1) I’m amazed by the amount of Chinese Communist Party propaganda that has been absorbed, reflected and regurgitated around @SpeakerPelosi ’s visit to #Taiwan. Here’s why … 2) Let’s start with the facts: Pelosi landed safely in Taipei and Taiwanese people continue to live and work with the same security they did last week. The risks Taiwan faces do not go up or down depending on whether the West chooses to look, and think about them.

When a minister (Canada's @cafreeland) arrives 45 mins late to a 30min press conference, and then her team announces that only Canadian journalists are allowed to ask her questions 🤯

Maybe stay home in Canada if you only want to talk to Canadians #g20rome It gets better - the spokesperson actively physically intervened to stop @StuartKLau and I from asking a quick Q as the presser wrapped, and ushered Freeland out of the room.

THREAD - The incredible situation Afghan U.N. staff now find themselves in, in Kabul.

Told to turn up to work and stay positive, with no options for sanctuary in UN compounds, and no support to evacuate. 1/ 2/ Taliban reprisals have begun against local staff - foreign senior staff have cleared out

THREAD: What the world wants from John Kerry in 2021

Re-joining the #ParisAgreement isn't enough, say 25 climate ministers and advocates we interviewed from six continents. Deeds before words: Legislating a tough 2030 U.S. emissions reduction legislation is 1st serious step 2) But the world wants the words too, hoping Kerry will be world's climate cheerleader: convincing reluctant and developing country governments (also with $) to set aggressive climate goals, which many pinpoint as including carbon neutrality by 2050.

THREAD: Boris Johnson has a problem named Joe Biden: Democrats are ☑️ on UK climate leadership and ☑️ on UK defense spending increase, but in no mood to prioritize the relatively small trade deal Johnson wants to agree in Biden’s first 100 days. 1/
politico.com/news/2020/12/3… My new article puts the much more likely timeframe for the U.S.-U.K. #trade deal as 2022. It’s not punishment for #Brexit per se, but Brexit means the U.K. has complicated Washington’s relations with Europe, and dropped it down the global pecking order /2

Today's Republican party is little more than a Trump personality cult, if you ask its own operatives, pollsters, or seasons reporters like @TimAlberta. First-time voters have no idea what it means to be Republican today #RNC politico.com/minutes/conven… The president can't explain his own second-term agenda, leading many to wonder if there is one. The campaign released bullet points but no bold plans last night politico.com/minutes/conven… #RNCConvention

What Trump is set to announce at 6pm: The FDA is to approve wider use of coronavirus survivors' blood as treatment
politico.com/news/2020/08/2…
#RNC While plasma treatment has been used safely against diseases from diphtheria to Ebola over the past 130 years, its track record on effectiveness is mixed. And it has not yet been proven to work against the coronavirus.

Some top Michelle Obama quotes collected in the order delivered #DNC2020
1. "You simply cannot fake your way through this job" 2. "In one of the states that determined the (2016) outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct—two votes. And we’ve all been living with the consequences."

#Schools #Covid_19 Thread:

1) I want to put the idea to rest that the U.S. is an outlier in keeping schools closed: it’s not. Most schools in most countries are still closed: 1.5 billion students. And that’s a bad thing. See this map. 2) New Zealand’s @jacindaardern is a rare politician able to bounce around her country’s schools taking mask-free selfies for her re-election campaign. Why? instagram.com/p/CC9mu7gAKEp/…

THREAD: For @politico I mapped out which countries are doing best when both their health and economic #coronavirus outcomes are considered - see here, with @beatricezjin.

#Vietnam is the clear best performer; the US ranks just 24th of 30. politico.com/interactives/2… #COVID #1 Vietnam: The easy ranking leader as the biggest country with no COVID-19 deaths (95m), barely 300 cases, and economy still set to grow 2.7% in 2020.

Thread: A global tour of what's working in the fight against #COVID19 #coronavirus.

Democracy is no barrier to success, but failure to invest in fundamentals is. #Germany gets the award for all-round excellence. politico.com/news/2020/03/2… GERMANY: Best prepared health care system overall - widespread testing not only of symptomatic / old / hospitalized. Close to the best ratios of intensive care beds, doctors and nurses per 100,000 people. Clear and calm leaders. Gatherings of more than 2 banned.

THREAD: So where's the next big Coronavirus problem going to hit? Look out for:
1. India
2. Russia
3. Homeless and refugee communities
4. Germany
5. Iceland (i know it sound weird - but they have the highest known infection rate now, overtaking Italy). Reasoning follows ... Why India's a problem: Only 500 people a day were being tested up to now - in a country of 1.3 billion with very uneven health infrastructure. Revised plans would test only 2 million. Social distancing v.v. hard to do in urban slums. icmr.nic.in/sites/default/…

THREAD. After tracking coronavirus responses for 7 weeks now, and since you asked for it: here’s my list of ”best in class” responses from around the world to the various facets of the problem. #coronavirusoutbreak #COVID19. * note: there’s no rigid criteria, it’s a list of what works, be that health, economic, social or sanity aspects of. This list can’t be complete (everything moves so fast) and you might read it after a new development ....

1) Sacha Baron Cohen’s speech to the Anti-Defamation League - on reckless tech companies - is a must-read. Here’s best bit in following tweets. 2) “If a neo-Nazi comes goose-stepping into a restaurant and starts threatening other customers and saying he wants kill Jews, would the owner of the restaurant be required to serve him an elegant eight-course meal?  Of course not! ...

1) I'm just going to say it: this debate about whether Warren would raise taxes to fund Medicare for All is redundant. It's obvious & besides the point. Of course that's how universal health care is funded. But refusing to say it is a case of reframing the issue, not avoiding it. 2) By using that tactic Warren denies people like me & her opponents the sugar hit, gotcha moment, where we can all say "taxes will go up." But any sentinent person realises that already, so why would she give her opponents the open goal, letting them frame the debate their way?

Some thoughts for the Canada Debates Commission based on tonight’s #ElectionDebate #elxn2019

1) Start the debate later: it’s a fairness issue for Western provinces, and it will also boost audience numbers. 2) Cut the microphones of repeat interruptors

1/ Horrifying to see only 1
female journalist among most followed by members of EU Parliament. 🤦‍♂️🤦🏼‍♀️ Here are some great ones🕵🏼‍♀️👩🏽‍💻 (POLITICO & more) that MEPs and everyone can follow - please reply with more @maiadelabaume @MSolletty @liliebayer @LauKaya @ziaweise @BBCkatyaadler @maiadelabaume @MSolletty @liliebayer @LauKaya @ZiaWeise @BBCkatyaadler 2/ More great EU journos who happen to be women - please add more @c_ducourtieux @Elbarbie @aoifewhite101 @MatinaStevis @kate_day @NewsAnnabelle @carmenpaun @MaKaOro @kbolongaro @FooYunChee @TesaArcilla @AncaGurzu @zoyashef @zosiawanat @swheaton @Gingerhervey @cgs_atl

1) Want to know the realistic range of seats each EU-wide party can win in this weekend's election? Using POLITICO's poll of polls, I calculated five scenarios for each party. Here is the one of the biggest party, the @EPP: 161 to 181 seats, out of 751. #EUelections2019 #EP2019 2) The projected seat range for the @TheProgressives / Socialists is 135 to 157. This would go up if, for example, Wiosna (Poland) joins them.

In case you were wondering, more than 210,000 watched the EU presidential #MaastrichtDebate livestream. We don’t know TV numbers yet. #EUelections2019 #EP2019 Also, content on the #MaastrichtDebate appeared in more than 20 million social media feeds Monday night

Another #Brexit #thread
1/ Here's the thing about the Theresa May — Jean-Claude Juncker spat over whether May was vague or not at the #EUCO summit table about her Brexit demands. It’s a sideshow because the undeniable reality is that Westminster-at-large is vague. 2/ Westminister is undeniably vague via there being no majority for any type of Brexit, yet an absolute insistence from the British government and opposition leader that nevertheless a hard-ish take back control Brexit must happen.

#Brexit #thread
1/ If you don’t follow Brexit every day, here’s some advice. Let go of any illusions that this drama is about trade protocols, residency rights or the status of the Irish border. Brexit is the story of a proud former imperial power undergoing a mid-life crisis 2/ The rest of the world is left listening to Britain’s therapy session as they drone on about their ex-spouse, unable to see, admit or address their own flaws.