Patrick PiersonBy Patrick Pierson.
US citizens in Haiti have been attacked after a Haitian senator-elect was extradited to the United States. Earlier this week, for the first time in two years, El Salvador experienced a day without a single homicide. The “wet foot, dry foot” policy for Cubans seeking entry to the United States has come to an end; the Cuban government welcomed the move. Costa Rican officials also applauded the policy change, noting that the provision encouraged Cuban migrants to illegally travel through Central America in efforts to reach US soil.
As Italy prepares to reopen its embassy in Libya, the EU is considering a deal with the Libyan government to help curb migrant flows to Europe. Russia recently announced plans to leave the G8 group. Hungary has doubled-down on plans to curtail the activity of foreign-backed NGOs operating in the country. Negotiations for a peace deal in Cyprus continue to show progress; here is a brief timeline of major historical events in Cyprus.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni announced the appointment of his son to the role of special adviser this week. The Obama administration has lifted some financial sanctions against Sudan. The suspected leader of the Grand-Bassam terror attack in Ivory Coast has been arrested in Mali. In the face of continued intransigence from Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, thousands of Gambians are fleeing to Senegal. Some worry that pastoralist communities across Africa are particularly vulnerable to terrorist recruitment. An ongoing UNDP project aims to understand the personal motivations of extremists across Africa. Jihadist groups continue to thrive, particularly in vast rural stretches of the Sahel where government control is largely absent. Construction is underway on a planned 800km wall along the Kenya-Somalia border.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen recently conducted an air strike against a primary school. A US Navy vessel fired warning shots at an Iranian boat in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The US and South Korea continue to prepare for a potential ICBM threat from North Korea. Chinese assertiveness continued this week as a group of the country’s warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
