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Captain Christine Sinclair plays her final international game as she retires from Canada's national women's soccer team after a friendly match against Australia in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Dec. 5, 2023.
Hard Numbers: Soccer legend retires, First Nations vote, Trains chug toward zero, Brazil beckons
48,112: Canadian women’s soccer legend Christine Sinclair closed out her career in style this week, leading the national team to victory over Australia before 48,112 adoring fans in Vancouver. Sinclair’s 190 goals scored in international matches are the highest total notched by any woman or man who has ever played the game.
6: It took six rounds of voting, but the Assembly of First Nations has selected a new chief, putting Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly’s regional director in Manitoba, in charge of the nationwide advocacy group. She takes over after a period of turmoil at the top — the last elected head was ousted in June over allegations that she harassed employees. Key issues for the Assembly include the housing crisis, drinking water access, and a controversial bill that would grant local governance rights to Métis — a distinct community of Canadians of mixed indigenous and European heritage. Many First Nations say the bill would enable Métis to encroach on First Nations’ rights and lands.
0: All aboard! This train is going to zero. The US and Canada have pledged to work together to develop zero-emissions locomotives as part of a broader plan to make the US-Canada rail sector net-zero (i.e., it will reduce at least as much carbon as it produces) by 2050. The focus will be on hydrogen-powered and battery-powered motors.
80.90: With winter blowing in, what better time to consider a sunny getaway to Brazil. Not only is it about to be summertime there now, but the Brazilian government has just launched a new e-Visa program for US and Canadian citizens. It costs $80.90, and the entire application and approval process is handled online. Boa viagem!
Yellowknife residents leave the city on Highway 3, the only highway in or out of the community, after an evacuation order was given due to the proximity of wildfires in the Northwest Territories.
Hard Numbers: Fiery evacuations, China snubs Canada, Afghan refugees, gender-based violence “epidemic”
13.2 million: Wildfires in Canada’s Northwest Territories have prompted the government to deploy the military to facilitate mass evacuations. Residents in the capital city of Yellowknife, the largest city in the region, have been urged to evacuate immediately. So far this summer, fires across Canada have destroyed 13.2 million hectares (32.6m acres) of land – an area roughly the size of Greece. Meanwhile, the death toll in devastated Hawaii has risen to 111 as rescue workers begin the process of identifying bodies.
70: After years of COVID-related travel restrictions, China’s tourism ministry will now allow tour groups to travel abroad to 70 countries – the US made the cut, but Canada did not. The snub is a reflection of the deterioration of Canada-China ties after Ottawa accused Beijing of meddling in its domestic politics in recent years.
40,000: Two years after the Taliban swept back to power in Afghanistan, Ottawa says it’s looking to up the number of Afghan refugees it accepts. In 2021, the Trudeau government said it would take in 40,000 Afghans – and has so far absorbed more than 36,500. Meanwhile, the US has taken in more than 97,000 Afghans since the US withdrawal, many of whom worked with the Pentagon and American contractors during the US war in Afghanistan.
44: Gender-based violence against women by an intimate partner is an “epidemic” sweeping the country, according to a new report from the Canadian government. Around 44% of Canadian women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime, compared to 26% of American women.
Japan's assertive foreign and economic policy reflect Abe's legacy
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
With Japanese people mourning former PM Shinzo Abe, how will his death further influence Japan's politics?
Well, we've already seen a fairly easy majority win by Abe's own Liberal Democratic Party. He had been stumping for them when he was assassinated. His two legacies are things that the Japanese are moving on. One, Abenomics, the three arrows of fiscal policy and monetary policy and growth really underpin the new style of capitalism that Prime Minister Kishida's been talking about. I think that they will more assertively align towards those, even though the BOJ at this point, The Bank of Japan doesn't have a lot of flexibility given the indebtedness levels. But also the Quad, the CPTPP, the desire of the Japanese, the prime minister to go to NATO for the summit a couple weeks ago. I mean, all of these were really kicked off by Abe wanting a more assertive foreign policy, normalizing their defense capabilities. You might even see a move now towards reforming the constitution on the defense side, something Abe wanted to do but didn't have the votes for. Now the LDP does. I expect to see Japan increasingly assertive on the global stage like you've seen Germany under Olaf Scholz.
Does recent polling indicate both Democrats and Republicans will ditch Biden and Trump in 2024?
No, but it definitely indicates that both of those men, in their late seventies today, will have significant primary challenges. It's too early to talk about DeSantis from Florida is sort of out in front and challenging Trump. At this point in the 2016 race, everyone was talking about Chris Christie is out in front. Things change, and they change a lot as people get to know other political contenders. But I think the lack of popularity of Biden in the Democratic Party and the desire to move on from Trump in the Republican Party... In the case of Biden, the difficulties in the economy and his age. In the case of Trump, the way that January 6th committee has played out, I think does create space and means that both of these primaries are going to be competitive. Frankly, I think in both cases, that would be good for democracy in the United States. But if you made me bet at this point, I'd still say incumbent for Biden and Trump getting another run at it is still the way you would bet against anybody else simply because it's too early to say and they're by far the most well known.
The euro and the dollar are equal. Is it time for Americans to visit Europe?
Has to be, right? I mean, sort of a dollar parody. Everything in Europe is looking pretty cheap. I mean, it sounds like a great time for a vacation in Italy and sort of go and buy some fashion. Why not, and help the European economies, except for the fact of course, that there is a war going on in Ukraine and there are big energy challenges. So I'm not sure that Germany in the winter sounds so great right now, but for Americans that are looking to get the hell out for a week or two, Europe is cheaper now than it's been at any point in 20 years. One thing I would say, though is don't go to the UK. Heathrow is an utter disaster, and they're telling them not to take any more flight reservations because they can't handle all the inbound.
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Biden-Xi virtual summit shows breakthroughs in US-China relationship
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week with a look at his return to international travel, Joe Biden & Xi Jinping's virtual summit, and the Belarus-Poland border crisis.
How was your return to international travel?
Well, actually it was pretty straightforward. I mean, you think that you hear all these lockdowns and all these quarantines, but the fact is Singapore is incredibly efficient. The one thing that's kind of unusual is you have this app you have to put on your phone. You turn it on, you have to keep your phone on and they track you absolutely everywhere, which is pretty weird and kind of dystopian, but it works for closing down COVID. Aside from that though, no problems getting in here. No problem walking around.
Were there any breakthroughs at Biden & Xi's virtual summit?
They say there weren't any breakthroughs, but frankly, I would argue that in terms of the relationship itself, there really have been. Number one, you did get a willingness of the Americans and the Chinese to engage on climate and before they were saying no. Given that the two largest carbon emitters in the world, that's a big deal. Secondly, some agreements on how they're going to treat journalists and visas from both the countries, which had been really dysfunctional. Number three, there's going to be ongoing engagement on nuclear and security policy, high level conversations and dialogue. None of these things are like sudden big announcements that say that there is trust between two countries, but it is actually a change in trajectory in the relationship and very clearly not cold war.
What do you think of US Secretary of State Blinken suggesting that Belarus migrant crisis is an attempt to distract from Russia's increased troop presence near Ukraine?
It's plausible. Having said that, I think they can walk and chew gum at the same time, the Kremlin. And what I see is Lukashenko, President Lukashenko, is under a lot of economic pressure and he's more than happy to push, use his rogue status to make life unpleasant for the Poles, for the Lithuanians. But the Kremlin is clearly helping him. The bigger issue here I think is not the distraction on Ukraine. The bigger issue is that the Russians are sitting on a significant amount of cash because energy prices are higher, because Putin feels like he's got a lot of leverage over the Europeans on downstream energy given their problems. And as a consequence, he feels more emboldened to do all of the things that he would normally feel a little bit more cautious about. That includes Belarus. That includes Ukraine.
Biden's UN speech avoids China mention; US lifts travel restrictions
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week with a look at US President Biden's UN General Assembly speech, eased US travel restrictions, and Canadian PM Trudeau's election gamble.
How did President Biden's first address to the United Nations General Assembly live go?
It was okay. I thought it was very notable that China was not directly mentioned at all. So my mother used to say, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. Did say that the US didn't want to be in a "Cold War". That's notable, because a lot of people out there are pushing in that direction in the US and in China. Certainly it was all about multilateral leadership. The Americans want to do more. We want collective leadership. We care about values. We care about democracy, but increasingly not seen as credible by a number of Europeans, as well as by the developing world, particularly when it comes to Afghanistan, COVID, and climate. Can't just say the words, have to have a pathway to get there. It's getting more challenging for the Americans. This is a tough UNGA meeting.
The US is to lift pandemic travel restrictions. What will happen after that?
Well, thank God we're finally doing that. In November, if you're vaccinated, you can come to the United States. It's like 550 days that the Europeans weren't allowed to come to the US. And I understood why we put that in place at the beginning, but with sort of COVID cases expanding directly in the United States and people getting vaccinated all over the place, we need to be able to travel again. It's important. And frankly, it was the Paris dust-up and the withdrawal, or the recall of the ambassador that got the Americans to move more quickly. So thanks to Paris for that. Usually this stuff is just symbolic.
Did Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's election gamble pay off?
Well, sort of. I mean in the sense that he had an election and he got the same exact result that they had before, minority government does extend his term. So that's useful from his perspective. They spent/wasted 600 million Canadian dollars on it, which is nothing compared to the United States. In Canada, that's considered to be kind of crying foul. A lot of people didn't want the election. And I don't think policies are going to change one bit, but I do applaud the Canadians for having an election where nothing happened. If only that could happen in the United States.
Europe matches US travel restrictions; Ukrainian president asks for US support
Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Europe:
With the EU having achieved 70% vaccination of the adult population, why are new travel restrictions being proposed?
Well, it's with the US, because the US has restrictions against Europeans. And with the EU now having more vaccinations than the United States has, this is sort of a signal to the US that perhaps we should look at this again.
What is President Zelensky of Ukraine aiming at when he visits the White House?
I think he primarily will want to be reassured that he has this solid support of the United States for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and that President Biden is prepared to step up and stand up to the pressure that I think is going to be intensified from President Putin of Russia. So, it's a reassurance operation, highly necessary these days.
The US is out of Afghanistan, but the war on terror isn't over
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week with a look at Afghanistan post-US withdrawal, how ISIS-K will complicate a Taliban-led Afghanistan, and EU travel recommendations.
What are your thoughts now that America's 20-year war in Afghanistan has officially ended?
Ongoing, it means much less coverage of Afghanistan in American media, something certainly President Biden is happy to hear and see. In part, we're going to continue to watch what happens with the couple of hundred Americans that are still on the ground. There is every intention to get them out, but I wouldn't say there is yet a plan.
And that is going to require a coordination of reliance with the Taliban government that is hardly experienced and hardly trustworthy. And then finally, the ongoing question of how the United States deals with ISIS-K, other organizations on the ground that are looking to kill Americans if they can. The war on terror is certainly not over, even though the war in Afghanistan for American soldiers is done. Those are a few views. I could go on for hours on this.
Who is ISIS-K? How do they complicate a Taliban-led Afghanistan?
Well, they are Sunni extremists with a mandate, if you will, to attack the Taliban, a mandate to attack the West. I think what's going to happen is you're going to have a Taliban government with an ISIS-K insurgency. The Pentagon is saying they estimate some 5,000 ISIS-K fighters on the ground right now. Certainly, the US still has capacity in terms of signals intelligence, satellite imagery, and some level of intel in conversations on the ground with Taliban that would allow the Americans to continue to engage in a fight against them, but that's very different from having boots on the ground and an embassy, which has now closed. So, it's going to be a challenge, much bigger a problem for the Afghans, of course, then for the Americans, a bigger problem for the Europeans than for the Americans, part of the reason why Biden administration wanted to end the war.
Why is the EU proposing travel restrictions on US visitors again?
Well, they're not imposing. They're not imposing travel restrictions. They're making recommendations with individual European countries now can choose to implement or not. And by the way, even if they implement, they can still have exceptions for things like, are you vaccinated? Do you have a negative test? The issue here is that when you see headlines about, "You may have to quarantine, you may not come in," a lot of people that are making travel to Europe that is not essential are going to kick those trips back. They're going to say, "Ah, it's too difficult. It's too uncertain." So, there will be an economic impact on Europe as a consequence of that, but clearly the big issue is delta variant and all sorts of cases, over a hundred thousand a day now in the United States, averaging just over a thousand deaths a day, not something anyone wanted to see in the United States or anywhere in the world. And it means that you're still having all of these stop, start, stop, start, and getting the economy and getting life back to usual.
European travel to US still not allowed, EU asks why
Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Europe:
What's the issue of traveling between the US and Europe?
Well, that's a subject of irritation at the moment because Europe has opened up to American visitors, but America is still closed. And this, in spite of the fact that if you look at vaccination rates, they are higher in Europe, in the EU today, than they are in the US. So, if they send an alignment between Washington and Brussels on these issues in the next few weeks, there's a risk of the Europeans saying, "Well, if you've got to stop us, we're going to stop you." And I'm not quite certain that would be a good development.
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