News Wire | July 2023 Archive
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Israel’s Crisis Swells With First Law Enacted to Curb Supreme Court
By Shira Rubin | The Washington Post
A day after the Knesset enacted the first stage of a sweeping legislative package to curb the power of Israel’s Supreme Court, a new chapter of national turmoil dawned in Israel, with promises of more unrest and a court that could wade into the unprecedented constitutional crisis.
More from WPR: Israel’s Protests Are a Battle Over the Meaning of a Jewish State
Russian Attack Threatens Even Alternative Routes for Ukrainian Grain
By Jenny Gross and Patricia Cohen | The New York Times
For shipping companies looking for a way to bring Ukrainian grain to global markets, the options keep dwindling, escalating a trade crisis that is expected to add pressure on global food prices.
Ecuador Declares State of Emergency Amid Violent Clashes
Reuters
Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency and night curfews in three coastal provinces, amid a wave of violence over the weekend in the Andean country that left at least eight people dead.
More from WPR: A Surge in Crime and Violence Has Ecuador Reeling
Spanish Parties Begin Talks to Try to Break Electoral Deadlock
By Joan Faus and Belén Carreño | Reuters
Spain's conservative People's Party (PP) has started talks with other parties to seek their support to lead a new government while the ruling Socialist (PSOE) party said it wanted to avoid a repeat ballot after Sunday's election produced a hung parliament.
US Sanctions Malian Officials Over Alleged Ties to Wagner Group
By Daphne Psaledakis | Reuters
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three Malian officials, including the minister of defense, over accusations they facilitated the deployment and expansion of the Russian Wagner Group's activities in the West African country.
More from WPR: The West Needs to Prepare for the ‘Next Wagner’ in Africa
Israel Military Kills Three Alleged Palestinian Gunmen in Volatile West Bank
Associated Press
The Israeli military said it shot and killed three alleged Palestinian gunmen in the northern occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the latest bloodshed in one of the most violent stretches of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years.
More from WPR: The West Bank Is a Powder Keg. Israel’s Raids Could Set It Off
India's Parliament Rocked by Protests for a Third Day Over Ethnic Violence in Remote State
Associated Press
India’s Parliament was disrupted for a third day Monday by opposition protests over ethnic clashes in a remote northeastern state in which more than 130 people have been killed since May.
Spain Faces Uncertain Political Future After Election Deadlock
By Barney Jopson | Financial Times
Spain was facing an uncertain political future on Monday as the right and left failed to secure a clear path to forming a government even though the opposition People’s party won the most seats in parliament.
More from WPR: Progressives Won Spain’s Culture Wars. Vox Wants to Refight Them
In Judicial Overhaul Protests, Israel’s Soldiers Face Off Against Netanyahu
By Shira Rubin and Steve Hendrix | The Washington Post
Israel’s year of chaos neared a crescendo Sunday as thousands of military pilots and soldiers threatened not to report for volunteer duty if the far-right government refuses to back down from a planned vote on limiting the power of the Supreme Court. Tens of thousands of citizens filled the streets, some spending their sixth night outdoors, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital for an emergency cardiac procedure.
More from WPR: Israel’s Protests Are a Battle Over the Meaning of a Jewish State
Argentina Hits Milestone on Path to Gas Export Bonanza
By Ciara Nugent | Financial Times
Natural gas from the world’s second-largest shale gas reserve in Patagonia will reach Buenos Aires in the coming weeks through a new pipeline, marking a milestone in Argentina’s push to become a big gas exporter despite its economic turmoil.
Macron Promotes French Interests on a Trip to South Pacific
By Angela Charlton | Associated Press
French Emmanuel Macron is heading to the South Pacific to make France’s voice heard in a region shaping up as a prime geopolitical battleground for China and the United States. Macron’s trip to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and New Caledonia comes as French forces take part in massive U.S.-Australian-led military exercises in the region.
Ukraine War Casts a Shadow Over Vladimir Putin’s Summit With African Leaders
By Joseph Cotterill, Andres Schipani and Max Seddon | Financial Times
African leaders will this week travel to St. Petersburg for a high-level summit hosted by Vladimir Putin that reveals how even Russia’s resurgence on the continent cannot mask the consequences of its war in Ukraine.
More from WPR: Russia’s ‘Return’ to Africa Is Less Than the Sum of Its Parts
Algeria Applies to Join BRICS, Would Contribute $1.5 Billion to Group Bank
Reuters
Algeria has applied to join the BRICS group and submitted a request to become a shareholder member of BRICS Bank with an amount of $1.5 billion, Ennahar TV quoted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as saying.
No Opposition. No Choice. Cambodia’s Election Paves Way for Dynastic Rule
By Seth Mydans | The New York Times
The party of the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, declared victory on Sunday in stage-managed parliamentary elections that prepared the way for the first change in leadership since he took office nearly four decades ago.
More from WPR: Hun Sen Is Tightening His Grip Ahead of Cambodia’s Elections
As Russia Steps Up Attacks on Grain Ports, U.S. Warns of Possible Ruse
By Michael D. Shear, Neil MacFarquhar and James C. McKinley Jr. | The New York Times
Russia on Thursday stepped up its aerial assaults on Ukrainian ports critical to the world’s food supply, as the White House warned that the Kremlin has mined sea routes and might be setting the stage for attacks on commercial transport ships.
Jet Stream Pattern and ‘Heat Domes’ Fuel Soaring Temperatures Around Globe
By Camilla Hodgson and Steven Bernard | Financial Times
Simultaneous heatwaves and flooding in swaths of the US, Europe and Asia are being fueled by a specific jet stream pattern that creates a series of “heat domes” which in turn drive up temperatures, scientists say. They have been attempting to understand whether the band of fast-moving air that controls weather in the mid-latitudes is changing in a way that makes heatwaves and rainfall more frequent and persistent.
More from WPR: The Uneven Global Response to Climate Change
Mexican President's Fiery Barbs Fuel Maverick Rival's Campaign
By Dave Graham | Reuters
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's verbal attacks on a charismatic opposition rival, Senator Xochitl Galvez, have raised her profile and fed concern among some supporters that far from derailing her campaign for the presidency, he is undermining his own party.
More: As a Child She Sold Street Tamales, Now She’s Shaking Up Mexico’s Presidential Race (AP)
Half a Century After Franco, the Far-Right Is Returning in Spain
By Rodrigo Orihuela | Bloomberg
As a new generation of far-right parties advance across Europe in the shadow of Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, a different kind of nationalism is coming into focus. Most have more moderate positions on Russia and talk of abandoning the European Union has died down in some places. What unites them is a hardline approach to cultural issues such as immigration, gender and identity.
More from WPR: Progressives Won Spain’s Culture Wars. Vox Wants to Refight Them
Kenya Stares Into ‘Abyss’ as Soaring Prices and Feuding Leaders Bring Chaos
By Declan Walsh | The New York Times
Kenya’s boisterous news outlets are normally fierce rivals. But on Thursday they set aside their competitive instincts to issue an urgent appeal for calm as Kenya plunged deeper into chaotic anti-government demonstrations that have left at least 31 people dead in recent weeks and present the gravest challenge yet to the nearly year-old rule of President William Ruto.
More from WPR: Protests in Kenya and South Africa Are About More Than the Cost of Living
Erdogan, Netanyahu to Discuss Trade in Turkey-Israel Thaw
By Selcan Hacaoglu | Reuters
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet next week to discuss energy and trade to advance a nascent thaw after more than a decade of tensions.
More from WPR: A New Thaw in Israel-Turkey Ties Still Faces an Old Obstacle in Ankara
Viral Video of a Sexual Assault in India Sparks Outrage and Protest
By Eve Sampson and Anant Gupta | The Washington Post
Amid months of violence and government-imposed internet outages in northeastern India, an alarming video showing the sexual assault of two women went viral Wednesday, sparking public outcry over two months after it was filmed.
Morocco Invites Netanyahu to Visit, in a Possible Opening to Deeper Ties
By Isabel Kershner | The New York Times
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday received an invitation from King Mohammed VI to visit Morocco, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said, laying the ground for the first such high-level visit since the two countries normalized relations in late 2020 and heralding a possible deepening of diplomatic and security ties.
More from WPR: Israel’s Security Ties With Morocco Could Come With a Cost
Protesters Angry Over Quran Burning Storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad
By Isabella Kwai and Raja Abdulrahim | The New York Times
Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday and set fire to parts of the building ahead of a planned demonstration outside the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm that has angered many in the Muslim world and drawn condemnation from the Swedish authorities.
Protesters Take to Peru's Streets, Some Met With Tear Gas in Capital
By Macro Aquino | Reuters
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Peru on Wednesday in marches organized by groups opposed to President Dina Boluarte, while police took anti-riot measures against some demonstrators, arresting at least six.
More from WPR: Peru’s Political Crisis Is Reawakening Echoes of Its Civil Conflict
EU to Invest $45 Billion in Latin America and Caribbean
By Ajit Niranjan | The Guardian
EU leaders in Brussels have announced €45 billion in investments to Latin America and the Caribbean, some of which will speed the shift to clean energy, but made little headway thawing a frozen trade deal that critics say will further degrade the Amazon rainforest.
Six Reported Dead in Anti-Government Protests in Kenya
By Basillioh Rukanga and Anthony Irungu | BBC
Six people were killed on Wednesday in clashes between Kenyan police and protesters, local media report. Tear gas was fired in the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa at those protesting over the high cost of living.
More from WPR: Protests in Kenya and South Africa Are About More Than the Cost of Living
UAE and Turkey Sign Multibillion-Dollar Agreeements
By Andrew England and Adam Samson | Financial Times
The United Arab Emirates said it had signed agreements estimated to be worth $50 billion with Turkey as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tours the oil-rich Gulf in a bid to attract investment from the region and bolster his country’s ailing economy.
More from WPR: An Overstretched UAE Looks to Mend Ties With Turkey
Sri Lanka's Parliament Approves New Anti-Corruption Law as Part of IMF Bailout Plan
By Bharatha Mallawarachi | Associated Press
The legislation is part of the prerequisites of an International Monterey Fund bailout package approved in March, under which nearly $3 billion in government budgetary support will be disbursed in stages to the bankrupt nation. The bailout is due for its first review in September.
More from WPR: Despite Some Progress, Sri Lanka Isn’t Out of the Woods Yet