16 March 2017
Week In Brief: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Europe
DENMARK: The Prime Minister asked the Turkish prime minister to postpone his visit because of Turkish/EU tensions (see NETHERLANDS below).
FRANCE: More than 50 teenagers were arrested after gangs attacked three schools in suburbs north of Paris. The riots started when demonstrations by pupils protesting against the police turned violent.
Emmanuel Macron took a lead in the polls, overtaking Marine le Pen for the first time.
Republican leader Francois Fillon was officially placed under formal investigation and charged with misusing almost €1 million of public funds to pay his family for non-existent jobs. He claims that he is the victim of a witch-hunt and refuses to stand down. He has parliamentary immunity as an MP. More accusations emerged this week: his party was accused of anti-Semitism when it published a cartoon on Twitter which appeared to depict Macron as a Jewish financier; and Fillon was accused of accepting almost €50,000 worth of tailored clothes as a gift.
See comment It’s the Bogeyman, stupid!.
GERMANY: An axeman attacked passengers at a railway station in Dusseldorf. Seven people were seriously injured. The attacker was arrested by police. He appears to be a Balkan immigrant with mental health problems Police are investigating any possible terrorist links.
Chancellor Merkel’s visit to President Trump in Washington was delayed because of extreme weather conditions in the USA. Trump recently called for the US trade deficit with Germany to be rebalanced.
NETHERLANDS: The country faces critical parliamentary elections this week. Geert Wilders (the leader of ultra-nationalist, populist, Eurosceptic Freedom Party) called for a ban on mosques, the Koran and Muslim immigration. Over 20 parties are taking part – all have said they would not consider forming a coalition with the Freedom Party.
The government refused permission for two Turkish ministers to attend a pro-Erdogan rally about next month’s referendum in Turkey to change the constitution. President Erdogan of Turkey accused it of acting like Nazis, repeated claims that Dutch soldiers were to blame for the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, and threatened consequences (see TURKEY below). Prime Minister Mark Rutte demanded an apology. Turks protested in Rotterdam – 12 people were hurt in clashes with the police.
See comment Erdogan’s Anger.
RUSSIA: The first man to be imprisoned under laws against demonstration, who was released from a Siberian prison two weeks ago after making allegations of torture, Ildar Dadin, has been detained by police for protesting against the prison service.
Middle East and Africa
AFGHANISTAN: At least 38 hospital staff and patients were killed and 50 wounded when heavily-armed Isis terrorists disguised as doctors attacked a military hospital in Kabul. Afghan Special Forces troops killed the attackers.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Two UN investigators and four colleagues have disappeared while travelling to the scene of conflicts between the army and rebel militias to examine allegations of human rights abuses. It is thought that they have been abducted.
EGYPT: Russian Special Forces have been sent to an airbase near the Libyan border, according to US sources. It is thought they might be supporting General Khalifa Hiftar, the military commander of the Libyan parliament based in Tobruk (eastern Libya) which is in conflict with the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli (western Libya) over the Ras Lanuf and Sidra oil terminals. The Egyptian government confirmed that Russia had used another Egyptian airbase for operations in Libya recently.
IRAQ: The battle for Mosul continues. The city’s museum has been retaken, but was found to be empty – its exhibits have been destroyed or dispersed. The last road out of western Mosul has been cut off. Iran has sent 500 revolutionary guards to help the Shia militias taking part. A mass grave containing over 500 victims of Isis was found at Badush prison, north of Mosul.
SOMALIA: A Comoros-flagged ship owned by a UAE company has been seized by Somali pirates, the first such incident in five years. EU naval forces which have protected shipping in the area since 2012 have been diverted to tackle the migration crisis in the Mediterranean.
SOUTH AFRICA: Men wearing police uniforms and travelling in a police van stole a 27-bag consignment of foreign currency worth £1 million from a secure area in Johannesburg’s O R Tambo airport.
SOUTH SUDAN: The government raised the cost of a work permit for foreign aid personnel from $100 to $10,000, following the UN’s declaration of famine in the country. Aid groups have criticised this as an attempt to exploit a national emergency.
SYRIA: The USA has sent hundreds of marines with heavy artillery to help take Raqqa from Isis. 500 Special Forces troops are already embedded in Kurdish-led SDF rebel militias. Assad forces are also advancing on Raqqa from the other direction. The Turkish-backed FSA is not taking part.
TURKEY: The Dutch embassy in Ankara and diplomatic missions in Istanbul have been closed down by Turkish police in response to the Netherlands refusing to allow two ministers to address rallies in Holland. Anti-Dutch demonstrations have taken place in both cities. (See NETHERLANDS above).
See comment Erdogan’s Outrage.
UAE: A South African couple have been arrested in Abu Dhabi for premarital sex, after the woman went to a clinic with stomach pains and discovered that she was pregnant. The couple are tourists and are engaged to be married.
Far East, Asia and Pacific
BURMA: 36 people were killed in a raid by ethnic Kokang rebels on police and military positions at Laukkai on the Chinese border.
CHINA: Donald Trump’s family business has been granted approval for 38 trademarks, after ten years of unsuccessful applications.
Nine new national parks were announced, as part of a new system to protect the country’s wildlife and heritage. The first will be a Giant Panda National Park of 10,500 square miles in Sichuan province.
Western publishers were worried by a sharp drop in the number of ISBNs issued by Chinese officials for the publication of children’s books in China in January. It is thought that the crack-down is an attempt to control exposure to foreign ideas and to protect Chinese authors from competition. In the same month, President Xi declared that China supported globalisation and opposed protectionism.
INDIA: A bomb attack on a train near Kalapipal Mandi in Madhya Pradesh injured 10 passengers, the first terrorist attack by Isis in India. A suspect was later killed in an exchange of fire with police in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) won 325 out of 403 seats in the Uttar Pradesh state elections. This represents a crushing victory and an overwhelming endorsement for the prime minister in what was widely seen as a referendum on his position. The future is uncertain for the opposition Congress Party and for Rahul Gandhi, whose family has led it for decades.
KOREA, NORTH: Kim Han-sol, a son of murdered Kim Jong-nam, has fled Macau in fear of his life, according to a video posted on the internet which claims to show him.
KOREA, SOUTH: President Park was removed from office by the Constitutional Court. She was impeached by the National Assembly three months ago, over her alleged involvement in the corruption scandal for which her associate, Choi Soon-sill, is being tried. Without presidential immunity, Ms Park could now face a criminal investigation herself. The court’s verdict triggered violent demonstrations in which two people died and 30 were injured. A presidential election will take place within 60 days.
America
GUATEMALA: A fire in an orphanage killed 34 girls and injured another 23 children, the day after rioting in protests against conditions in the institution.
USA: Rex Tillerson is travelling to Asia (Japan and China) on his first official trip as secretary of state.
President Trump has put drone strikes back under the control of the CIA. Obama had transferred responsibility to the military. Military strikes are published, but CIA strikes remain secret.
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