The growing popular discontent over China’s “zero COVID” restrictions has now erupted into public protests in cities across the country. The unrest comes in response to a number of unrelated tragic incidents that have brought to the surface tensions surrounding lockdown-driven economic precarity among Chinese citizens.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s effort to project an image of a politically monolithic society has been remarkably successful in shaping how Europeans have come to view China. But as protests against China’s “zero COVID” policy spread, it’s clear that EU policymakers have been operating under a false stereotype of the country.
Much of the world looked on with consternation as Xi Jinping began his third term as president of China and leader of the Chinese Communist Party in October. Xi’s ironclad grasp on power has crucial implications for how the CCP will respond to critical domestic challenges, which in turn will affect China’s foreign policy.
This fall, same-sex couples in Cuba won a significant victory, culminating an uphill struggle decades in the making: A referendum on a new Families Code expanded their legal recognition, granting them equal access to marriage, adoption and surrogacy. Despite the referendum victory, though, Cuban families still need more from the state.
After the financial and cultural success of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, more and more nations have vied for the chance to host the Olympics and the World Cup, leading to ambitious budgets and corruption in the selection process. Since the selection of Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, though, FIFA and the IOC have course-corrected.
The initial inability of many in the West to fully grasp the scale of what is now unfolding in Iran is the product of three dynamics that reflect deeper problems with how the EU and U.S. engage with the wider world. To avoid repeating those mistakes, the West needs to mitigate such distortions of perceptions and policy.
Mental health issues were already a growing concern long before the pandemic. Now, they’ve been exacerbated, as global cases of depression and anxiety have become more and more prevalent in the last few years. Attention to mental health is growing, but awareness, funding and resources remain woefully inadequate.
A recent mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado has elevated conversations about the risks and rights abuses experienced by queer people and those with nonconforming gender identities in U.S. society and worldwide. But it also underscores the connections between gender extremism and violence more broadly.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met in Manila over the weekend with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose visit was meant to show Washington’s high-level support for its Southeast Asian ally. But if security issues were front and center during Harris’ visit, the question of human rights was also on the agenda.
Whether or not Donald Trump is on the way out as the leader of the Republican Party remains to be seen. But the policy views he espoused first as a candidate in 2016 and then as president from 2017 to 2021 are not. This will be especially evident when it comes to the cornerstone of “Trumpism”: opposition to immigration.
The U.N. COP27 Climate Change Summit has entered its final week, but the agenda for the remainder of the conference threatens to be overshadowed by concerns over Egypt’s poor human rights record, especially because of the restrictions Egyptian authorities have placed on the participation of civil society groups at the summit.
Saudi Arabia has ramped up its crackdown on dissent, as recent cases make clear that the country is willing to surveil its citizens abroad and severely punish them for exercising their right to free expression within the jurisdiction of democratic countries, a worrying trend that appears to only be getting worse.
Evangelical groups in the U.S. have played an increasingly powerful role in world affairs since the 1970s, shaping U.S. foreign relations as well as laws and culture in countries around the world, with specific focus on promoting social conservatism and religious liberty, supporting Israel, and providing humanitarian assistance.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russian men have fled the country to avoid being pressed into military service. In response, several European nations have barred Russian asylum-seekers from entering the country. But arguments for barring Russian draft-dodgers don’t stand up to scrutiny.
In South America, Twitter has become an online extension of real-life political battlefields, and likely will remain so given economic forecasts for the coming year. That raises big questions over how Elon Musk’s ownership of the platform will affect how protests are organized, how governments respond and how disinformation spreads.
Efforts by the Biden administration to accelerate its quiet diplomacy with Venezuela have already produced some breakthroughs. But the greater challenge comes next, as Washington tries to leverage sanctions to incentivize Caracas to allow greater space for the opposition to compete in the 2024 presidential election.
One key priority for children’s advocacy groups is the prohibition of child labor. But as World Children’s Day approaches this year, it’s worth examining whether children need to be protected from work, or whether it would be better to set regulations that empower child workers, rather than prohibiting it altogether.