January 27, 2021

Weekly World News Update

Presidential Dilemmas; Putin's Poison; Renewed Violence and Protests; Where We Stand With the Pandemic; and Economic Changes and Challenges

Quote of the Week

“History and reality have made it clear time and again that the misguided approach of antagonism and confrontation – be it in the form of a cold war, hot war, trade war or tech war – will eventually hurt countries’ interest and undermine everyone’s well-being.”  -- Xi Jinping spoke on Monday at the World Economic Forum’s virtual event calling for a renewed focus on multilateral cooperation.

Presidential Dilemmas

“Biden’s China Policy Hinges on How Much Xi Is Willing to Give“ Michael Schuman -- Bloomberg, January 26, 2021  “It’s Joe Biden’s America, But Could It Be Xi Jinping’s World?” Frederick Kempe -- Atlantic Council, January 24, 2021  “A Face Lift Can’t Fix the State Department” Stephen Walt -- Foreign Policy, January 21, 2021   “Biden Administration May Change the Situation in Yemen” Ilan Zalayat -- The Jerusalem Post, January 21, 2021   “In Phone Call, Biden Presses Putin Over Cyber Breach, Navalny” Jaclyn Diaz; Bill Chappel -- NPR, January 27, 2021

Putin's Poison

"Both Biden and Putin Put to the Test After Mass Protests Across Russia" Yuliya Talmazan -- NBC News, January 27, 2021 "Putin, Poison, and Self-Inflicted Wounds: Navalny’s Return to Russia” Alexander Baunov -- The Moscow Times, January 21, 2021 "To Silence Navalny, Putin Will Try to Enlist the West" Jeremy Stern -- Foreign Affairs, January 27, 2021 "Yulia Navalnaya's Husband Was Poisoned and Detained. Now She is Piling Pressure on Vladimir Putin" Mary Ilyushina -- CNN, January 27, 2021

Renewed Violence and Protest

"Why Are Farmers Protesting in India?" Mujib Mashal; Emily Schmall; Russell Goldman -- The New York Times, January 27, 2021 “Farm Protests in India Are Writing the Green Revolution’s Obituary” Aniket Aga -- Scientific American, January 24, 2021   "Why Did the Central African Republic Declare a State of Emergency?" Christina Lu -- Foreign Policy, January 25, 2021 "Violent Anti-Lockdown Protests Sweep the Netherlands" Jen Kirby -- Vox, January 26, 2021

Where We Stand With the Pandemic

“What to Know About the Global COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout So Far” Claire Felter -- Council on Foreign Relations, January 22, 2021  “World’s Poor Need Action, Not Covid ‘Vaccine Nationalism’, Say Experts” Patrick Wintour -- The Guardian, January 22, 2021  “The Pandemic is No Excuse to Shut the Door on Refugee Resettlement” Evan Jones; Najeeba Wazefadost -- The New Humanitarian, January 25, 2021  “The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Added $19.5 Trillion to Global Debt” Liz Capo McCormick; Craig Torres; Mathieu Benhamou; Demetrios Pogkas – Bloomberg, January 27, 2021

Economic Changes and Challenges

“Three Tensions in Biden’s International Economic Policy” Matthew Goodman -- Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 21, 2021   "Janet Yellen Becomes the First Female Treasury Chief; May Be a Calming Influence In a Divided Washington" Paul Davidson -- USA Today, January 25, 2021 "COVID-19: The Lofty Economic Recovery for Latin America" Syed Ali -- Observer Research Foundation, January 27, 2021 “Cryptocurrencies Are Democratizing the Financial World. Here’s How” Stephen Stonberg -- World Economic Forum, January 22, 2021