Catherine Cheney is World Politics Review's Trend Lines Reporter. She is also the social media editor for Al-Monitor. Previously, she was a web producer and staff writer at POLITICO in Washington, D.C. Her work has taken her mostly to Latin America but also to Germany, where she spent two months on an International Center for Journalists fellowship. Her print and video reporting has appeared in the Washington Post, Spiegel Online International, GlobalPost, and the Atlantic, among other publications. Catherine has B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science from Yale University. You can follow her on Twitter at @catherinecheney.
Articles written by Catherine Cheney
The Philippine Coast Guard opened fire on a Taiwanese fishing vessel two weeks ago, killing a Taiwanese fisherman and provoking a diplomatic deadlock between the Philippines and Taiwan in a period of growing tensions over disputed waters in the region. more
Last week, Efrain Rios Montt, the former Guatemalan dictator who ruled the country during the most violent years of its civil war, was found guilty of crimes against humanity and genocide and sentenced to 80 years in prison. more
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is beginning talks to form a new government in Pakistan after winning the country’s general elections held over the weekend. more
The United States and Russia have announced a diplomatic initiative that would bring together representatives from the Syrian regime and opposition forces to negotiate a framework to end the Syrian conflict. more
Since the narrow victory of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski in elections held last month, tensions have escalated in the country, most recently with rival marches in the streets. more
In elections over the weekend, the ruling coalition in Malaysia, which has been in power for 56 years, won 133 out of 222 seats in parliament, despite apparently having lost the popular vote. more
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged earlier this week in the clearest terms to date that members of his Shiite organization, the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon, are helping President Bashar al-Assad fight the opposition in Syria. more
Over the weekend, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was airlifted out of the country for treatment after suffering a mini-stroke. But while Bouteflika’s doctors said the damage to his health was reversible, their reassurance has not put an end to speculation about a potentially abrupt end to his presidency. more
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano designated Enrico Letta the country’s new prime minister Wednesday, tasking him with forming a government after months of stalemate. more
Later this month, representatives from Russia, Norway, Denmark, Canada and the United States will meet in Washington, DC to discuss a possible accord that would regulate commercial fishing near the North Pole. more
On Sunday, Colorado Party candidate Horacio Cartes was elected as the new president of Paraguay, promising “a new direction” for the country. But an expert who spoke with Trend Lines predicted that the vote would have the opposite impact. more
This week, Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy, addressed the future of U.S. grand strategy and suggested needed Defense Department reforms in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. more
On Tuesday, Morocco cancelled its annual joint military exercises with the United States and other international observers just as the “African Lion” war games were set to start, according to U.S. officials. more
Last week, Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi issued several decrees aimed at restructuring Yemen’s fractious military, including removing the son and two nephews of his predecessor, former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, from military leadership. more
In an election held Sunday to choose a replacement for former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died last month, Chavez’s anointed successor, Nicolas Maduro, narrowly beat rival Henrique Capriles for the presidency. more
Malaysia has chosen May 5 as the date of national elections that will decide whether Prime Minister Najib Razak’s National Front, the multiethnic political coalition that has governed the country since independence, will hold on to power.
more
Over the weekend, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is on a tour of Asia that ends tomorrow, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of an effort to improve the Mexico-China bilateral relationship. more
Leaders from Serbia and Kosovo, who came together in Brussels earlier this week for the last of eight rounds of formal talks mediated by the European Union, failed to come to an agreement on the status of northern Kosovo. more
On Tuesday, Hamas re-elected Khaled Meshaal, who has headed the Palestinian militant Islamist group in exile for nearly a decade, as its political leader. more
Despite action by Iran, Syria and North Korea to block adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty, the first international pact to regulate conventional arms sales across borders, the draft treaty is expected to pass the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly. more
