International News Review- July 27 2015

International News Review

July 27, 2015            

            The U.S. along with the help of several other countries such as Turkey have agreed to work together in order to help stop ISIS.  The plan is to prevent Islamic state members to enter into Turkey by creating a barrier.  The goal of this barrier is to provide a safe area for people and to even serve as a safe zone for Syrian refugees.  However, there are several obstacles the U.S. is encountering such as facing an attack by Syrian aircrafts.  Many Turkish and Syrian opposition leaders are hoping that this barrier against ISIS will also contribute against Mr. Assad. In order for this plan to work the U.S. could use help from forces inside Syria.  There are still several steps needed in order for this plan to get on its way.  The UK and Indonesia have also taken preventative steps against Islamic states.  The United Kingdom is helping Indonesia by training their law enforcers in counter terrorism techniques and by providing extra security for the country.  The United Kingdom is willing to take a few pointers from Indonesia on strategies that work against extremism in their country. 

            Also in the U.S. President Obama seems to have encountered several issues with Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee.  However, presidential candidates have been reported to having said things against Obama as well.  Huckabee criticized Obama’s decision of signing a nuclear agreement with Iran.  Obama rebutted this statement by saying that American citizens deserved better than both candidates representing the Republican Party. 

             

           

            

International News Review- April 7, 2015

International News Review

April 7, 2015

I.               USA

a.     Cultural Awareness

                                               i.     Cuba

1.     President Obama and President Castro are attempting to establish Cuban- American relationships

2.     Obama’s administration officials are trying to upgrade Cuba’s telecommunications and provide more internet access

                                             ii.     Yemen

1.     The Red- Cross has been trying to provide medical aid to hospitals in Yemen

2.     The intensity of the fighting in Aden has prevented medical aid teams from helping

3.     Medical aid flights have been schedule but cannot reach Yemen by air because of airport damage

b.     Politics

1.     Rand Paul

a.     Many Republicans believe their party is not big enough to elect a president in 2016

b.     Rand Paul is taking a different approach and appealing to younger and minority voters by adding a libertarianism side

c.     Many Republican’s doubt Rand Paul’s strategy

d.     He would have to alter voting preferences that have been engrained for years

2.     Iran

a.      The framework nuclear agreement he reached with Iran on Thursday did not provide the definitive answer to whether Mr. Obama’s audacious gamble will pay off

b.     The possibility of a reconciliation after 36 years of hostility between Washington and Tehran now seems tantalizingly within reach

c.     However, the deal remains unsigned

d.     Currently, Obama has no foreign policy legacy.  A deal with Iran and the politics of the Middle East would be one of the better foreign policy legacies of any recent president

e.     Congress members, Republicans, and Democrats are concerned that Obama may be trading away American and Israeli security because he is so desperate to make a deal

II.             United Kingdom

a.     Economics

                                               i.     BG group and shell may be discussing a possible merger in 2015

                                             ii.     The mega- merger could produce a company with a combined market capitalization of more than 200bn Euros

                                            iii.     BG Group is Britain’s third largest energy company

                                            iv.     If the deal goes ahead the recent collapse in oil prices will have played a large part in it

b.     Politics

                                               i.      A labour government would abolish the non- domicile rule

                                             ii.     The rule allows the rich to limit the tax paid on earnings outside the UK

                                            iii.     100 young voters questioned representatives of the main parties

                                            iv.     There are about 115,000 so- called non- doms in Britain

                                             v.     The last labour government also tried to get rid of the non- dom rules but instead just made them more strict

                                            vi.     It is better for non- doms to pay taxes on their UK earnings rather than having them leave

                                          vii.     High earners should pay their fair share

c.     Cultural Awareness

                                               i.     Two boys have gone missing after traveling to Syria

                                             ii.     Two 17 year old boys are feared to be making their way to Syria to join Islamic State

                                            iii.     One of the boys’ brothers had been arrested in 2006 after police found a guide to making napalm on his computer

                                            iv.     The police’ primary concern is that the boys return safely home

                                             v.     Often times young Muslims feel as if they don’t belong in British culture and look to joining Terrorist groups as a way to fit in

International News Reviews- March 25

International News Review

I.               USA

a.     Cultural Awareness

                                               i.     Middle East

1.     Islamic state fighters have invaded Tikrit

2.     The U.S. assists Iranian officials to help get rid of Islamic State fighters in Tikrit with the use of airstrikes.

3.     Iraqi officials view this as the start of their freedom

                                             ii.     Israel

1.     President Obama and Minister Netanyahu have had a moment of tension

2.     Minister Netanyahu and President Obama are disagreeing over what measures should be taken with Iran and a nuclear deal

3.     Mr. Dermer has not supported Obama and continues to push for Minister Netanyahu’s side of denouncing a nuclear deal with Iran

b.     International Systems

                                               i.     Clean air costs

1.     Supreme court divided over one of Obama’s environmental initiatives

2.     Environmental Protection Agency did not think about the punishing costs on industries and states that they would impose by limiting emissions of toxic chemicals

3.     The legal question was weather the agency violated the clean air act by failing to undertake a cost- benefit analysis

4.     Lawyers in favor of the agency argued that the benefits far outweighed the costs

5.     The E.P.A has also won a case on limiting power plant pollution and largely prevailed in a case that limited planet warming greenhouse emissions in 2014

6.     Justice Breyer said that costs could be considered later on in the process by placing different power plants under different categories but not all the justices agreed

II.             United Kingdom

a.     Cultural Awareness

                                               i.     Australia

1.     Australian officials have stopped several individuals suspected of leaving the country in attempts to join terror groups

2.     Growing threat of Australian groups trying to join groups like Islamic State

3.     17 year old teenage stopped at airport

4.     Australia estimates that about 90 of their citizens have left to join IS

5.     It is illegal in Australia for citizens to set foot in IS countries and individuals that do so could spend up to 10 years in jail

b.     International systems

                                               i.     Economy

1.     Leaving the EU could cost the UK a 2.2% of total output by 2030

2.     But GDP could rise by 1.6% if the UK negotiated a free trade deal with Europe and pursued deregulation

3.     A UK in/ out referendum on EU membership might take place by the end of 2017

4.     Dartmouth fears EU protectionism hurting the UK in the event of a Brexit were unfounded

5.     UK and EU would be governed by the World Trde Organization rules and rules set by global standards setting forums

6.     28 nation EU remains the UK’s most important single exprt market

c.     US/ UK/ EU relations

                                               i.     Trade between UK and US

1.     Debate over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership had been oversimplified and misrepresented

2.     The proposed free trade deal faces opposition across Europe

3.     MPs want ministers to make an announcement that public services will be protected

4.     EU and US negotiators hope to agree the partnership by the end of the year

5.     A controversial part of TTIP involves dispute resolution.  This would benefit corporations at the expense of democracy

6.     There has not been enough examination for the benefits of TTIP