- Social:
Oxford University
Director of the Refugee Studies Center at Oxford University and author of Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement
PROFILE
Alexander Betts
Guest
FROM Alexander Betts
To the Point
Can the Nations of Europe Resolve a Humanitarian Crisis? By April of last year, 56 migrants died trying to reach Europe from the Middle East North Africa. This year, the number's already 1750 — and humanitarian agencies warn it could rise to 30,000 as people flee from chaos and war in their home countries. In Brussels yesterday, a summit meeting of the European Union held an emergency " summit " and agreed to increase spending to cope with the crisis. But its new plan is already being called inadequate — more a police action than an ambulance service. Do prosperous Western countries have a moral obligation to accept refugees despite the politics of immigration?
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President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?