Tokyo’s Envoy Works to Preserve
Old Relationship in New World

The astonishing election of Donald Trump triggered a range of reactions from political leaders around the world. Some pulled back, others dug in and some stayed quiet. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plunged right in, wooing the new president to ensure America’s commitment to Japan and to develop what Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae calls a “personal and official” relationship. Read More

Critics: Trump’s ‘Skinny’ Budget
Starves U.S. Diplomacy, Aid

With a refugee crisis at its worst level since World War II and famines threatening millions across the globe, the drastic international affairs budget cuts sought by the Trump administration could lead to more death and misery for people who could have been saved, according to humanitarian and foreign policy organizations. Read More

Hardliners Fight to Unseat Iran’s
Moderate President in Critical Election

Iran’s presidential election has become a closely watched contest that will render a verdict on Hassan Rouhani’s nuclear deal with the West and whether Iran continues on the incumbent’s pragmatic, moderate path or reverts to the more conservative roots of its Islamic Revolution. Read More

Ecuador Bucks Latin America’s Leftist
Decline with Election of Correa Acolyte

Ecuador has bucked the leftist political slide in Latin America by electing an ally of populist firebrand Rafael Correa as its new president. Quito’s ambassador in D.C. says Lenín Moreno will improve relations with the U.S. while continuing Correa’s “citizens’ revolution.” Read More

Destruction, Looting of Antiquities
Robs Nations of Heritage, Funds Terrorism

The two war-weary countries of Iraq and Syria in the volatile Middle East are not the only ones to have witnessed the wanton and senseless destruction of historic sites and the looting of national treasures. The same is happening in Afghanistan, Yemen and Libya, and has happened over millennia on every continent, usually as a byproduct of war or conquest. Read More

Also See: ‘Icon Hunter’: Tasoula Hadjitofi

Trump Administration Eyes
Major Reshuffling of USAID

With a refugee crisis at its worst level since World War II and famines threatening millions across the globe, human rights groups say the drastic international affairs budget cuts sought by the Trump administration could lead to more death and misery for people who could have been saved. Read More

Environmental Protests Spill Beyond
Dakota Access, Keystone Projects

Even though President Trump expedited approval of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines as part of a larger bid to unravel Barack Obama’s environmental legacy, indigenous activists and environmentalists say their fight isn’t over, with lawsuits filed to block the Keystone XL pipeline and protests against other pipeline projects. Read More