News

“Across Asia, more and more countries are being pulled into Beijing’s orbit, with the timid stance adopted by Southeast Asian nations on the South China Sea at a weekend summit a clear sign this fundamental geostrategic shift is gathering momentum...

Centrist Emmanuel Macron and his newly created political party just won the French presidential election, much to the relief of EU leaders! He is the youngest French president ever, and this will be the first elected position for the brilliant and ambitious Frenchman. Polls show Macron was elected primarily to prevent the advance of his opponent, Marie LePen, rather than because voters favored him or his policies.

This week, “A German newspaper reported that after a dinner on Wednesday evening Mr Juncker accused Mrs May of being ‘deluded’ and said it was ‘more likely than not’ that Brexit talks would fail. According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung... Mr Juncker told Mrs May ‘I’m leaving Downing Street 10 times more sceptical than I was before’” (The Telegraph, May 1, 2017).

“Global defense spending has gone up for the first time since 2011. According to the World Military Expenditure Report… countries around the world spent a total of $1.68 trillion (1.56 trillion euros) on arms in 2016” (Deutsche Welle, April 24, 2017). The U.S., China and Russia led the spending. One expert observed, “Today, unlike a decade ago, actors are not relying on diplomacy and international institutions.

Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, surprised almost everyone on Tuesday, April 18 by announcing her intention to call a UK general election on June 8 this year. This came about, despite May repeatedly saying she would not go to the country until 2020, as mandated by statute. The next day, Parliament declared itself overwhelmingly in favor of a June election (522/13 votes).