insert_link Opinion Pieces More than 4 billion people are eligible to vote in an election in 2024. Is this democracy’s biggest test? Shutterstock Nicholas Reece, The University of Melbourne 2024 is going to be democracy’s biggest year ever. In a remarkable milestone in human history, over four billion people – more than half of the world’s population across more than 40 countries – will go to the polls. National elections will be held in the United States, India, Indonesia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Mexico, and South Africa to name […] todayJanuary 15, 2024 8
insert_link Opinion Pieces US election: third party candidates can tip the balance in a tight race – here’s why Robert F Kennedy Jr matters By Thomas Gift, UCL US politics will start with a bang in January 2024. The long-awaited Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries promise to provide early clarity on a likely Donald Trump v Joe Biden rematch for the presidential election this year. But beneath the hoopla of the first-tier White House candidacies will be another race – the sprint to get on the ballot for those not running as Republicans […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 14
insert_link World US, UK strikes pound Yemen rebels, adding to fears of wider war US and British forces struck rebel-held Yemen early on Friday after weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed Huthis who say they act in solidarity with Gaza. The pre-dawn air strikes add to escalating fears of wider conflict in the region, where violence involving Tehran-aligned groups in Yemen as well as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the Israel-Hamas was began in early October. Iran […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 7
insert_link Business / Economics IMF on G7 and the US debt ceiling https://youtu.be/WOlz3Uh8HCo The IMF warned of negative consequences to the global economy if US leadership is unable to resolve its political impasse over negotiations to extend the debt ceiling, spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters Thursday in Washington, DC. “We encourage all of the interested parties to come together, reach consensus to urgently resolve the matter. And of course, the reason that we're calling for this is because we are concerned about […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 18
insert_link Health / Medical In a Fractious Rerun, GOP Rivals Haley and DeSantis Debate Health Care. Trump Sits It Out. Left: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley debate at an event hosted by CNN in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10. Right: Former President Donald Trump conducts a town hall hosted by Fox News in Des Moines on the same night. (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES; ALEX WROBLEWSKI / BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES) By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs The race to win the quickly approaching Iowa caucuses was […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 14
insert_link Africa Scramble for the Sahel – why France, Russia, China and the United States are interested in the region By Olayinka Ajala, Leeds Beckett University The Sahel, a region 3,860km wide located south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent, has been a focus of attention around the world recently. In the last decade, issues such as terrorism, insecurity and trafficking have characterised the region. Military takeovers have been a major source of concern in the region and beyond in the last few years. […] todayJanuary 9, 2024 3
insert_link Opinion Pieces After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’? By Ian Parmeter, Australian National University The 19th century German war strategist and field marshal Helmuth von Moltke famously coined the aphorism “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. His observation might well be applied to the tragedy we are witnessing in Gaza. Three months after the current conflict began, civilians have borne the brunt of the violence on both sides, with the deaths of more than […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 12
insert_link World Trump’s lawyers call Colorado ruling ‘undemocratic’… The U.S. State of Colorado has ruled that former President Donald Trump can not appear on their ballot for election because of insurrection from January 6th 2021. But his lawyers are appealing, and it is likely to be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to make a final ruling ahead of primary elections starting next month. Caroline Malone reports from Washington. todayDecember 21, 2023 3
insert_link World UK court sets date for Julian Assange’s final extradition appeal A final appeal to prevent the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States will be heard in London in February. Assange has been detained in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in southeast London since April 2019. US authorities want to put the Australian publisher on trial for divulging US military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. todayDecember 20, 2023 26