In the endless news cycles from mainstream media, watchers and listeners alike have heard about voter fraud and how it may negatively impact the status of elections in the U.S.—especially for the 2020 presidential election. But the question remains: how often does voter fraud occur, and how much of a role does it play in an election on a nationwide scale?
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Brexit talks have hit a new crisis in the European Union (EU), with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowing to continue with a controversial bill that threatens to undermine Britain’s current exit agreement, and which many say breaks international law. According to CNBC, the proposed Internal Market Bill would give the British government the power to not consult the EU in aid cases regarding trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the EU. This move counteracts their initial withdraw agreement with the EU, signed in January.
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As the American presidential election nears and COVID-19 continues to plague the nations of the world, diplomatic tensions are reaching a tipping point between the United States and China. In order to better understand the latest developments in U.S.-China relations, The Diplomatic Envoy recently sat down with Dr. Zheng Wang, Professor at the School of Diplomacy and Director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, to discuss the rise in hostilities between the two countries.
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Two soldiers who deserted the Myanmar army appeared on video testifying to the deliberate killings of Rohingya Muslims. The video was filmed in July, but first reported by AP in early September. According to Wall Street Journal, the soldiers, Myo Win Tun and Zaw Naing Tun, defected from Myanmar’s army and were taken into custody by Arakan Army, a Rakhine rebel group who is fighting the Myanmar government’s troops. The international community has been aware of the crimes being committed in Myanmar and assumed it was being ordered by high ranking officials but did not have official confirmation until this video surfaced.
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The extent of the UAE surveillance program is both amazing and terrifying, but they did not assemble it alone. Reuters launched an investigation into a program called Project Raven, a joint operation between the Emirati government and a UAE-based cybersecurity firm called DarkMatter.
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While the rest of the world enjoys the relatively free and uncensored Web, China and its citizens face a different reality. Since the beginning of Maoist-era China, information has been tightly controlled to protect the government’s interests and control the populace.
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The Galwan River Valley of Ladakh, a region claimed by both India and China, has been facing increased tensions over the past year. After more than four decades without any bloodshed, the region was the scene for a bloody skirmish that began on June 15, 2020, according to World Politics Review. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed by “fists, stones and nail studded bamboo,” CNN reports. The Chinese have not confirmed nor denied any casualties they undertook because of the June battle. Although talks took place over the following months to de-escalate the region, conflict broke out again. Lacking mutual trust and transparency, the talks accomplished little.
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The government of the People’s Republic of China is receiving growing international criticism from the public, governmental bodies, and organizations for their mass incarceration and torture of ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang province. According to The Washington Post, a public tribunal in London plans to hold hearings next year investigating claims that the Chinese government is committing genocide against its Uighur ethnic group.
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The System of Operative Search Measures, or SORM, was once used by the Soviet Union to monitor phone calls. Now it is being used in Russia to track geolocation and IP addresses. The program was resurrected by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1995 to surveil online activity and has grown in scope as the internet became an ever greater essential of day-to-day life.
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Belarus has been gripped with violent protests caused by the controversial re-election of president Alexander Lukashenko. According to CNN, the country’s Central Election Commission announced that Alexander Lukashenko won with 80.23% of the vote, while opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya stood at 9.9%.
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