening of a new documentary. The Forgotten of the Great Lakes, directed and produced by Burundian filmmaker Joseph Bitamba, looks at the use of rape as a weapon of war, following survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and then Burundi.
Trevor Phillips, Times of London
Whether it’s on race or gender, the extremists in our midst want to stop freedom of speech
Sen. Chris Murphy, FA
This Is What Democracy Looks Like
Simon & Aalbers, AQ
The new CCC Index shows an anti-corruption wave receding as COVID-19 hits the region.
Sean Speer, National Post
One society is more dynamic and richer but less equal and a bit more chaotic. The other is fairer and more equal but less vital and a bit poorer. How do we judge which one is better?
Yoon Young-Kwan, Japan Times
SEOUL – In retrospect, the decision by the Chinese Communist Party to impose a new security law on Hong Kong seems to have been preordained. Historically, rising powers always try to expand their spheres of geopolitical influence once they pass a certain stage of economic development. It was only a matter of time before China would do away with the “one country, two systems” arrangement and impose its laws and norms on Hong Kong — a territory that it considers... Читать дальше...
Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald
Xi Jinping has set China the goal of leading the world in cutting edge technology, but has overlooked the very basics. While the regime is pursuing quantum computing, artificial intelligence and space dominance, it has neglected one of the founding concepts of physics. Isaac Newton's third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Maleeha Lodhi, Dawn
THE confrontation instigated by the United States with China continues to intensify. The pandemic has escalated tensions between them that were already at a record high before the Covid outbreak. This fraught situation has variously been described as a new Cold War, end of the post-1979 era, a geopolitical turning point and less seriously, a ‘scold war’.
Tom Rogan, Wash. Examiner
Sentencing Paul Whelan to 16 years of hard labor on Monday, Russia showed its hand. Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping to use Whelan as a trade tool for a U.S. prisoner exchange or a spy swap.
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Herszenhorn & Barigazzi, Pol. EU
Videoconference to emphasize ties with Washington only highlights myriad disagreements.
Matthew Lynn, Spectator
The car workers would pay a heavy price. The City would be muscled out of crucial markets. The Treasury would be sinking in red ink as tax receipts went into freefall, and farmers would lose their subsidies. During the long, painful debate about the UK’s departure from the EU there were lots of different groups which, we heard repeatedly, would pay a price for that. But now that we are out, we are finally getting a definitive answer.
Kathrin Hille et al, Financial Times
President’s dispute with South Korea reflects widening cracks in the US-built security order in the region
Rupert Darwall, The Hill
You thought the World Health Organization’s job was direct and coordinate authority on global pandemics? Forget it. Last month, the WHO produced its "
Seth Cropsey & Harry Halem, The American Interest
The pandemic that began in, and spread from, China will lead to serious, linked financial and security challenges for the United States. As America looks at cutting its defense budgets to help prevent an economic catastrophe, China’s weapons modernization of the past 25 years continues: The South China Morning Post reported on May 20 that Chinese military leadership will seek “a substantial increase in their budget” at the annual National... Читать дальше...
Oliver Yule-Smith, WOTR
On May 28, China’s National People’s Congress approved national security legislation that effectively ended the “one country, two systems” mechanism. The mechanism has been in practice since the British handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and ensures the former colony’s special status within China. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, in which this formula was established, legally affirmed...
Michael Kranz, Al Monitor
Following the sectarian protests that took place a few days ago, Lebanon's crumbling currency united the Lebanese in a cross-sectarian protests in various Lebanese cities.
Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/06/lebanon-protests-dollar-inflation-exchange-rate-central-bank.html#ixzz6PRjnGfjY
Gavin Esler, The National
Between Brexit and the pandemic, the UK faces unprecedented upheaval.
