June 18 Paris, France Newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies emerged from parliamentary elections with a clear majority of seats, despite a turnout where less than half of…
Cuba after Castro: Portland State students get a firsthand look
During the night of Nov. 25, 2016 Fidel Castro, Olympic gold medalist in surviving assassination attempts, died. Shortly after, 13 Portland State students arrived in Cuba for a two-week study…
This week around the world Jan. 14–20
Jan. 14 Beijing, China The linguist Zhou Youguang died at the age of 111 in Beijing. Zhou is credited with creating pinyin, a system of transcribing Mandarin into roman characters,…
US Intelligence agencies issue Russian hacking report
On Jan. 6 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified version of its report on Russian involvement in the recent U.S. presidential election. The report drew…
This week around the world Jan. 7–13
Jan. 9 France Kim Kardashian’s chauffeur was among 17 people arrested in connection to a highly-publicized October heist. The 40-year-old and his co-conspirators allegedly made off with million-dollar jewels and…
UN increases sanctions on North Korea in response to nuclear aspirations
On Nov. 30, 2016 the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to increase various sanctions on North Korea in reaction to the country’s repeated long-range nuclear missile tests. The original…
Reconciling the past: Japanese Prime Minister visits Pearl Harbor
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was joined by President Obama on a solemn visit to Pearl Harbor to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Hawaii. The Dec. 27, 2016…
United States displays muted rebuke of Israel at UN
In a tense vote on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, the United States abstained from vetoing an otherwise unanimous United Nations Security Council resolution asking Israel to pull out of its…
This week around the world Dec. 6–12
Dec. 7 Philippines Philippine President Duterte found himself again in the spotlight after a spirited defense of several police officers suspected of killing a mayor with alleged ties to illegal…