The World Briefly

July 06, 2022

We’re Done…Sort Of

Sudan

Sudan’s military will withdraw from the ongoing political talks and allow political and revolutionary groups to form a civilian transitional government, months after the army seized power in an October coup that ignited mass protests in the restive African nation, Al Jazeera reported. Coup leader General...

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The World Briefly

July 06, 2022

Betraying Gustave

France

Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower is riddled with rust and structurally weak, according to a series of leaked reports that come as the city prepares to host the 2024 Olympic Games, the Guardian reported. French magazine Marianne published a number of reports this week showing that the...

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The World Briefly

July 05, 2022

The Straw and the Camel

Uzbekistan

At least 18 people died and more than 240 others were injured during clashes between protesters and security forces in the northwestern Uzbek province of Karakalpakstan, a rare outbreak of unrest in the repressive Central Asian nation over autonomy, Al Jazeera reported Monday. Officials said they...

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The World Briefly

July 05, 2022

The Carrots and the Sticks

West Africa

West Africa’s powerful regional bloc agreed to lift sanctions against Mali’s military junta and accept Burkina Faso’s proposal to transition back to civilian rule in two years, a turnaround that means significant progress in a region plagued by coups and insurgencies, Agence France-Presse reported. Mali, Guinea...

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The World Briefly

July 05, 2022

Mea Culpa

Netherlands

The Netherlands' central bank apologized for its role in the 19th-century slave trade, the latest show of regret in the country over its previous role in the trade of enslaved people, the Associated Press reported. De Nederlandsche Bank acknowledged that it was involved in the transatlantic...

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The World Briefly

July 04, 2022

The Craters in a Country

Libya

Libyan protesters torched the parliament building in the eastern city of Tobruk over the weekend, vowing to continue the violence until all of the country’s ruling elites resign from power, the Middle East Eye reported. On Friday, thousands of people took to the streets across the...

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The World Briefly

July 04, 2022

When the Waste Blows

India

India imposed a ban on single-use plastics over the weekend to combat worsening pollution in the world’s second-most populous nation, Al Jazeera reported. The government announced that the ban will include a variety of items, such as straws, cutlery, packaging film and cigarette packets. In the first...

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The World Briefly

July 04, 2022

Waa

United Kingdom

British lawmakers should not bring their babies to parliamentary debates, according to a new report on the legislative body’s rules amid calls by some legislators to change them, the Washington Post reported. In the report, the procedure committee said the “long-standing practice” of keeping babies out...

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The World Briefly

July 01, 2022

A Small Slice of Relief

France

A French court found 20 men accused of organizing and perpetrating the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris guilty this week, ending a long-running saga centering on multiple attacks that sent shockwaves throughout France and around the world, Euronews reported. The attacks, perpetrated by an Islamic...

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The World Briefly

July 01, 2022

The Small Victory Lap

Turkey

Turkey is ramping up pressure on Sweden and Finland to extradite those it deems enemies of the Turkish state as part of a deal it made to approve Sweden and Finland joining the NATO military alliance, the Washington Post reported. Finland and Sweden have been waiting...

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The World Briefly

July 01, 2022

A Cocktail Named Blasphemy

Indonesia

Indonesian authorities cracked down on a chain of bars and restaurants in the capital this week for promoting blasphemy over a promotion to offer drinks for people named “Mohammad” or “Maria,” Reuters reported. The “Holywings” chain in Jakarta posted the ad on social media – it...

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The World Briefly

June 30, 2022

Dark Truths, Bright Prospects

Colombia

Colombia’s Truth Commission presented this week its long-awaited final report on the country’s decades-long civil conflict, which strongly urged the government to rethink its war on drugs and called for a “great peace,” Al Jazeera reported Wednesday. The report comes shortly after Colombia’s historic presidential elections,...

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The World Briefly

June 30, 2022

No Buzzing Around

Australia

An Australian state imposed a “bee lockdown” this week after detecting a deadly parasite in the country that could decimate bee populations, as well as threaten the honey and food production industries, the BBC reported Wednesday. Last week, authorities in New South Wales (NSW) discovered the...

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The World Briefly

June 30, 2022

The Creaky Wheels

Germany

A German court sentenced a 101-year-old Nazi SS concentration camp guard to five years in prison over his involvement in the murder of more than 3,500 people during the Holocaust, CNN reported. The court charged the man – only identified as Josef S. due to Germany’s...

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The World Briefly

June 29, 2022

Thoughtless Poison

FranceGuadeloupeMartinique

A court in Paris found the French government guilty of wrongful negligence over the use of a banned pesticide in the French Caribbean Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique but rejected demands to compensate the victims, the Associated Press reported. The case centers on the use of...

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The World Briefly

June 29, 2022

When the Wind Blows

Jordan

At least 13 people were killed and 250 were injured Tuesday when a crane lifting gas tanks onto a ship in Jordan dropped one, spewing plumes of deadly yellow smoke into the air, the Washington Post reported. State media posted a video showing a storage tank...

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The World Briefly

June 29, 2022

Money For Nothing

United Kingdom

British Prince Charles is facing growing public outrage over a report that found that the heir to the British throne accepted bags full of cash as charity donations from a prominent Qatari official, Fox News reported. Earlier this week, the Sunday Times reported that the 73-year-old...

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The World Briefly

June 27, 2022

Plan B

ChinaWorld

Leaders of the world’s seven wealthiest democracies proposed a $600 billion global infrastructure plan to counter China’s ambitious “Belt and Road Initiative,” Politico reported. The Group of Seven countries unveiled the initiative during a summit in the German Alps this week as they discussed issues that...

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The World Briefly

June 27, 2022

The Country Clubs

GabonTogo

The West African nations of Togo and Gabon joined the Commonwealth of Nations this week, the latest countries with no colonial ties to the United Kingdom to join the 54-nation group in a snub to France, Agence France-Presse reported. The primarily English-speaking club headed by British...

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The World Briefly

June 27, 2022

Slow and Steady

World

The World Health Organization backed away from declaring monkeypox a global emergency, even as more than 3,000 cases of the virus have been detected in 50 countries since early May, the Washington Post reported. The WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee opted to describe the pathogen...

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