Monday Briefing | March 23
Photo by mathewbest
Monday Briefing
Stories to follow this week
Founding Father and First Prim Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, Dies at 91
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew passed away in the Morning of March 22, 2015 at the Singapore General Hospital. The current PM of Singapore Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s eldest son, announced in a statement posted on the P.M.’s official website. “We have lost the man who had led us, inspired us, and united us.” Mr. Lee was the Prime Minister since Singapore gained its full self-governance from the British in 1959 to 1990. His “Singapore model”— a system with clean governance, trade-oriented market economy, and repression of political oppositions—elevated Singapore’s economic position in Asia.
Read more: Statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; New York Times
Netanyahu’s re-election
Israel’s incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retained his office after the election on Tuesday, March 17. Despite the fact that exit polls predicted an opposite result, Netanyahu won the election after a neck and neck competition between right wing Likud and the central-left Zionist Union. With his deliration of blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state prior to the election, Netanyahu has further strained his relationship with the White House.
Read More: Al Jazeera
Notable events
Wednesday, March 25, 6:45pm, Wasserman Center:
IRPA Spring Networking Reception. (Open to current International Relations & Politics students and invited guests only). RSVP to irassociationnyu@gmail.com.
Thursday, March 26, 6:00pm, 45 West 4th, Rm Goddard B06 | Documentary Screening: Terror’s Advocate. Movie screening followed by a discussion.
Friday, March 27, 6:00pm, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Film Center at NYU | Film Screening: American Revolutionary: the Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs.
See our Event Page (top right-hand corner) for information on location & RSVP.
In your spare time:
Vision of Humanity just released the new Mexico Peace Index.
Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance brings to the Lincoln Center. Student tickets are on sale at NYU Ticket Central for $20 each for the performance on March 27-29.
This week’s Monday Briefing is brought to you by Wenjun Zeng. Wenjun is a Chinese national focusing on transnational security and trust-building in Central Asia. She travels back and forth between the U.S. and Asia frequently. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and International Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison; and is pursuing her Master of Arts degree in International Affairs at NYU. She is currently interning at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Her previous experience included an internship at the International Action Network on Small Arms and at International Rescue Committee. She hopes to work as a policy analyst after she graduates to promote multinational cooperation between China and its neighboring nations.
