Despite experts urging travel caution as coronavirus cases are on the rise again, especially in hot tourism spots like Los Cabos and Cancún, U.S. visitors still keep coming. Read More at The New York Times
Zakaria: We Learned From the Financial Crisis. We Can Learn From the Pandemic.
Fareed Zakaria says that enough time has passed to start looking back and drawing lessons from the pandemic, especially when comparing it with the last great jolt to the international system — the global financial crisis. Read More at The Washington Post
Ben Rhodes: US Can’t Say It Defends Democracy and Then Cozy up to Saudis, Egypt
Ian Bremmer interviews former Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes about standing up to autocrats if the Unites States wants to continue promoting its democratic values. Read More at Gzero
Why Anti-Gun Americans Have Joined Wave of New Gun Owners
In both blue cities and red suburbs alike, purchases of firearms skyrocketed last year — to the highest level in half a century — with a striking portion of those sales coming from first-time gun buyers. Read more at The Washington Post
Israel Helping Train and Rebuild Azerbaijan
Former Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara was reported as being at the Iran-Azerbaijan border according to The Jewish Press. While the publication said the reason for his visit is unclear, he has expressed a desire to "help Azerbaijan rebuild this area." Kara advised Azerbaijan to build "kibbutzim" or "settlements" in the...
Rise of the Anti-“Woke” Democrat
A growing number of Democrats are becoming aware that their party is starting to come across to others as too judgmental, too sensitive, too "woke" and warn members that they risk helping their Republican counterparts. Read more at Axios
High-Level Saudi Visit Follows Multimillion-Dollar Foreign Influence Operation
Top Biden administration officials hosted Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khalid bin Salman amid additional revelations about Khashoggi’s murder and follows millions of dollars the Saudi government has spent in foreign influence and lobbying targeting the U.S. Read more at OpenSecrets
Iran and Russia Move to Fill Diplomatic Vacuum in Afghanistan
Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Russia have made moves to fill the military and diplomatic vacancy opening up in Afghanistan as a result of the departure of U.S. forces and military advances by the Taliban. Read more at The Guardian
A South African Court’s Ruling Against Jacob Zuma Offers Hope for the Rule of Law
A landmark court decision announced this week gives many South Africans reassurance that their governing institutions work, ruling that former president Jacob Zuma must serve 15 months in prison for failing to appear before a commission investigating corruption during his presidency. Read more at Eurasia Group
Zakaria: U.S. Foreign Policy Needs to Get Over Its Fear of Instability
Fareed Zakaria says that Washington must keep in mind that while U.S. forces have spent two decades in Afghanistan, ultimately, having a presence there is not central to the United States’ position as a global power. Read More at The Washington Post