Africa Watch Tunisia’s Presidential Runoff Is a Rebuke of Its New Political Establishment Andrew Green Friday, Sept. 20, 2019 Tunisia’s presidential race is headed to a runoff next month between two surprising candidates: a law school professor who barely bothered to campaign and a media mogul who spent Election Day in jail. It is a sharp rebuke of the new political establishment that has emerged since the revolution of 2011.
Q&A Can Ardern Successfully Decriminalize Abortion in New Zealand? The Editors Friday, Sept. 20, 2019 Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last month to advance a bill that would decriminalize abortion in New Zealand. In an interview, Yanshu Huang discusses the recent shift in public opinion among New Zealanders toward more pro-choice views, and the reasons why reform efforts took so long to gain traction.
China Note Are the U.S. and China Headed for a Stopgap Trade Deal? Benjamin Wilhelm Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019 A Chinese delegation led by Deputy Finance Minister Liao Min traveled to Washington on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for trade talks with the U.S. that are set to begin in October. A comprehensive trade deal is still a distant prospect, but a more limited agreement appears to be within reach.
Q&A Will Colombia’s Generous Attitude Toward Venezuelan Migrants Last? The Editors Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 Colombian President Ivan Duque announced last month that 24,000 children of Venezuelan refugees in Colombia would be given citizenship. This is a step in the right direction, says Beatriz Eugenia Sánchez-Mojica, but what Colombia really needs is a long-term approach to address the needs of Venezuelan migrants.
Q&A Is Kenyatta Finally Getting Serious About Tackling Corruption in Kenya? The Editors Monday, Sept. 16, 2019 Henry Rotich, Kenya’s finance minister, was arrested on corruption charges in late July. The high-profile case is a potential sign of renewed seriousness in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s efforts to tackle endemic graft, but it could be complicated by political infighting, says Ngala Chome in an interview.
Africa Watch Is Biya’s Offer of National Dialogue in Cameroon Really Sincere? Andrew Green Friday, Sept. 13, 2019 President Paul Biya delivered a rare speech this week announcing a national dialogue process to resolve Cameroon’s separatist crisis. But is Biya committed to peace? His government has exacerbated the crisis for years, and in his speech, Biya called on separatists to surrender or face military action.
China Note China Is Running Out of Ideas to Solve Its Pork Shortage Benjamin Wilhelm Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019 For months, pork prices in China have risen steadily as the country battles an epidemic of African swine fever. Pork is a favorite among Chinese consumers, and with several major holidays around the corner, authorities are treating the crisis as a “national priority.”
Q&A Why This Year’s World Wildlife Conference Was ‘a Major Victory for Conservation’ The Editors Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019 Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora held their 18th conference last month in Geneva. In an interview, Tanya Sanerib discusses the many positive outcomes from the meeting and the hard work that remains to prevent more species from going extinct.
Q&A As Doubts Persist About Italy’s New Government, Salvini Plots His Comeback The Editors Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 Italy’s newly sworn-in government is already facing questions about its staying power. It must contend with Matteo Salvini, the head of the far-right League party, who now effectively leads the opposition and can put pressure on the new government in a variety of ways, as Mark Gilbert explains.
Africa Watch South Africa Erupts in Another Bout of Xenophobic Riots Andrew Green Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 A week of riots in South Africa targeting foreign-owned businesses killed at least five people and destroyed dozens of shops across Johannesburg and Pretoria. This latest eruption of xenophobia comes amid deepening inequality in Africa’s second-largest economy, where more than a quarter of people are unemployed.
Q&A Is the Trump Administration Exaggerating the Threat of Hezbollah in South America? The Editors Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 In recent months, the Trump administration has tried to address Hezbollah’s presence in South America by boosting security cooperation with right-wing governments in the region. But American observers tend to overstate the scale of Hezbollah’s activities in the area, says Fernando Brancoli in an interview.
China Note Is Lam’s Withdrawal of the Hong Kong Extradition Law ‘Too Little, Too Late?’ Benjamin Wilhelm Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019 Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday announced the full withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill. But the city’s pro-democracy activists and lawmakers are skeptical about Lam’s retreat, suggesting that Hong Kong’s embattled leader is not yet out of the woods.
