Patrick PiersonBy Patrick Pierson.
Read about the paramilitary forces mobilized in Nicaragua to quell popular protests against the Ortega regime. Officials from Honduras and El Salvador spoke out this week against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Yet another US embassy worker in Cuba has come down with mysterious health issues. Will Colombia’s new president be able to bring peace to the country? A new UN report contends that the rule of law is “virtually absent” in Venezuela. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government is trying to convince investors that the country is stable. Authorities in Bolivia detained members of a Brazilian organized crime syndicate after an attack was launched against a Bolivian military base. Meanwhile, Brazilian authorities also arrested dozens of members from one of the country’s most powerful criminal groups. Does the World Cup inadvertently facilitate drug smuggling?
In the UK, a woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for not alerting authorities to a friend’s intention to launch a knife attack in Westminster. Protesters took to the streets in Spain after five men – part of the high profile ‘wolf pack’ case – were granted bail. France and Germany are working together to build a next generation fighter jet. Malta is refusing to accept new migrants. Is Germany spying on Austria? Officials in Vienna want an answer. Slovenia is suing Croatia over an ongoing border dispute. Serbia is dealing with an uptick in gang violence.
Turks are heading to the polls today in snap elections. Israel, Greece, and Cyprus have pledged deeper military ties. For the first time ever, women in Saudi Arabia can legally drive today. Here is a helpful primer on the UAE’s role in the ongoing conflict in Yemen. A court in Bahrain has acquitted a number of senior leaders from the country’s main opposition party after they were accused of spying on behalf of Qatar. Nonviolent protests against the Pakistani military continue. A gruesome gang rape is dominating headlines in India.
The EU is preparing to impose sanctions on security officials in Myanmar amidst ongoing prosecution of the Rohingya. A Belgian man has been sentenced to life in prison in Cambodia on charges of cocaine smuggling. Authorities in Papua New Guinea are confronting some serious civil unrest. The Philippines’ War on Drugs is taking it to the next level – the government is now considering mandatory drug tests in schools. In Indonesia, a Muslim cleric has been sentenced to death for inciting several terrorist attacks. Itsunori Onodera, the Japanese defense minister, wants to install a land-based missile shield.
Algeria shut down internet across the country to prevent mass cheating by high school students during final exams. Malian soldiers are implicated in the recent discovery of three mass graves. Presidential elections are scheduled for 2019 in Nigeria – but will the country be ready? The US State Department imposed sanctions on a number of top officials from the DRC. The most recent round of peace talks in South Sudan have stalled. Four people were killed this week when a fight broke out in a Ugandan refugee camp during a World Cup match. A Tanzanian politician is suing the government over the banning of his rap song. Unrest is escalating in Mozambique. Barack Obama will meet with Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga, and Cyril Ramaphosa next month.
