Known for his expertise in nuclear issues in international affairs, Father Brian Muzás has recently been awarded the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations. As a Stanton Fellow, Muzás will be in residence full-time at the Foundation located in New York City. In a recent interview, he spoke about his Fellowship and his current research focus.
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In one unlikely area, social changes are being sparked by six groundbreaking appointments: On August 6, 2020, the leader of the Pontificate of the Holy See, Pope Francis, appointed six women to the Vatican Council for the Economy for the first time throughout the Church’s 2,000-year existence.
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COVAX is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO), who is working with vaccine manufacturers across the world. COVAX’s goal is to acquire and deliver two billion doses of approved vaccines by the end of 2021.
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In early September, Bill Birtles, an Australian foreign correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and China correspondent for ABC, was advised by Australian officials to leave China after the arrest and detention of another foreign journalist, reports The Guardian. Two days later, Beijing state security broke down his door at midnight to tell him that he was part of a national security investigation, was banned from leaving the country, and that he would be contacted the next afternoon to answer questions, reports BBC.
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At least ten people have been killed after a bomb attack in Kabul on September 9. The attack targeted Afghanistan’s first vice president Amrullah Saleh. An additional 31 people have been wounded, including several of the vice president’s bodyguards, says Associated Press. Saleh sustained minor injuries and burns in the attack.
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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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