Happy New Year to PineTreeRepublic readers! As we enter 2017 and approach our second anniversary, it seems like a good moment to continue an emerging annual tradition: the top 10 list of our favourite news articles from the past year. If nothing else, the twists and turns of 2016 demonstrated the importance of high-quality journalism in order to…
Coffee and Politics As I was sitting across the table from my university friend, nearly 10 years later, I couldn’t help noticing the salt and pepper that started sprinkling his hair. We had been roommates for two years while going to school in Los Angeles. Shortly after graduation, he left for graduate studies on the…
The Story On Sunday, November 8, the citizens of the Southeast Asian country Myanmar (commonly known as Burma) voted in the country’s first mostly free elections since a military takeover, more than 50 years ago. The country’s election committee is expected to take weeks in tabulating the official results, especially from rural areas. However, the preliminary…
The Story On Sunday, June 7, Turks voted in a general parliamentary election whose results will likely ripple across the greater Middle East. Surprisingly, Turkish President (and longtime Prime Minister) Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s centre-right Justice and Development Party (AKP) was dealt a relative defeat in winning far fewer seats than expected. While the party retained the highest number of…
The Story On May 5, the New Democratic Party (NDP) swept to power in the Canadian province of Alberta by winning 53 of the province’s 77 seats. The stunning election night results overturned a remarkable 44 consecutive years of Progressive Conservative (PC) rule in this typically right-of-centre province. Though public opinion polls leading up to the election…
The Story Street protests in the central African country of Burundi have grown this past week in response to President Pierre Nkurunziza’s intentions to seek a third presidential term in June, contrary to the country’s constitution. As Geoffrey York reports, at least 17 people have been killed and over 200 people injured in clashes with…
Good morning, Pine Tree Republic citizens! This week’s Front Page News includes: Lessons from Haiti in rebuilding Nepal after the earthquake; The predatory economic systems that contributed to racial tensions in Baltimore; Canada’s “top-heavy” approach to funding science research; The influence of big city mayors in Alberta’s provincial election. Please share your thoughts on these and…
Good morning Pine Tree Republic citizens! In our Front Page News features, I share 3-5 of the top news stories from the past week and discuss the broader global context in which they occurred. Each post concludes with questions to follow in the coming days and weeks to better understand how today’s news shapes tomorrow’s world. As always,…
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