To understand how President Joe Biden's move to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline might affect the US-Canada relationship, The World's host Carol Hills spoke to Kathryn Harrison, a political scientist and environmental policy expert at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
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On Saturday, Russian police clashed with thousands of protesters who took to the streets amid freezing temps across the country, demanding the immediate release of opposition figure and prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny. In Moscow alone, an estimated 15,000 protesters came out to support Navalny’s anti-corruption message until police beat and dragged several demonstrators and detained others. More than 3,000 were taken into custody across 109 cities over the weekend, including Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, in Moscow, in the largest expression of dissent in Russia in years.
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An already dysfunctional political transition period in the US was thrown into violent turmoil this month, after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Captiol building, leaving several people dead.
That clash, and the uncertainty around it, look similar to a 2018 political crisis in Sri Lanka, according to Indi Samarajiva, a Sri Lankan writer and podcaster, who thinks the US can from the South Asian country s experience.
American democracy prides itself on the peaceful transfer of power. What the United States has seen this week is anything but peaceful.
After rioters backed by US President Donald Trump ravaged the US Capitol on Wednesday, the president tweeted Friday that he would not attend US President-elect Joe Biden s inauguration on January 20.
The US has presented itself as a beacon of democracy around the world. How have the events of this week impacted the US’ image? And, among those who stormed the Capitol on Wednesday were supporters of QAnon, a dangerous conspiracy theory that has grown internationally. Also, host Carol Hills speaks with Sri Lankan writer Indi Samarajiva who shares his experience living through the recent coup in his country and the violent events that followed.