January 16, 2019

Weekly World News Update

Brexit Frenzy; Increasing Shutdown Costs; Yellow Vests Protests; Afghanistan Talks; Drama in DRC Elections; Hague Acquittal; Second U.S.-North Korea Summit

Quote of the Week

“Brexit and the border wall are driven by the same impulse. Both reflect the island nation approach to the world, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could just cut ourselves off from everybody else?’”

-- Senior Fellow Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution quoted in a New York Times article on Saturday.

Brexit Showdown Reaches Last-Minute Frenzy

“As Brexit Deal Goes Down in Flames, Exasperated Europe Wonders What the Britons Want” Michael Birnbaum -- Washington Post, January 16, 2019

"A Very British Thrashing" Owen Matthews -- Foreign Policy, January 15, 2019

"Theresa May Loses Big Over Her Brexit Deal" The Economist, January 15, 2019

“A No-Deal Brexit? Leaders Are Alarmed; Voters, Not So Much” Ellen Barry -- New York Times, January 14, 2019

“Brexit Is a Nightmare for Currency Traders” Ivana Kottasova -- CNN, January 15, 2019

Government Shutdown Costs Rise

"U.S. Government Shutdown Could Have Global Impact, Academic Says" -- CNBC, January 14, 2019

“The Economic Cost of the Shutdown Will Soon Be the Cost of the Wall” Emily Stewart -- Vox, January 14, 2019

"In Two Weeks the Costs of the Shutdown Will Surpass the Cost of Trump's Wall" Emily Price -- Fortune, January 11, 2019

"Shutdown’s Economic Damage Starts to Pile Up, Threatening an End to Growth" Jim Tankersley --New York Times, January 15, 2019

“Government Shutdown 2019: Five Ways It's Costing You Money” Bill Theobald -- USA Today, January 15, 2019

Can Macron Tame the Yellow Vests?

"The Yellow Vests Are at the Vanguard of a Politically Incorrect Uprising" Gavin Mortimer -- The Spectator, January 14, 2019

“The Old Regime and the Yellow Revolution” Robert Zaretsky -- Foreign Policy, January 15, 2019

“Macron And French Centrists Don’t Have Answers As “Yellow Vest” Protests Head For 10th Week” Joe Penney -- The Intercept, January 15, 2019

“Macron and the Fall of France” Doug Petrikat -- American Thinker, January 16, 2019

Talks in Afghanistan 

“Agonizing Over Afghanistan” Richard Haass -- Project Syndicate, January 14, 2019

“Why the Afghan Taliban Are Ready to Talk” Umair Jamal -- The Diplomat, January 15, 2019

“Afghan Taliban Mounts Fresh Attacks Amid Ongoing Peace Talks” Eltaf Najafizada -- Bloomberg, January 13, 2019

Congo Election Drama

“Election Drama Builds in DRC” Anita Powell -- Voice of America, January 14, 2019

“Regional Blocs Call for Vote Recount as Crisis Rolls On” Charlie Mitchell -- The National, January 14, 2019

“Kabila Is Finally Departing, But Congo’s Future Is as Uncertain as Ever” Robbie Corey-Boulet -- World Politics Review, January 11, 2019

The Hague Acquits in Controversial Decision

“Ivory Coast Ex-President Gbagbo Acquitted at ICC Court in The Hague” BBC News, January 15, 2019

“Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo, the Strongman Who Refused to Let Go” Benjamin Dodman -- France 24, January 15, 2019

Second U.S.-North Korea Summit Imminent?

“NK Officials Book Flight to Washington” Choi He-suk -- Korea Herald, January 16, 2019