Patrick PiersonBy Patrick Pierson.
The UK expelled nearly two dozen Russian diplomats after a former Russian spy was poisoned in Britain. Police in the UK are calling on citizens to help prevent terrorist attacks. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was detained this week amidst allegations that he received illegal campaign funds from former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. An Islamist gunman killed three people in southern France on Friday after taking hostages in a supermarket. Police in Spain arrested 89 people after busting a Nigerian sex trafficking gang. A Spanish supreme court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist leaders with rebellion. A few weeks after elections, the Italian parliament remains deadlocked. Far-right groups continue to target minority communities in Greece. Officials in the German state of Bavaria want to establish their own border police force. Denmark is constructing a border wall with Germany…to keep out wild hogs. In Norway, the government has proposed a ban on full-face veils.
The US has sanctioned Iranian hackers accused of carrying out cyber-attacks against hundreds of universities. Turkey’s frustration with the EU over the status of Cyprus continues. In other news, Turkey has detained a pair of Tajik opposition politicians wanted in Tajikistan. In a historic first, an Israel-bound flight was allowed to cross through Saudi Arabian airspace. In Jordan, protests continue against the government’s detention of activists. A deadly car bomb killed more than a dozen people in southern Afghanistan. Check out this story about the man trying to rebuild Mosul. Pakistan recently purchased advanced missile technology from China. Should we be worried about election violence in Bangladesh?
Chinese officials say they’re not intimidated by a potential trade war with the US. A pair of Reuters journalists remain jailed in Myanmar after reporting on the treatment of Rohingya Muslims in the country. Indonesia is experiencing a string of mysterious attacks against Islamic leaders and schools. In the Philippines, President Duterte’s deadly drug war continues. Under pressure from China, Vietnam has put the brakes on an oil drilling project in the South China Sea.
The Algerian government is cracking down on women’s rights groups. Did Cambridge Analytica influence the recent elections in Kenya? Kenyatta and Odinga appear to have made peace after the turbulent election. The terror group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a deadly car bomb in Mogadishu. A pair of senior al-Shabaab commanders defected from the group this week. China looks poised to lead the way on a large rail project in Benin. After 15 years, the UN mission in Liberia has come to a close. A Ghanaian lawyer is challenging a proposed military deal between Ghana and the US. After abducting over 100 schoolgirls last month, Boko Haram has returned the majority to their families. Ethnic violence continues in the eastern stretches of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Russia is sending military aid to the Central African Republic. Is Islamic terrorism on the rise in Mozambique? The US military footprint in Africa is large, and largely ignored.
In the US, authorities are still trying to make sense of the Austin bombings. Protesters took to the streets in California after an unarmed black man was fatally shot by police. H.R. McMaster is out as US national security advisor. Canada is sending troops to support the UN mission in Mali. The killing of journalists continues in Mexico. Is Nicaragua the safest country in Latin America? In Ecuador, women are pushing for greater protection of indigenous lands. Chile’s new president is ‘concerned’ about President Trump. The political situation in Peru finally peaked this week with the resignation of President Kuczynski. The US is extending financial aid to support Venezuelan refugees in Colombia.
