Atlantic Sentinel

Author: Atlantic Sentinel

  • Trump Defeats Clinton in Unexpectedly Close Election

    • Americans have chosen Republican businessman Donald Trump to succeed Barack Obama as president. Trump won 306 electoral votes with 46 percent support against 232 electoral votes and 48 percent support for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
    • Clinton fell short in key states, including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
    • Republicans also defended their majorities in Congress. They are projected to win 236 seats in the House of Representatives, where 218 are needed for a majority, and 51 seats in the Senate. (more…)

  • Hillary Clinton Is the Only Serious Candidate in This Election

    Hillary Clinton
    Former American secretary of state Hillary Clinton campaigns in Elko, Nevada, February 15 (Hillary for America/Samuel Fisch)

    Four years ago, the Atlantic Sentinel was split on whether to endorse Barack Obama or Mitt Romney for president. We share the Democrats’ social liberalism and respected the president’s foreign policy, but we were drawn to the Republican’s energy and fiscal policies.

    This year, it’s no contest at all. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is totally unfit for the office he seeks. (more…)

  • Erdoğan Survives Putsch in Turkey

    • A faction of the Turkish military has tried and failed to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
    • Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said fewer than 3,000 soldiers were involved in the putsch. A similar number was later said to have been arrested.
    • Late on Friday, soldiers barricaded access to the major crossways over the Bosphorus in Istanbul and seized the city’s airport. Tanks strafed parliament in Ankara.
    • Supporters across the country heeded Erdoğan’s call to take to the streets and resist the coup attempt. Soldiers surrendered to the crowds and police overnight.
    • Erdoğan and his allies have accused Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen of orchestrating the coup from abroad. (more…)

  • Theresa May Succeeds David Cameron as Prime Minister

    Theresa May
    British prime minister Theresa May is applauded walking into 10 Downing Street in London, England, July 13 (10 Downing Street/Tom Evans)
    • Queen Elizabeth II has accepted David Cameron’s resignation as prime minister and asked Theresa May to form a new government.
    • May won the leadership of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party, and hence the prime ministership, by default on Monday when her last rival withdrew.
    • She immediately fired George Osborne, Cameron’s deputy, and named Philip Hammond as chancellor. (more…)

  • Johnson Stands Down as Five Vie for David Cameron’s Job

    • Michael Gove, the British justice secretary, has forced Boris Johnson out of the race to succeed David Cameron by launching his own bid for the Conservative Party leadership.
    • Theresa May, the home secretary, has formally declared her candidacy as well. She is seen as the best candidate to reunite the party in the wake of a divisive EU referendum campaign.
    • The other candidates are Stephen Crabb, a “Cameroon” on the left of the party, and Euroskeptics Liam Fox and Andrea Leadsom. (more…)

  • British Parties Seek New Leaders After Vote to Leave EU

    Whitehall London England
    View of the Houses of Parliament from Whitehall in London, England (Shutterstock/Alan Copson)
    • The contest to replace David Cameron as Conservative Party leader and prime minister starts today.
    • Stephen Crabb, the up-and-coming work and pensions secretary, has declared he will stand. So have John Baron and Liam Fox, two Euroskeptics.
    • Boris Johnson and Theresa May are expected to enter the contest today. (more…)

  • Vote to Leave EU Throws British Labour Party in Crisis

    British parliament London
    Westminster Palace in London, England (Unsplash/Matt Milton)
    • Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has lost the support of many of his lawmakers in the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the EU.
    • Angela Eagle is expected to challenge Corbyn. Coming from the soft left of the party, she could be a unifying figure.
    • The Conservatives are looking for a new leader of their own after David Cameron announced he is stepping down as prime minister.
    • Boris Johnson, a top contender, has won the support of Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a fellow Euroskeptic.
    • Other candidates include Stephen Crabb, Sajid Javid and Theresa May. (more…)

  • Shock of EU Exit Reverberates Through British Politics

    London England
    Aerial view of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey in London, England (Unsplash/Ricardo Frantz)
    • Britain’s Conservative Party is looking for a new leader. David Cameron announced his resignation after losing the EU referendum.
    • Home Secretary Theresa May is seen as the strongest contender.
    • The opposition Labour Party is in revolt against its leader, Jeremy Corbyn. There are rumors of a split.
    • Gibraltar and Scotland are in talks to try and find a way to stay in the EU. (more…)

  • British Vote to Leave EU Roils Western World

    François Hollande David Cameron
    British prime minister David Cameron and French president François Hollande pay their respects at the First World War memorial in Pozières, March 3 (10 Downing Street/Georgina Coupe)
    • Britain shocked its allies on Thursday, when it voted 52 to 48 percent in a referendum to leave the European Union.
    • The remaining 27 member states want Britain to make haste, but Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will not trigger Britain’s exit at next week’s European Council.
    • Britain’s departure is a diplomatic disaster for France, Europe’s only other nuclear power. (more…)

  • Britain Votes to Leave EU: The Day After

    London England
    Skyline of London, England, June 13 (Unsplash/Fred Moon)
    • The United Kingdom has voted 52 to 48 percent in a referendum to leave the European Union. The difference is more than one million votes.
    • England and Wales strongly supported Brexit while Scotland and Northern Ireland largely voted to remain, raising the specter of further constitutional upheaval.
    • London and other metropolitan areas voted to stay in, revealing a deep split in British society. (more…)

  • Britain Votes to Leave EU in Referendum

    British parliament London
    Westminster Palace in London, England at night, December 21, 2011 (Ben Sutherland)
    • 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the European Union in a referendum on Thursday.
    • The difference with the remain side was 1.3 million votes.
    • Gibraltar voted to to stay in the EU.
    • So did Scotland, which could reopen the question of its independence. (more…)

  • A Liberal, Realistic European Union Needs Britain

    European Union flags
    Flags of the United Kingdom and the European Union outside the Berlaymont in Brussels, January 29 (European Commission)

    France and Poland team up to block a trade pact with South America, fearing cheap agricultural imports. Opposition to a trade agreement with the United States grows in Germany and Italy, possibly dooming the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Countries in Central Europe feel squeezed in between their former occupier Russia and an accommodating Germany.

    The last few weeks have been a preview of what the European Union might look like without the British.

    They will decide in a referendum next week whether to stay in the EU or leave. We hope a majority will vote “remain”, which is the better option for everyone. (more…)

  • Second Super Tuesday Blog

    • Six presidential primaries are held across the United States on what the news media have dubbed the second “Super Tuesday”.
    • These primaries are a chance for former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to prove she can win outside the South, where nonwhite voters have dominated the Democratic contests. Her socialist rival, Bernie Sanders, has done better in Northern industrial states. Watch Ohio.
    • For the Republicans, it’s the last chance to slow down businessman Donald Trump. If he does poorly today, he is likely to fall short of a delegate majority. But if Trump wins, it is going to be almost impossible to take the nomination away from him. Crucial will be Florida and Ohio, the home states of Trump’s rivals Marco Rubio and John Kasich. (more…)

  • Super Tuesday Blog

    • Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic nominating contests in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Her socialist rival, Bernie Sanders, has won his home state of Vermont as well as Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma.
    • Counting “super delegates” (party officials with a vote at the convention), Clinton now has 1,001 out of 2,383 delegates needed to win. Sanders has 371.
    • On the Republican side, businessman Donald Trump has won the contests in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia. He has 316 out of 1,237 delegates he needs for the nomination. Senator Ted Cruz is in second place with 226 delegates after winning his home state of Texas as well as Alaska and Oklahoma. (more…)

  • Spain Should Seize Opportunity of More Liberal Government

    Polls suggest no party will win an outright majority in Spain’s election this weekend. For the first time since democracy was restored, the country may need a coalition government.

    Provided it’s one between Mariano Rajoy’s conservatives and the liberal Ciudadanos (Citizens), we think Spain should welcome the prospect.

    A political duopoly is unhealthy. For more than thirty years, Rajoy’s People’s Party and the Socialists have alternated in power. Corruption and nepotism, while not at Greek or Latin American levels, are too common. When it comes to economic and social policy, the two main parties, for all their campaign rhetoric, really aren’t that far apart. (more…)