5 Stories to Watch Next Week | June 19, 2020

5 Stories to Watch Next Week There are simply too many developing stories to follow in the world. To make things easier, we narrowed them down to five that you should really watch next week: Facebook Removes Trump Campaign Ads for Violating Policy Against ‘Organized Hate’ — Facebook on Thursday removed advertisements on its platform posted by President Trump’s reelection campaign, saying the posts violated its policy against “organized hate.” The ads targeted Antifa and asked supporters of the president to back his call to designate the radical far-left group as a terrorist organization. Facebook took issue with how the ads featured a large red, downward-pointing triangle, a symbol that Nazis used to identify political prisoners in concentration camps. Above the triangle, the ad showed the words, “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.” Facebook said in a statement that its policy “prohibits using a banned hate group’s symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol.” The president’s campaign dismissed Facebook’s concerns, saying Antifa uses the symbol often. President Trump already has a combative, contentious relationship with Facebook, Twitter, and other social media giants. He has accused them of being politically biased and using their platforms to target him and other Republicans and conservatives. Watch for the president to respond to Facebook’s latest move and for another clash to break out between him and Silicon Valley next week. Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Bid to End DACA — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot immediately proceed with its plan to end a program that provided legal protections and work permits to illegal immigrants who came to the US as children. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the administration acted arbitrarily and failed to offer adequate reasons when it moved to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which President Obama created through an executive order. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and was joined by the court’s four more liberal members. Roberts acknowledged no one disputes the Department of Homeland Security may rescind DACA but added the question is whether the department followed the proper procedures to do so. President Trump will no doubt be unhappy with the high court’s ruling. We’ll see how his administration responds. Perhaps some lawmakers will say next week they need to address DACA through legislation. More fallout from John Bolton’s forthcoming book — President Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton has a new book coming out that is critical of his old boss and causing an uproar in Washington. President Trump has lashed out at Bolton and called him a liar. The Justice Department on Wednesday asked a judge to halt publication of Bolton’s memoir, arguing it will damage American national security. And now House Democrats are considering whether to call Bolton to testify. Watch next week to see what the latest fallout is, and whether Democrats move to bring Bolton to testify against President Trump. Escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula — This week, North Korea blew up a liaison office jointly run by it and South Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un then unleashed on the South with bellicose, vitriolic language and threatened Seoul with military provocations. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, joined in, saying that South Korean President Moon Jae-in “seems to be insane.” As a result, tensions on the Korean peninsula are now soaring. Moon, who has generally favored outreach and rapprochement with the North, grew angry with Pyongyang this week. He chided the North Korean regime for its “rude and senseless” remarks. We’ll have to see how much further the situation escalates next week. The Korean peninsula is one of the most explosive situations on earth, and it’s important to take note anytime tensions there are on the rise. Next steps in China-India border clashes — The two giants of Asia, China and India, have been engaged in a standoff at their border straddling the Himalayan mountains. This week, tensions turned into deadly clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in the Eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley area. Some of the details remain unclear, but we know that at least 20 Indian troops were killed, along with an unknown number of Chinese soldiers. Significantly, these were the first deaths along the border in at least 45 years. Both countries are holding talks and have indicated a desire to ease tensions. But at the same time, each country has blamed the other for the incident, which occurred about 14,000 feet above sea level. It will be critically important to watch next week whether tensions between China and India increase or decrease. Both countries have massive economies and nuclear weapons. Few relationships in the world have greater implications for global geopolitics. Another aspect to watch is the role of the US. Many American analysts have long said that India could be a powerful partner in America’s rivalry with China. We’ll see whether these recent clashes bring Washington and New Delhi closer together to counter Beijing.

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