State of the World Bulletin
Asia
On Sunday 16th, in the 20th National Congress of China, President Xi Jinping signaled that he will remain in his position for a third five-year term. In his speech, Xi called for further investment in the party’s military wing and defended the party’s pandemic response. With Xi expected to remain in power, there is bleak hope for significant change in China’s economic and foreign policies as well as the intolerant COVID-19 restrictions.
Myanmar court extended ousted leader Suu Kyi’s prison sentence to 26 years. She had been convicted of corruption, election fraud, illegal import of walkie-talkies, among others. Her supporters say the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to legitimize the military seizure of power.
North Korea confirmed a simulated use of nukes to “wipe out” its enemies and its leader Kim Jong Un signaled that he would conduct more such provocative tests. Experts suggest that recent aggressions are motivated to boost Kim’s national image amidst the pandemic-related hardships and to secure greater concessions from its rivals in future negotiations.
Europe
Starting on Albion’s shore, Britain’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced that the government would be canceling Prime Minister Liz Truss’s planned tax cuts, which have so roiled financial markets over the past few weeks. In the wake of this ignominious end to her signature economic plan, Prime Minister Truss is facing a crisis of confidence within her Conservative Party.
In France, thousands participated in marches over the weekend to protest rising living and energy costs that are largely attributable to the worldwide inflation troubles and Russian energy supply cutbacks. French President Emmanuel Macron is also facing labor strikes, gas shortages, a budget dispute, and recent calls by the opposition leader Marine Le Pen for France to move away from the American-NATO camp to a point of strategic “equidistance” between the US, Russia, and China.
Meanwhile, as a result of desperate efforts to find substitutes for Russian natural gas and oil, Europe is surprisingly ready for the coming winter. By ramping up natural gas purchases from Norway and the US, Europeans have filled their gas storage sites to more than 90% of full capacity, and gas consumption has also decreased, but this energy safety is fragile; a particularly cold winter or a pipeline failure would spell disaster. In war news, Iranian-made Russian drones struck Kyiv on Monday, leaving at least 4 dead but many more residents enraged at the killing of innocents. Cities across Russia, including Moscow, announced the fulfillment of their draft quotes for Putin’s partial mobilization, and thus an end to the Russian draft (for now).
Middle East (& North Africa)
The long standing alliances between the US and the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been thrown into doubt following disagreements over oil production. With the US midterms approaching, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is rumored to be leveraging the power of oil prices to demonstrate the US’s dependency in light of ever-increasing critiques from US law-makers. The wave of protests in Iran that began with the death of Mahsa Amini and the institution of modesty laws are taking on a broader anti-governmental position. The nation’s notorious political prison, Evin—where many of the recently arrested protestors have been detained—witnessed a massive fire that has so far been confirmed to have killed 8 and injured dozens more. The source of the fire is currently unknown and under heavy speculation. Tensions grip the West Bank and East Jerusalem as, in response to a week of heightened unrest and violence, the Israeli military has locked down freedom of movement and began raiding houses in a quest to find the gunman responsible for killing two IDF soldiers last week. Two rebel groups in Northern Syria, the Hayat Tahrir al Sham—a jihadist anti-Bashar group—and the Turkish backed National Army, signed a peace deal that emphasized cooperation towards a civilian government. This Turkey-brokered deal is the latest development in the still ongoing Syrian Civil War.
North America
In the US, several states have sent out early mail-in ballots for the upcoming midterm election on November 9. However, some republicans are pushing against mail-in ballots. In other news, Kanye West has been hitting up headlines. The rapper plans to acquire the conservative social media platform, Parler, in order to ensure that at least one of his social media accounts is not removed from the internet. The family of George Floyd may also sue Ye over false statements regarding the manner of Floyd’s death. In Canada, there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases recently, which is making healthcare workers worried, especially heading into the winter.
Oceania
A recently published paper reveals that a volcanic eruption which took place in January in Tonga increased the amount of water in the stratosphere by roughly 5% and may lead to future warming. The same volcanic eruption also created a new island for the nation. In the men’s Rugby League World Cup, Samoa had a terrible start with a loss to England and a string of injuries, while the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand has begun with Fiji nabbing a win and a surprise loss and end of the line for South Africa. In the past week Micronesia signed a shiprider agreement with the United States, agreeing to let the United States act on behalf of the country in its efforts to combat illegal maritime activity in instances where Micronesian law enforcement is not present.
South America
On October 10th, the Haitian government requested the aid of international forces to strengthen an armed response to the gang-related Port-au Prince port blockade. UN ambassadors from China, Geng Shuang, and Russia question the Haitian population’s receptiveness to forgein intervention, given a history of exploitation, and caution that an increase in violent protests will increase the severity of Haiti’s Cholera outbreak and widespread famine (19,000 Haitians affected). Meanwhile, in Jamaica, the government has implemented a ban on drug or crime-related TV and music in hopes of decreasing crime rates. Jamaican artists, however, claim this is an attack on freedom of speech and call for Jamaican officials to address the underlying cause of crime, the pandemic-induced economic crisis, instead of the symptom. In Guatemala, Mariandrée Gaitán celebrates her fashion brand’s ten-year anniversary by announcing an expansion of stores across Latin America. The prominent Latin haute couture designer focuses her brand on female empowerment, employing dozens of elderly women as specialized seamstresses for clients with special garment requests. Biden’s new Venenzuelen immigration policy received backlash from lower-class Venenzuelens because of the expense of US entry by air; most Venezuelens cannot afford the purchase of a US flight ticket, thus immigration remains inaccessible. So far in 2022, an estimated 150,000 migrants have illegally traveled to the United States. In Peru, the Department of Foreign affairs celebrates a successful agreement with the Vatican that will result in the repatriation of three ancient mummies that currently reside in the Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Captain Ibrahim Traore has been named interim president of Burkina Faso following a coup last week which forced out Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who himself seized power in a coup in January. He takes power in the midst of unrest caused by, among other factors, a jihadist insurgency which has been in the country since 2015 and now controls roughly a third of the nation’s territory. Flooding in Nigeria has killed over 600, and displaced over 1.3 million, and is expected to continue to November. Experts are blaming the flooding on climate change and poor planning and infrastructure, and expect it to impact agriculture, healthcare, and energy. Affecting both Nigeria and South Africa are high inflation rates, which South Africa is hoping to curb by raising interest rates. The country is grappling with strikes and shortages in several key industries. Finally, Uganda has locked down two of its regions in an effort to curb the most recent Sudan strain Ebola outbreak. So far the virus is confirmed to have infected 58 and killed 19, though experts suspect the real numbers may be higher. Meanwhile, while there is no approved vaccine for the virus, the Serum Institution in India is planning to produce 20,000 – 30,000 doses of an experimental vaccine by the end of November which could be used in clinical trials in months to come.
By Hilda Barragan-Reyes, Margaret Hedeman, Victory Lee, Ted Shepherd, and Ezana Tedla