UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to pass his own latest version of the Brexit deal through an emergency session of Parliament on Saturday, forcing him to request an extension from the EU per a previously-set October 19 deadline. Johnson’s own feelings on the matter were made clear, however, as the unsigned request for an extension that was mandated by Parliament earlier in September was accompanied by a signed letter urging EU leaders not to grant the extension. The Benn Act passed on September 9th demanded the extension be requested,…
People in cities across Kazakhstan took to the streets last week to protest their government’s decision to allow China to open dozens of new factories in their country. Protesters say the move by Kazakhstan’s government will deepen their country’s dependence on China and will only create jobs for imported Chinese workers rather than for native Kazakhstanis. These demonstrations are a repeat of another wave of protests in 2016, when Kazakhstan’s government gave Chinese firms the right to purchase local real estate. Resentment towards Chinese influence has only increased since 2016,…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost the mandate to form a new government after failing to build a coalition following last month’s election. With no party having the majority required to govern after September’s election, President Reuven Rivlin selected Netanyahu as the most likely to form a coalition within 28 days, but that period has now passed with no success, and the mandate will pass to Benny Gantz for an equal period. Netanyahu’s Likud party holds 32 seats in the Knesset currently, and with its allied minor parties reaches…
After a recent block on North Macedonia’s accession to the EU by France, the Prime Minister announced his resignation on Saturday, leading to snap elections that may place anti-EU opposition in power within the country. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev referred to his country as “victims of the EU’s historical mistake” while announcing the election, and said it would be up to the Macedonian people to “decide the road we are going to take.” The leader of Zaev’s opposition, conservative Hristijan Mickoski of the VMRO-DPMNE part, had previously called for snap…
Two Balkan states which have long pursued membership in the European Union have faced a setback as the necessary talks to consider an entry are stalled by EU member states. Albania and North Macedonia have seen their efforts stymied by a French-led effort to change the system by which new nations are admitted to the EU. North Macedonia, which was formerly known as Macedonia before changing its name to resolve a dispute with Greece, has been a candidate for EU membership since 2005. Albania was listed for consideration in 2014.…
Today, Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work ending the 20-year border dispute with neighboring Eritrea. Per the Nobel Committee, 43-year-old Abiy won the prize for “efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.” Since Abiy became prime minister last year, he’s also helped negotiate a power-sharing deal in Sudan and released thousands of political prisoners at home, among other political reforms. His government has promised to liberalize the bureaucratic,…
Earlier this week, the president of the country of Ecuador announced that government operations were being temporarily moved from the capital, Quito, to the southern port city of Guayaquil, in response to days of protests and rioting. Protests began last week over a move by President Lenín Moreno to end fuel subsidies, part of an unpopular package of austerity measures being taken to reduce the Ecuadorian national deficit. The government claims these subsidies cost over one billion US dollars to maintain per year, and they were lifted as part of…
Despite having declared victory over ISIS in 2017, Iraq is experiencing its worst violence since the war in the form of security forces cracking down on anti-government protests. With its infrastructure is still wrecked from wars with ISIS and with the US, Iraq’s economy is struggling despite record oil output. Last week, thousands of people turned out to protests over unemployment and corruption. Security forces attacked protestors with tear gas and live rounds, leading to more than 100 people being killed and more than 6,000 injured. The Iraqi government is…
Last week, details leaked about a phone conversation US President Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in July. This week, a rough transcript was released that shows Trump had urged Zelenskiy to investigate former VP Joe Biden for corruption, apparently over a Ukrainian company Biden’s son had ties to. The call happened while the Trump admin was withholding aid to Ukraine, causing some alarm over whether this combination of pressures was violating the law. Trump has said he was only withholding aid because he wanted Europe and others to…
Both major UK parties appear to be making preparations for a general election in the face of Boris Johnson’s controversial decision to suspend parliament last week. With little time now available to MPs to pass a bill that would prevent a no-deal Brexit, the opposition’s only alternative is a vote of no-confidence to overthrow Johnson’s government, in hopes that a new election would bring new leadership prior to October 31 and convince the EU to allow a further extension to the Brexit deadline. Within the Labour party, former leader Tony…