Indian gay rights activists and their supporters march during a gay pride parade in New Delhi, Nov. 27, 2016 (AP photo by Tsering Topgyal).

India’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that people have a fundamental right to privacy, curtailing the Indian government’s efforts to implement the world’s biggest biometric database. But the court also recognized, for the first time, that sexual orientation is an essential part of privacy and dignity, paving the way for LGBT equality in India and beyond. The ruling comes after years of both advances and setbacks for LGBT people in India. The country’s so-called sodomy law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, punishes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” with up to life in prison. The law had been […]

U.S. President Donald Trump meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull aboard the USS Intrepid in New York, May 4, 2017 (AP photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais).

To understand the state of Australia’s relations with its closest ally, the United States, seven months into Donald Trump’s presidency, begin by putting aside the most dramatic and well-publicized event so far: the infamous January phone call between Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It was an uncomfortable moment, and the awkwardness only deepened when the full transcript of the call leaked in early August. But Trump and Turnbull later made up at a one-on-one meeting in New York, and the U.S. and Australia have agreed on the refugee resettlement deal that the two leaders argued about, so the phone […]

People gather at an election rally in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, June 21, 2017 (Photo by Eric Tlozek for ABC via AP).

After an election marred by violence and accusations of fraud earlier this summer, Papua New Guinea’s incumbent prime minister, Peter O’Neill, returned to lead the government amid lingering allegations of corruption. With average Papua New Guineans ready for the government to tackle the numerous problems facing their country, O’Neill will have 18 months before his opponents can challenge him again. In an email interview, Jonathan Pryke, a research fellow and director of the Australia-Papua New Guinea Network at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, discusses the context and turmoil of the latest elections, why people are ready to move forward, and […]

Volunteers search for bodies from the scene of heavy flooding and mudslides in Regent, on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Aug. 15 , 2017, (AP photo by Manika Kamara).

The death toll from last week’s devastating mudslide in Sierra Leone is likely to pass 500, with several thousand more people made homeless by the destruction left in its wake. The scale of the disaster was unparalleled, but flooding in the capital, Freetown, happens every year during the August rainy season. In 2015, at least 10 people were killed in the city by rising water; Kroo Town, one of Freetown’s largest unplanned neighborhoods, or informal settlements, has flooded every year since 2008. The major cause of the mudslides and flooding, according to Joseph Macarthy of the Sierra Leone Urban Research […]

Tens of thousands of North Koreans gather for a rally at Kim Il Sung Square meant to demonstration their rejection of U.N. sanctions, Pyongyang, Aug. 9, 2017 (AP photo by Jon Chol Jin).

What is the point of the United Nations Security Council? The U.N. Charter says that the body “has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international security,” but it has only ever played this role haphazardly. The Security Council seizes on some crises tenaciously and ignores others entirely. As a result, the doyen of U.N. studies, Adam Roberts, has aptly described the organization as a “selective security system.” Hankerers after global governance may wish the council were more consistent. For more pragmatic observers, the interesting question is what sort of situations it selects to concentrate on. A quick glance at the […]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, links arms with ASEAN foreign ministers during their annual meeting in Manila, Philippines, Aug. 6, 2017 (AP photo by Aaron Favila).

Earlier this month, following a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Philippines, China and its Southeast Asian neighbors announced that they had agreed on a framework, or broad outline, for negotiating a code of conduct in the contested South China Sea. In theory, a code of conduct, or a set of accepted norms, could set guidelines on activities allowed in the sea, including militarization and land reclamation. Any code would not resolve territorial disputes, though. Both Philippine and Chinese leaders touted the adoption of a framework as a step toward reducing tensions in […]

Sierra Leone’s president, Ernest Bai Koroma, arrives for talks with Gambia's then-president, Yahya Jammeh, to urge Jammeh to respect last year's election result, Banjul, Gambia, Dec. 13, 2016 (AP photo by Sylvain Cherkaoui).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. The Waterloo cemetery on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, the final resting place for many people killed during West Africa’s 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic, was again being put to use this week as the government struggled to cope with mudslides and flooding that left hundreds dead. Video footage of Monday’s disaster showed torrents of mud and water rushing down one of the area’s many hills. The mudslide occurred as many people were sleeping, and it “is thought to […]

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas receives Jordan's King Abdullah II, Ramallah, West Bank, Aug. 7, 2017 (AP photo by Nasser Nasser).

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has been quietly busy. On July 7, after months of meticulous negotiations in Amman and elsewhere, the U.S., Russia and Jordan concluded a cease-fire agreement in southern Syria that, in addition to quelling the violence in its target area, brought an interim calm to Jordan’s northern border and helped stem the flow of refugees entering the country. Weeks later, as Jerusalem lurched toward the brink of a religious conflagration, Abdullah stepped in and used his position as the custodian of Muslim holy places in the city to negotiate with Israelis and Palestinians and restore calm. All […]

A Russian delegation led by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev visits the statues of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, Pyongyang, North Korea, April 16, 2015 (AP photo by Kim Kwang Hyon).

As North Korea continues to antagonize its neighbors and the United States with threats of nuclear warfare, many have looked to China to rein in its contentious ally. But Russia has also spent years cultivating close ties with Pyongyang, providing it with vital diplomatic protection at the United Nations Security Council, even if economic ties have lagged. In this email interview, Richard Weitz, director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute, discusses what is driving the relationship between the two countries, how it has evolved, and how it impacts efforts to isolate the North Korean regime in […]

Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno, during a military ceremony marking Independence Day, Quito, Aug. 10, 2017 (AP photo by Dolores Ochoa).

It didn’t take long for Ecuador’s new president, Lenin Moreno, who assumed office less than three months ago, to distance himself from his predecessor, Rafael Correa. Correa, whose highly personalized rule dominated Ecuadorean politics for more than a decade, had handpicked Moreno, his vice president from 2007 to 2013, to run to succeed him earlier this year. Correa’s prominent place in Latin America’s leftist tide has receded as the commodity boom turned into a bust. But he trusted that, as he headed for semi-retirement in Europe, Moreno would faithfully carry on his “citizens’ revolution.” That Correa’s second vice president since […]

A military convoy passes a checkpoint on the outskirts of Marawi, Philippines, June 9, 2017 (AP photo by Aaron Favila).

Today the grueling battles to expel the self-styled Islamic State from Iraq and Syria drag on, but even when they are over it will not be the end of the violent extremist movement. There are still willing recruits for the Islamic State and plenty of anger, disillusionment and alienation that it can exploit. Unfortunately, it has established its global “brand.” Even as it is being driven from its homeland, it seems to be plotting its next strategic moves. At this point, the Islamic State’s most effective foray outside Iraq and Syria is in Afghanistan, where it has joined the Taliban’s […]

Chadian and Nigerian troops along with a U.S. special forces soldier participate in a hostage rescue exercise, Mao, Chad, March 7, 2015 (AP photo by Jerome Delay).

Last week, the Trump administration sent a high-level delegation to sub-Saharan Africa for the first time. U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer and other senior officials traveled to Togo, in West Africa, for an annual forum on the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA. Enacted in 2000, the initiative is described by Washington as the “centerpiece” of its trade relations with the region. AGOA is a trade preference program that enhances access to the U.S. market for eligible countries. Various assessments indicate that the pact has led to increases in African exports and U.S. foreign investment on the continent. […]

Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, awaits the arrival of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug. 15, 2017 (AP photo by Natacha Pisarenko).

Except in times of war, few politicians have achieved great electoral success by telling voters to sacrifice living standards today for the sake of a better tomorrow. But in a surprising turn of events, voters in Argentina have just given an unexpected endorsement to this message, which has been the guiding logic behind the anti-populist policies of President Mauricio Macri. On Sunday, Argentina held primary elections ahead of the Oct. 22 midterm legislative polls. It wasn’t supposed to be a very momentous event, but the results, as it happened, came loaded with significance. Voters didn’t just give a boost to […]

A traditional Omani dagger and a scarf bearing images of Sultan Qaboos, Muscat, November 5, 2016 (Press Association photo by John Stillwell via AP).

Three years ago, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, Oman’s 76-year-old ruler, left for an eight-month stint of medical treatment in Germany. It wouldn’t be his last. Since then, the sultan’s continued deteriorating health and lack of a clear heir—he has no children and has kept any plans for a successor vague—have fueled a succession debate both within Oman and among its neighbors. Now, amid the significant rift in the Gulf resulting from the Saudi- and Emirati-led blockade of Qatar, the potential for a looming succession crisis in Oman could affect not just domestic stability in the Gulf’s quietest state, […]

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga announces plans to challenge the results of last week’s election in court, Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 16, 2017 (AP photo by Ben Curtis).

Kenyans breathed a sigh of relief this week. Despite a bitter presidential election, including isolated violence, their worst fears were not realized. Although friction still lingers, Kenya’s election on Aug. 8 went relatively smoothly and was praised by teams of election monitors from the African Union, the United States and the European Union. Memories of the 2007 elections, when widespread electoral fraud and a disputed outcome led to chaos, are still fresh in the minds of Kenyans. More than 1,000 people died in that post-election violence; hundreds of thousands were displaced. There was no repeat this year, despite a few […]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during the 19th Founding Anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, Manila, Philippines, Aug. 16, 2017 (AP photo by Aaron Favila).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about workers’ rights in various countries around the world. When Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines in May 2016, the strongman who has made a name for himself in his ruthless war on drugs and crime also promised to deliver vast economic changes by restructuring the country’s labor economy. Millions of Filipino workers suffer from the precariousness of temporary, fix-termed contracts that keep them from enjoying the benefits of regular employment. In this email interview, Dr. Aries A. Arugay, associate professor of political science at the University […]

Gay rights supporters with their mouths covered with rainbow colored tape during a protest, Chisinau, Moldova, April 27, 2007 (AP photo by Dan Morar).

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on LGBT rights and discrimination in various countries around the world. While Moldova’s LGBT community enjoys some legal protection against discrimination, public perceptions remain negative, and domestic proponents of a pro-Russian agenda have launched a propaganda campaign that has left LGBT people more and more exposed. Their battle is increasingly focusing on restrictions on their use of media and information platforms to mobilize for their rights. In an email interview, Anastasia Danilova, executive director of the GENDERDOC-M Information Center, Moldova’s only LGBT rights organization, describes the increasingly hostile environment […]

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