Week of 15 February

MYANMAR: Protests continue following coup – protesters have used broken down cars to block roads in the capital, Yangon, in an effort to limit the movement of security forces and civil servants. Hackers have also targeted the military online, forming part a large-scale civil disobedience campaign in response to the 1 February coup which overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

SPAIN: Anger erupts on the streets following the arrest of rapper Pablo Hasél – the little-known Catalan rapper Pablo Hasél has been arrested over the content of his public comments, prompting violent protests across Spain in defence of freedom of speech and against the monarchy. Hasél is accused of glorifying terrorism and of slandering the Crown, accusing the insitution of corruption, and the police.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Concern over well-being of princess grows – concern for Princess Latifa of Dubai grew this week after a video made by the princess was shared with the BBC in which she explains her current situation, accusing her father of holding her ‘hostage’. In the video, Princess Latifa relayed the ordeal she reports suffering when she was intercepted while trying to flee abroad, after which she was forcibly brought back to Dubai, where she has been living under house arrest since.

UNITED STATES: Donald Trump survives second impeachment conviction – ex-US President Donald Trump has been acquitted for a second time after being impeached over the violent storming of the capital in his final weeks as president. The Democrat-led Senate voted 57-43 to convict Trump, short of the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution for a conviction. However, what was notable was the significantly higher number of Republican Senators voting to convict the former president than the singular Republican, Mitt Romney, who did so in his first impeachment trial.

Week of 8 February 2021

GREECE: The Covid-19 situation is becoming more serious in Attica, Greece’s wealthiest and most populous region, which includes Athens. Active infections in the region are estimated at 5,100, for a nationwide total of around 10,000; most concerningly, the ICU occupancy rate in the region is currently at 83 percent. On Thursday, the Greek government imposed a two-week ‘hard’ lockdown on Attica, which includes a night curfew and extensive use of click-and-collect services for shopping; nevertheless, cases are expected to continue to rise in the short term. 

ITALY: On Saturday Mario Draghi, the widely respected former director of the European Central Bank from 2011 to 2019, was sworn in as Italy’s new PM. Mr Draghi was asked to form a new government by the Italian head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, following the collapse of the coalition supporting Giuseppe Conte’s government back in January. Draghi seems to command the support of most of Italy’s parliamentary groups (left-wing LeU, centre-left Partito Democratico, liberal Italia Viva, centre-right Forza Italia, right-wing Lega, populist M5S) which has complicated the negotiations to form his new government. The main challenge he is expected to face is managing Italy’s post-pandemic recovery, which includes a €200bn recovery fund from the EU. 

NETHERLANDS: According to reports published this week, Amsterdam has overtaken the City of London as Europe’s largest share trading hub. In 2020, €17.6bn worth of shares were traded every day in London, compared with just €2.6bn in Amsterdam (then Europe’s sixth-largest trading hub). This year, the situation has changed dramatically, with just €7.8bn traded in London every day and €8.7bn in Amsterdam. This dramatic weakening of London’s position is closely linked to Brexit, as under EU law shares traded in euros must be traded either in the EU or in ‘equivalent’ markets, and the EU–UK deal struck last December did not grant ‘equivalence’ status to the UK. It remains an open question whether these developments are a short-term crisis or signal the end of London’s status as Europe’s financial capital. 

NIGERIA: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is expected to become the new director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) after the White House announced its support for her candidacy. The succession at the head of the WTO was a thorny issue in the final period of the Trump administration, as the former U.S. president had thrown his support behind South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee; the impasse came to an end when President Joe Biden announced he would support Okonjo-Iweala, paving the way for Yoo Myung-Hee’s decision to drop out of the race. Okonjo-Iweala, who served two stints as Nigeria’s finance minister after a 25-year career at the World Bank, will be the first WTO director-general from Africa. She is expected to build her post-pandemic strategy upon the raising of living standards worldwide. 

Week of 1 February 2021

EUROPE: Full-scale Eurovision Song Contest ruled out – the competition’s organisers have said that Eurovision will not take place as it would normally under any circumstances, leaving three scenarios being planned for with varying reductions for events and capacities. The event, due to be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in May, was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The organisers say they are focusing their planning on ‘Option B’, currently the least restrictive of the remaining options, however they are keeping the option to scale down on the table. 

MYANMAR: Coup sees democratically elected leaders arrested – the army have placed several of Myanmar’s leaders under arrest, including democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and have taken control of ruling the country. Around 80% of the population had voted for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party in the most recent elections, although the democratic government has fallen out of favour with the army, who were demanding a rerun of the elections, alleging unproven fraud. A state of emergency has been declared in the country. 

PORTUGAL: Emergency aid flown in from Germany – a Luftwaffe plane landed at Lisbon airport bringing doctors, extra beds and ventilator equipment to the urgent aid of a Portuguese health system at breaking point. Portugal is experiencing a recent surge in cases which places it as the worst-hit country in the world in terms of numbers of case compared to the size of the population.

RUSSIA: Navalny sentenced to three years and six months in prison – a Russian court has sentenced opposition leader Alexei Navalny to three-and-a-half years in prison for violating parole in relation to a sentence handed to him in 2014, despite widespread protests which led to arrests across the country. Sarah Rainsford at the BBC has written that these tough tactics may end up backfiring for the Kremlin. 

Week of 25 January 2021

EU & UK: EU prompts Irish border row with vaccines threat – the EU briefly threatened the imposition of border checks on vaccines between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, in the midst of a disagreement within the bloc regarding the EU’s beleaguered vaccine rollout. This decision sparked a sharp rebuttal and anger from politicians in the UK, Ireland and other EU member states. Following emergency talks between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the threat was swiftly withdrawn. Both sides have officially agreed to draw a line under the brief saga, but the damage of this diplomatic fallout – whatever that may be – could well have been dealt nonetheless.

INDIA: Internet cutouts in ongoing farmers’ protests – mobile internet has been suspended in a number of areas around the Indian capital, Delhi, in the latest development in the continuing farmers protests. Tens of thousands are reportedly protesting against new agriculture laws. On Tuesday, protests ended in violence, with one farmer dying and hundreds of police officers reportedly injured. 200 protesters were arrested following the violence at Red Fort in the historical centre of Delhi. The BBC has been reporting extensively on the farmers’ protests.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE: First 5,000 doses of vaccine transferred to Palestinians – after mounting pressure from the international community, Israel, the country with the highest proportion of vaccinated individuals in the world, is to transfer 5,000 vaccine doses to Palestinian health care workers. Israel had claimed that, under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority bore the responsibility of managing public health. The UN, however, pointed to the Geneva Convention on occupied territories, which takes precedence and stipulates that Israel ensure the distribution of the vaccine to Palestinians. Disagreement among experts over specific responsibilities nevertheless persists.

TURKEY: Four LGBT+ students arrested over artwork – a group of student ‘deviants’ at Bogaziçi University in Istanbul have been arrested because of their artwork depicting the Kaaba, a sacred Islamic site in Saudi Arabia, alongside images of rainbows. Students have been protesting over the appointment of a new rector, who is reportedly a loyalist of the ruling party. Homosexuality has always been legal in modern Turkey, although society is generally conservative and official opposition to the LGBT+ community is on the rise. 

Week of 18 January 2021

EGYPT: Scandal and arrests over ‘immoral’ cakes, generating debate – a pastry chef in Cairo has been arrested over cakes which were decorated with icing in the shape of genitals. Images from the birthday celebrations at the Gezira Sporting Club were shared widely across social media and blurred versions featured in tabloid newspapers. BBC Arabic dedicated a segment of their ‘Trending’ programme to discussing the debate that had sprung up on social media about the cakes. There have been a number of prominent stories concerning arrests in Egypt over the past few years for violating family values and immorality, including the story of two TikTokers who were arrested but later acquitted earlier this month.

ITALY: Earlier this week, the Italian Government led by Giuseppe Conte barely managed to weather a crisis following a split in the parliamentary coalition supporting it. Italia Viva, the centrist party led by former PM Matteo Renzi, left the coalition apparently due to disagreements on the post-Covid economic strategy. In separate confidence votes, PM Conte secured a slim majority in the Chamber of Deputies (321 out of 630) but only a plurality in the Senate (156 for, 140 against, 16 abstaining out of 321 senators). While winning a plurality allowed Conte to avoid an outright crisis, it will be hard for him to get significant pieces of legislation through, and some observers think a snap election may eventually be triggered before the current Parliament expires in 2023.

RUSSIA: Arrests in the face of opposition protests – top aides of Alexei Navalny, the man described by BBC News as ‘the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin’, have been arrested ahead of a large demonstration planned for Saturday. Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent last August and nearly died, but returned to Russia this week, where he was immediately arrested. The protests are aimed at influencing Navalny’s release or the length of any sentence he is handed. The Guardian has reported, though, that even in prison, Navalny represents a threat to Putin. This week Navalny’s team released a massive-scale investigation into Putin’s wealth. The video, called ‘Putin’s Palace’ and published on YouTube on Tuesday 19th, is just under two hours long and has amassed almost 60 million views.

UNITED STATES: On Wednesday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States. It was a historic inauguration from several points of view. Biden is the oldest sitting president and the first former vice president to ascend to the presidency since George H.W. Bush; Harris is the first woman, first Asian American and first African American to become vice president. Upon taking office, Biden immediately signed 17 executive orders aimed at undoing some of Trump’s legacy – measures ranged from rejoining the Paris Agreement to stopping the construction of the wall on the Mexican border.

Week of 7 December 2020

AUSTRALIA: Wildfire season is off to a dramatic start in Australia, as Fraser Island, a popular getaway near Brisbane, was severely damaged by fires in the last few days. The fire on Fraser Island reminded many of the tragic 2019–20 wildfire season, which made headlines across the world before Covid-19 and caused hundreds of casualties and an estimated A$100 billion worth of damages. The current season has been quieter so far, but experts argue that climate change is making Australia more fire-prone by the year due to the higher incidence of droughts and heatwaves. 

ITALY & EGYPT: Italian prosecutors are going to charge four senior members of the Egyptian security services over their alleged participation in the disappearance and murder of Cambridge PhD student Giulio Regeni, in early 2016. Regeni was tortured and killed in unknown circumstances while he was living in Cairo to work on his doctoral project about Egypt’s labour movement. The latest developments mark a further delicate moment in the already tense relations between Italy and Egypt following the murder. 

LEBANON: Hassan Diab, the acting prime minister of Lebanon, has been charged with negligence alongside three former ministers over the blast that destroyed a large part of the city on 4 August. Including the latest four charges, 37 people have now been declared ‘suspects’ in the case. The catastrophic explosion, which killed over 200 people, was triggered by the combustion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate and has been widely chalked up to the country’s long history of corruption. 

USA: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of more than 40 states have formally accused Facebook of taking illegal actions to out-compete and buy its rivals. The lawsuit focuses on Facebook’s acquisition of former rivals Instagram (in 2012) and WhatsApp (in 2014), which have helped the social network cement its global dominance and for which it paid sums that appear minuscule in hindsight. Facebook officials have replied that the accusations are unfounded, since regulators approved the acquisitions when they took place. This lawsuit represents the U.S. government’s most forceful and hostile action against Big Tech to date. 

Week of 30 November 2020

BANGLADESH: Rights of Rohingya continue to be violated – Bangladesh has been accused of violating the human rights of Rohingya refugees, after allegedly moving as many as 1,600 refugees to a remote island against their will. There is a lack of information surrounding the relocations, according to the United Nations. However, the BBC and Human Rights Watch are claiming that Rohingya refugees interviewed in October indicated they did not want to be relocated. The Rohingya are originally from Myanmar, but as many as 730,000 were forcibly displaced in a military operation, which began three years ago, in which a further 10,000 Rohingya were killed. 

DENMARK: “We are now putting a final end to the fossil era” – a significant majority in the Folketing (Danish parliament) has voted to stop all new permits for oil exploration in the North Sea. It was also voted through that all fossil activities will end by 2050. This is a significant step forward, as Denmark is the largest oil-producing nation in the EU and there are hopes this could trigger a chain reaction among other oil producers, including the UK and Norway.

THE EU & THE UK: Clock ticking down (yet again) on negotiations as Brexit deadline looms – negotiators have resumed talks once again in London as the 31st December deadline to ratify any new deal between the United Kingdom and the European Union draws nearer. It seems little has changed in terms of progress in the talks or rhetoric from either side, as the UK accuses the EU of making ‘11th-hour’ demands. Fishing rights remain a major source of contention, as well as the difficulties presented by each of the 27 EU member states possessing a veto which could render all and any outcomes of the negotiations ultimately null and void. 

ISRAEL: Law-makers back move to dissolve parliament, bringing prospect of new elections – Benny Gantz’s Blue and White alliance voted in support of dissolving parliament, setting the country on a course towards their fourth set of elections in two years. Gantz’s party was in a power-sharing agreement with Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and the two men were to share the role of prime minister in a rotation coalition. Politicians in Israel have been deadlocked over the budget and it marks yet another phase in a protracted political crisis, which also sees Netanyahu currently on trial on corruption charges.

Week of 23 November 2020

CANADA: Last weekend, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and UK PM Boris Johnson announced that the two countries had agreed on a ‘rollover’ trade deal to come into force on 1 January, after the end of the UK’s post-Brexit transition period. Following London’s withdrawal from the EU (31 January 2020), the UK has still enjoyed fixed-term access to the EU’s own numerous trade deals with third countries – but that will come to an end on New Year’s Eve. Therefore, Britain has had to negotiate its own bilateral ‘rollover’ deals in order to continue trading with certain non-EU countries on existing terms. Rollover deals have already been signed between the UK and more than 50 countries, but many of these deals are dwarfed by the importance of a yet-unsigned UK–EU trade deal (in 2019, 52% of all UK imports and 43% of all UK exports were from/to the EU). However, the UK–Canada deal has been welcomed as a step in the right direction, and arguably represents – together with the UK–Japan rollover deal agreed in September – Liz Truss’s biggest achievement to date as Secretary of State for International Trade. 

HUNGARY AND POLAND: The governments of Poland and Hungary have reiterated their intention to veto an EU proposal linking the distribution of EU funds with the respect of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Both countries, led by populist governments widely accused of illiberal tendencies, have argued that the concept of ‘rule of law’ and its connection to the allocation of funds has no place in EU treaties. They also argue that the ‘rule of law’ as a concept is ‘arbitrary’ and could pave the way for ‘politically motivated decisions’. Although Poland and Hungary’s opposition is quite a headache for the EU authorities scrambling to pass a colossal budget (€1.8tn), there have been some suggestions as to how to circumvent their veto – such as negotiating a deal between 25 member states rather than all 27. 

NORTH KOREA: South Korea’s spy agency has reported that the North executed a currency trader amid leader Kim Jong-un’s renewed attempts to strengthen his control over his country’s foreign exchange market. According to Seoul-based North Korea expert Andrei Lankov, the execution may aim to dissuade the North Korean public from trading in foreign currencies, which have gradually become more widely used in North Korea since 2009; the crackdown may be a symptom of economic and financial difficulties. 

SUDAN: Russia is going to build its first naval base in Africa on Sudan’s Red Sea coast. The Kremlin’s statement authorises the creation of a base for 300 personnel and four warships. Several commentators have seen this project as a new step in a long process of consolidation of Russia’s presence in Africa; in recent years, China has also been acquiring a growing influence in the continent and geopolitical competition has been getting more and more fierce.

Week of 16 November 2020

BULGARIA: On Tuesday, Bulgaria vetoed the start of the EU–North Macedonia accession talks. Bulgaria was the only state to vote against the accession and its decision was widely described as surprising, given the long history of relatively friendly relations between the two countries. The Bulgarian government said that it did not believe North Macedonia was ‘ready’ to join the EU, but did not elaborate further. This setback will certainly cause further delays in an accession process that was already predicted to be long and difficult – North Macedonia even had to change its own name in order to apply for membership – and will frustrate the EU’s intention to strengthen its influence in the Western Balkans. 

ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia is edging closer and closer to civil war. The clashes between Ethiopia’s government, led by PM Abiy Ahmed, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have already caused hundreds of civilian casualties. Most concerningly, the hostilities appear to have spilled beyond the border with Eritrea, with the TPLF firing rockets into Eritrean territory. Several international observers and foreign governments have called for an immediate truce, but the ethnic tensions within Ethiopia continue to escalate.

GREECE: On Sunday, Greek authorities announced the remarkable discovery of a bust of the god Hermes in central Athens, near the church of Agia Irini. The bust (of which the head is the only extant part) is datable to c.300 BC and was likely first used as a street marker, but was built into the wall of a drainage duct later in antiquity. The finding potentially sheds new light on how ancient statues were reused as construction material in ancient times. 

MEXICO: On Thursday, the Mexican Senate has approved a bill to legalise recreational marijuana in a landslide 82–18 vote. The bill will now be considered by the Congress’s lower House. Under the new law, Mexicans would be able to carry up to 28 grams of marijuana and grow four plants. The new legislation aims to curb drug trafficking; in fact, it would make Mexico not only the world’s third country to legalise marijuana (after Uruguay and Canada), but also the first with a vast ‘underworld’ relying on drug trade.

Week of 9 November 2020

AUSTRALIA: Australia Post to encourage optional use of Aboriginal place names – following a grassroots campaign, Australia Post has announced that they will support the optional inclusion of Aboriginal place names in addresses. Rachael McPhail is the woman behind the campaign – she is of Gomeroi heritage and has been encouraging the wider acceptance of First Nations place names in addresses across Australian institutions and businesses that operate in the country, such as Uber. It is a step in the right direction with regards to decolonising important aspects of Australian society, such as the recognition and awareness of the First Nation Country in which Australians themselves live, or likewise the Country to which they’re sending their post.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Second storm on track to batter the region – following in the path of Hurricane Eta, which killed 200 people earlier this month (read the CLC News Round-up from week commencing 2/11 for more), Hurricane Iota is expected to make landfall in Honduras and Nicaragua on Monday. Forecasters have said the storm is growing rapidly stronger and the National Hurricane Center has warned that the recent effects of Hurricane Eta could worsen any flooding and mudslides. People in the region have been told to expect ‘life-threatening’ flooding. This would be the thirtieth storm to sweep across the region this year, a record-breaking figure. The Guatemalan president has accused industrialised nations of being ultimately responsible for the increased number and intensity of hurricanes. He highlighted that the effects of climate change are felt strongly in his country’s region, among the most impoverished in the world, and that industrialised nations provide very little in the way of aid and support.

GERMANY AND UNITED STATES: Covid vaccine found to be highly effective – one of the only good-news stories of the past months has been Pfizer and BioNTech’s announcement this week of a Covid-19 vaccine with astounding 90% efficacy. However, the big name of the American multinational pharmaceutical company which has made it to the headlines, in fact, overshadows the other half of the story. The vaccine has actually been produced through a collaboration of Pfizer and a lesser-known German biotech company, BioNTech, which had been working on a mRNA-based flu vaccine before the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic, but noted its potential with regards to providing immunity from Covid-19. The company is based in Mainz and was founded by a Turkish German husband-wife duo; BioNTech is leading the breakthrough scientific research and development of the vaccine, whereas Pfizer is lending its weight as a huge multinational to run trials, clear the relevant regulatory hurdles and, in the process, garner much of the immediate media attention. Although, BBC News is reporting, as one of its leading stories this weekend, that BioNTech CEO Prof Ugur Sahin affirms normal life will be back by next winter. Reading deeper into the story of BioNTech, however, helps us to understand just how pioneering this new technology is and the exciting future it may have ahead of it.

UNITED STATES: Election drama drags on as Trump refuses to concede – Election Day may feel a somewhat distant memory in a world of ephemeral news cycles. However, the aftermath – despite a now clear Biden win – is, as predicted, still only beginning to play out. Legal challenges have been launched by the Trump campaign across the US, although few, if any, are expected to see much success in the courts. Thousands also descended on Washington DC this Saturday 14 in support of Donald Trump at the Million MAGA March. Nevertheless, Trump’s long game is beginning to become clear: maintain support among his base, potentially for another presidential run in 2024. No doubt, however, that the sowing of doubt surrounding the integrity of democratic processes will serve to only weaken the foundations of American democracy, which, after four years of a Trump White House, already finds itself on increasingly unstable ground.

Week of 2 November 2020

AUSTRIA: Vienna terrorist attack – terrorists launched a gun attack on the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Monday night. Four were killed and 23 others were left wounded, many seriously. The 20-year-old attacker was shot dead by police nine minutes into the attack. In the days following the attack, it has come to light that the attacker had travelled to neighbouring Slovakia to attempt to buy ammunition for an AK-47 assault rifle. The Slovakian authorities informed their Austrian counterparts of this fact, although the Austrian Interior Minister has admitted that there were failings in communication. A commission will be set up to investigate. 

CENTRAL AMERICA: Tropical storm batters the region – Hurricane Eta swept through the Caribbean and Central America earlier this week, killing three in Nicaragua and Honduras. When the storm made landfall in Nicaragua on Tuesday, it was categorised as a Category Four hurricane with winds of up to 140mph. Torrential rains have led to significant flooding in many areas. The storm has since been downgraded, although the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the US warns that life-threatening flash flooding is still possible in the, albeit weakened, storm’s path.

FRANCE: Macron calls boycott ‘shameful’ and ‘unacceptable’ – President Macron has stood firm in his rhetoric on radical Islamism and his calls to protect of the values of the République, despite the sharp backlash in many Muslim countries and communities in past weeks. Anger towards France among Muslims has surged in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice, with old tensions surrounding the caricaturing of the Prophet Muhammad once again at the fore. Many Muslims are boycotting French products, the scale of which has alarmed the French government. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also weighed in, seemingly suggesting that Macron seek medical help. In an interview with Al Jazeera, the French president defended a free press and strongly criticised the boycott of French products. This protest has been called in a number of countries in response to some of Macron’s earlier comments, seen by many as an attack on Islam.

UNITED STATES: Biden leads in an unprecedented election – Americans have elected their next president, all that’s left to do is count the votes to discover who that is: former Vice President Joe Biden or President Donald Trump. Counting the votes is, however, proving to be the most controversial aspect of this election. Donald Trump has been tweeting misinformation about unproven voter fraud in an apparent attempt to undermine the democratic process. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has expressed confidence that he will win the key, remaining battleground states and, consequently, the presidency. However, the former vice president has notably not claimed any election victory as of yet, unlike his opponent. The reason the election has not yet been called lies in both the unexpected closeness of this race and the historically high levels of absentee voting, given the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden has importantly flipped the states of Michigan and Wisconsin; some networks have also projected a Biden win in Arizona. With only a handful of states left to finish their counts, Trump’s path back to the White House now seems extremely complicated. The Trump campaign have, however, already launched legal challenges in a number of states, so the results of this election could be far from decided for weeks to come. 

Week of 26 October 2020

ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN: On Friday, representatives from the two warring countries arrived in Geneva for a round of peace talks. Representatives from France, Russia and the U.S. will also participate in this latest attempt to solve the largest military confrontation in the area since the Nagorno-Karabakh War of 1991–94. In a potential breakthrough, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would accept a return of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region (currently occupied by Armenia) to Azerbaijan, recognising that ‘there are no simple solutions’ in sight. 

FRANCE: It’s been quite a difficult week for France. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new nationwide lockdown to last at least until the end of November, hoping to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country. Under the new rules, all non-essential businesses will close but factories and schools will remain open. This is in addition to the curfews which have already been in force in most French cities since last week. Then, on Thursday, a man killed three people with a knife in the city of Nice in what has been described as a terrorist incident, prompting Mr Macron to raise the terror alert level to ‘maximum’. 

GERMANY: On Saturday, Berlin’s long-awaited new international airport will finally open its doors to travellers. The delays and ballooning costs of the project have caused ample debate in Germany over the years: the airport was first scheduled to open in 2011 and construction costs have exceeded initial estimates by over €4bn. It is believed that the decrease in traffic due to the pandemic will make the opening easier: when fully operative, the airport will be able to handle 58 million passengers per year, but currently Berlin’s other two airports are serving as few as 2,500 passengers per day. 

NIGERIA: The Financial Times has published a detailed special report to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. Nigeria became an independent state on 1 October 1960, as had been agreed with the British government two years prior, and underwent long periods of ethnic tension and military rule in the following decades before emerging as a stable (if flawed) democracy. Its booming economy is Africa’s biggest, having overtaken South Africa in recent years, and its growing population – now exceeding 200 million – is the seventh-largest in the world. The Financial Times’s report sheds an interesting light on the African superpower’s strengths and challenges going forward. 

USA: Hopefully, by the time you’ll read our next weekly digest, we’ll know the name of the winner of the U.S. presidential election. President Donald Trump currently trails former Vice President Joe Biden by about nine points and might become the first sitting president to lose re-election since 1992. At the time of writing, more than 82 million early votes had already been cast in what is on track to become the highest-turnout U.S. election in a century. 

Week of 19 October 2020

CYPRUS: On Sunday, Ersin Tatar won the second round of the presidential election in Northern Cyprus against incumbent Mustafa Akıncı. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island and occupied its northern third in response to a Greece-backed coup; in 1983, the Turkish-occupied area declared independence as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Turkish Republic is recognised only by Turkey: according to the rest of the world its territory legitimately belongs to Cyprus, which is a member of the EU. The election attracted wide attention because while the constitutional powers of the Northern Cypriot president are relatively limited, he is customarily in charge of the negotiations regarding the Cyprus dispute. Mr Akıncı was generally seen as a moderate in favour of a federal solution and a gradual reunification process, whereas Mr Tatar – a right-wing, pro-Turkey nationalist – has repeatedly declared his support for a two-state solution.

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FRANCE: Seven charged after teacher is killed near Paris – last Friday, Samuel Paty, a teacher in a school near Paris, was beheaded in an attack after teaching a class in which he showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad as part of a discussion on freedom of speech. The killer, 18 year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, who has been linked to a jihadist in Syria, was shot dead following the attack. Subsequently, seven people, including a parent of one of Samuel Paty’s students and two pupils, have been charged with conspiracy in a terrorist murder. The attack shocked France, with Emmanuel Macron calling Paty a ‘quiet hero’ at a memorial event this week. The images he showed were the controversial caricatures published by the magazine Charlie Hebdo that led to the 2015 terrorist attack on their offices. The circumstances surrounding the killing have exacerbated an already heated debate in French society about Islamic extremism in the country.

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LEBANON: Saad Hariri chosen as PM once again, a year after quitting – after resigning as prime minister a year ago, Saad Hariri has been chosen by other parties to lead the Lebanese government once again. Lebanon’s complex confessional system complicated the process of voting in Mustapha Adib and his non-partisan, technocratic cabinet, which ended up not receiving sufficient support. Hariri now has the difficult task of enacting profound economic and political reform in Lebanon ahead of him. Following the devastating explosion in the Beirut port area in August, French President Emmanuel Macron promised billions of euros in aid on the condition that serious changes are brought in to curtail corruption and political inertia in the country.

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NIGERIA: Protests intensify after police open fire on protesters – recent protests against police brutality in Nigeria turned deadly on Tuesday, when security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing six, according to Amnesty International. The army denies killing protestors. Those campaigning for an end to police brutality under the hashtag #EndSars achieved the abolishment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) earlier this month, but protests have continued. Demonstrators have since been calling for wider reforms and the movement has garnered support internationally on social media, including from celebrities.

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POLAND: Majority of abortions banned, prompting protests – Poland’s top court has passed a ruling which limits the cases in which an abortion is allowed according to law. The country already has some of the strictest rules surrounding abortions in Europe, but it is now only possible in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s health is in danger. Various rights groups and other organisations, including the Council of Europe, have spoken out against restricting access to abortions and the effects on women’s rights and wellbeing. The court has a majority of judges appointed by the ruling, right-wing Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość) party. On Thursday night, police used pepper spray against protestors outside the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence who were aiming to make their objection to the ruling heard.

Week of 12 October 2020

ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN: Last weekend, the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan struck a ceasefire to suspend fighting over the contended region of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, fighting has quickly resumed with both parties blaming the other for breaking the truce and launching attacks on civilians. Many countries around the world, including Russia and Turkey, have urged the two countries to respect the ceasefire and initiate talks, with little success so far. 

CHINA: A long article on The Atlantic investigates how milk tea has become a symbol of anti-China sentiment and pro-democracy activism in East Asia. It started when Thai actor Vachirawit Chirawee liked an Instagram post suggesting that Hong Kong was not China. This sparked a heated debate on identity and democracy, and Thai, Taiwanese and Hong Kongese activists began to use their respective signature drinks as symbols of identity – Thai tea (made with condensed milk), Taiwanese bubble tea and Hong Kong–style milk tea, all characterised by the use of milk as opposed to the Chinese habit of drinking tea without milk. The hashtag #milkteaalliance is now extremely popular on social media.

FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron has announced a curfew in Paris and eight other major French cities, with a total population of nearly 20 million, to curb the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. The curfew will be in place from 9pm to 6am for a minimum of four weeks, starting at midnight on Friday. During curfew, people are generally expected not to leave their homes unless they have cogent reasons to do so, such as health or professional reasons; curfew breakers are subject to a €135 fine. France registered upwards of 30,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and is the second hardest-hit European country so far after Spain, with a total of more than 800,000 registered cases. 

KYRGYZSTAN: President Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigned on Thursday, in a new dramatic development in the crisis following Kyrgyzstan’s 4 October general election. The election result was annulled on 6 October amid mass demonstrations and protests due to alleged electoral fraud. The annulment prompted the resignation of PM Kubatbek Boronov, who was replaced by nationalist activist Sadyr Japarov. Following Jeebenkov’s resignation, the new PM Sadyr Japarov became acting president as well. 

USA: The confirmation process of Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, is drawing to a close. Senate hearings began on Monday and Republican leaders, who can count on a 53–47 Senate majority, expect to complete this stage by the end of next week and get a final vote before the 3 November election. During the hearings, Judge Barrett has refrained from answering some questions about her political convictions, stating that as an ‘originalist’ she will bring no political agenda to the Supreme Court. According to some observers, a Justice Barrett could potentially be key in overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion in all 50 states. 

Week of 5 October 2020

FRANCE: Macron announces plan to outlaw ‘virginity tests’ – French President Emmanuel Macron is looking to introduce legislation which would impose jail terms and heavy fines on doctors who issue ‘virginity certificates’ for traditional religious marriages. The legislation forms part of Macron’s attempt to strengthen France’s secular values and his recent round of swipes at what he calls ‘Islamist separatism’, having controversially described Islam as being ‘in crisis all over the world’. The WHO deems the practice of virginity tests a human rights violation. However, ANCIC, a French organisation which provides support on contraception and abortions, while supporting the government’s intentions, has called for a different approach – namely, ensuring an educational provision. The fear is that the practice will continue within communities, although it’s existence will be denied, and this poses a real risk to certain women, the organisation explains. 

GREECE: Courts convict leaders of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn – the Appeals Court in Athens convicted members of the neo-Nazi political party Golden Dawn of heading up a criminal organisation in an important ruling which provoked intense protests in the capital. The case centred on the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas, who was chased down and killed by thugs in 2013, as well as other violent attacks on migrants and left-wingers. The Greek president called the day an important one for democracy. 

ITALY: Outdoor mask law announced – Italy joins various other regions around the world, including Paris and a number of Spanish autonomous communities, in mandating the wearing of face masks in all public spaces, indoors or out. This new law comes as case numbers have been steadily on the rise for several weeks in the country. Although, the WHO does not currently recommend the mandated wearing of face coverings outdoors. Italy stands apart from most other places, as the outdoor mask law is effective nationwide; unlike in Spain, for example, where it is up to the regional governments to mandate the measure (although, only one autonomous community out of 17, Canarias, has not imposed this rule). In Italy, the fine for not wearing a face mask stands between €400 and €1000.

MIDDLE EAST: Growing numbers in the region want out – the recently conducted Arab Youth Survey 2020 shows that just under half of young Arabs want to emigrate from the region, with the sentiment most strongly felt in the Levant. A lack of economic opportunities – exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic – has prompted many to consider routes to emigrate. Also, the BBC are reporting that a number of expats in the UAE are leaving, or are considering leaving, because of the effects of Coronavirus. Many young people in the region are feeling exasperated with the widespread corruption and ineffectiveness of their governments to provide security and opportunities. Most would, however, struggle to emigrate, given the visa requirements in many destination countries.

USA: Coronavirus blazes through the White House – after announcing that he and the First Lady had tested positive for Coronavirus earlier in the week, The Guardian has reported that as many as 22 of President Trump’s close associates and advisers in the administration and the GOP have also come down with the virus. The president has been criticised for his recklessness since testing positive, including a trip out to wave to supporting onlookers and the risk his infection posed to White House staff upon his return. Trump has this week tweeted: ‘Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.’ This prompted a backlash from public health officials. 

I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2020

Source: Twitter

Week of 28 September 2020

ARMENIA and AZERBAIJAN: Fighting has erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region, largely Christian and ethnically Armenian, has been internationally recognised as part of Muslim-majority Azerbaijan since 1994, but is de facto autonomous and closely allied with Armenia. The conflict could potentially escalate due to Turkey’s alleged intervention on the Azerbaijani side on Monday, which has reportedly attracted Russian attention.

GREECE: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has visited Greece in an attempt to ease the tensions between Greece and Turkey that have marked the past few months. Relations between the two countries have been historically fraught and reached a new low point over the summer, when the Turkish research vessel Oruç Reis undertook energy resource explorations in a maritime area which Greece claims as its own. Both Greece and Turkey are NATO members.

SOUTH SUDAN: The Government of South Sudan began rolling out an e-government programme on Tuesday, making services such as passport and visa applications accessible online. South Sudanese officials claim that the move will enhance transparency and help fight corruption while also delivering public services in a contactless, Covid-secure way. This project marks a new step in the process of normalisation in the fledgling state of South Sudan, which obtained independence from Sudan in 2011 but soon fell into a bloody civil war until a deal was struck last February.

UNITED STATES: Several political commentators have called Tuesday’s first U.S. presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden ‘the worst presidential debate ever’. Trump interrupted Biden virtually every time he spoke and ‘demonstrated a willingness to lie, exaggerate and mislead’ according to The New York Times fact-checkers, prompting Biden to call him ‘the worst president America has ever had’. Trump is trailing Biden by about 7 points in the nationwide polling average, with the election scheduled for 3 November. The next debate (8 October) will see Vice President Pence facing Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris.

URUGUAY: The Economist has reported on the Uruguayan government’s recent attempts to make it easier for foreigners to take up residence in the country. The value of property a prospective citizen must buy has decreased from $1.7m to $380,000, and the minimum investment for business owners has been reduced from $5.5m to $1.7m. The move attempts to address the chronic demographic crisis of Uruguay, whose ageing population has stagnated for decades. The reform has proved particularly popular among Argentine citizens, who according to the Economist consider it a way to escape their country’s political instability and high taxation.