Military Strength By Country (PowerIndex) January 2025
Look at the Military Power Index chart and list here.
Human Rights
Explainer: War in Ukraine – the human cost and humanitarian response (UNHCR)
As the full-scale war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, what does it mean for people forced from their homes? A young woman from Ukraine carries her baby and toddler across the border into Hungary on 27 February 2022. A young woman from Ukraine carries her baby and toddler across the border into Hungary on …
Why They Fight (M. E> Sarotte)
What’s at Stake in the Blame Game Over Ukraine “You should have never started it.” As cameras rolled during an explosive press conference in the Oval Office in February, U.S. President Donald Trump used these words to blame Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, for Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country in 2022. The two leaders …
The Forever War in Gaza (Amos Harel)
Leaders on Both Sides—and in America—Have Little Incentive to End It Less than two months after he committed to a phased cease-fire with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed his country’s war in the Gaza Strip. On March 18, Israeli air force jets attacked military sites, killing more than 400 Palestinians, including over 300 …
US democracy at risk as corruption threats grow (Jonathan Katz and Renée Rippberger)
Since the Trump administration took office, the U.S. went from one of the world’s leading champions of fighting corruption to what risks being the opposite, with far-reaching costs to the American people at home and globally. We wrote about the need to prioritize fighting corruption as a key pillar of defending American democracy in the Democracy Playbook 2025 and how, if unchecked, corruption …
Opinion: The global response to Trump and Musk cannot be anti-EV rhetoric (Agreenlifeagreenworld)
By Anders Lorenzen In the wake of Donald Trump’s handing an ever-increasing role to Elon Musk in his government, people are right to be angry about the responsibilities and freedoms the world’s richest man can wield. Musk eradicating climate action In a very short time, Musk orchestrated key funding cuts as head of the unofficial government department—the Department …
US appeals court blocks Trump from removing Democrats from labor boards (Erin Mansfield, Jonathan Stempel, and Daniel Wiessner)
A federal appeals court blocked President Donald Trump from removing Democratic members from two federal labor boards on Monday. The court rulingreinstates quorums on boards that were thrown into chaos and expedites a potential appeal to the Supreme Court. The decision is the latest in a back-and-forth battle that started when Trump fired Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board …
Hundreds of law firms, former judges sign onto briefs in support of Perkins Coie (Ella Lee)
Hundreds of law firms and former judges have signed onto friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Perkins Coie as the law firm challenges President Trump’s executive order targeting it. More than 500 law firms and 300 retired judges asked for leave to file two amicus briefs condemning Trump’s order stripping security clearances from and severing …
America’s Voice No Longer Speaks for Democracy (Heela Rasool-Ayub)
The Trump administration’s decision to close Voice of America and USAID is part of a broader campaign to dismantle the infrastructure of American democracy promotion, both at home and abroad. Authoritarian regimes are now finding it easier to suppress dissent and promote their distorted narratives. WASHINGTON, DC – Strongmen around the world no longer need …
You have the right to an attorney. But in Texas, don’t count on it. ( Jolie McCullough)
In some parts of the state, misdemeanor defendants routinely face charges without representation. San Jacinto County prosecuted nearly 300 misdemeanor cases in 2023. In this poor region, nestled in the piney woods of East Texas, many defendants were likely eligible for a government-paid lawyer. Yet the county reported it had provided an attorney to just …