Newsletter Archive

About half of Americans agree with President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily ban people from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States, according to recent polls. Three of the seven countries on Trump’s do-not-enter list are in Africa, and some Africans in the U.S. are on board with the president’s plan.

Europe’s far right is also applauding Trump’s temporary travel restrictions. The executive orders have touched a raw nerve in Europe ahead of elections in several key European countries where immigration and security are hot-button topics. Although experts say a sizable chunk of Western Europe’s security threat is homegrown, that hasn’t stopped some from hailing the U.S. ban and calling for similar measures in Europe.

Is climate change a U.S. national security threat? The water is rising at the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia — it’s a half-meter higher than it was at the beginning of the last century — and that’s creating problems at the world’s largest naval base. President Trump has called global warming a hoax, although he now says there is ‘some connectivity’ between human activity and climate change. But the Pentagon takes the risks of climate change seriously.

VIDEO: Russian lawmakers have voted to reduce the punishment in some domestic violence cases to just a fine and a few days of jail time. However, attackers who cause bodily harm will still be subject to criminal prosecution.  Opponents of the change say Russian police are already reluctant to get involved in cases of domestic abuse and that this move could make things worse.

Expanded influence. Breitbart News, the iconoclastic far-right website run until recently by White House strategist Steve Bannon, is planning to push deeper into Europe. The website is set to open bureaus in Germany and France, adding to a London office that was established previously. European officials are already dubbing Breitbart as the ‘Voice of Trump.’

Getting to know you. Haiti’s next president likes to draw parallels between himself and Donald Trump. Like the U.S. president, Jovenel Moïse is a businessman with no previous public service experience. The successful banana exporter —who faces lingering questions related to his financial dealings — helped create a regional power company and ran a water distribution plant. Now the 48-year-old hopes to forge a personal bond between Port-au-Prince and Washington.

The African Union is planning to step away from the International Criminal Court, a move that could alter peace, security and justice on the continent. Dozens of heads of state — some of whom have been accused of war crimes or are wanted by the International Criminal Court — quietly approved the strategy earlier this week. African leaders say the ICC unfairly targets them. They point to the fact that of the 39 individuals indicted so far by the Hague-based court, all are African.

Creating his own world. Artist Clarke Bedford, a proud self-declared non-conformist, has turned everything around him — including his house and cars — into a fantastical art gallery that you have to see to believe.