US Mid-term Elections: Democrats win house in a setback for Trump. Democrats have taken control of the US House of Representatives for the first time in eight years, restricting Trump’s powers to pass his policies through congress. Although Trump is not up for re-election until 2020, many viewed this vote as a sort of referendum on his controversial presidency. In the Senate, the Republicans were able to increase their majority.


Following a dramatic year of violent protests, and an independence campaign launched by Cameroon’s anglophone minority, Cameroon witnessed a mass kidnapping last week. The kidnappings took place at a secondary school run by the Presbyterian church in Anglophone North-West Cameroon. In recent days all 82 students have been freed following an international outcry. The nation still seems to be divided along colonial lines and the fracture between the francophone ruling majority and anglophone minority continues to widen. 


As world leaders came together to mark the centenary of the 1918 armistice, Macron openly denounced nationalism, declaring “nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism.” He delivered this powerful message in front of both Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. He went on to praise international cooperation, its unique ability to build a peaceful world and the importance of learning from the past; “The lessons we draw from the great war cannot be rancor and resentment among other nations and it cannot be allowing the past to be forgotten.”


Lara Gibson

This week, the US looks forward to a potential midterm shake up, anti-America protests erupt throughout Iran and Brazil's sudden swing to the right brings both great fear and celebration.

The US Midterm Elections will take place next week, and many Democrat campaigners are hoping a strong election result will compromise Trump's powers. A potential shake-up in congress halfway through his presidency could affect his ability to govern, and threaten his populist political ambitions, as the Democrats seek to take both the House and the Senate.

Iran has erupted into a series of violent protests, as US oil sanctions are set to return. Millions of Iranians have descendent onto streets across the country chanting 'Death to America'. These protests coincide with both the forthcoming US oil sanctions and the anniversary of the US embassy takeover during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Relations between the US and Iran have sunk to new lows in the past few months, following Trump's announcement in May that the US would withdraw from the international 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reinstate previous draconian sanctions on Tehran. 

Brazil's sudden swing to the right brings both great fear and celebration, as the nation prepares for Bolsonaro's imminent presidency. Bolsonaro and his supporters seek to bring security, honesty and conservative morals to the country, and many of his supporters regard him as the strong man Brazil needs to end crime and corruption. However, critics are wary of his far-right populist brand of politics, and his fondness of his nations former military dictatorship.

And for something slightly different:

http://www.theweek.co.uk/97576/how-were-the-pyramids-built 

​

In the past week, we have witnessed Miss Iraq fleeing her homeland following a flurry of murders of high-profile Iraqi women, the ongoing saga of missing Saudi journalist Khashoggi, key Brexit issues remaining murky in Brussels, and Merkel’s allies losing momentum in regional German elections. ​

Former Miss Iraq Shimaa Qasim Abdulrahman has fled Iraq after receiving death threats, just a week after Iraqi social media star Tara Fares was shot dead in her car in Baghdad, and following months of murders of high profile Iraqi women. Ms Abdulrahman stated that she believed her life would be in danger if she had remained in Iraq, as the government struggles to prevent the murders of influential Iraqi women who champion female empowerment. 

The Jamal Khashoggi mystery continues as Saudi Arabia experience mounting diplomatic pressure following the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul earlier this month. Turkish sources allege Khashoggi has been murdered, and the Turkish foreign ministry have announced that they will search Saudi Arabia’s consulate this week. Trump stated that Saudi will face ’severe punishment’ if evidence proves Saudi was responsible for the murder of the journalist. 

Over in Brussels, UK and EU officials have both said a number of key issues remain unclear following the latest round of Brexit talks. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier met for an intense meeting ahead of a EU summit next week. Barnier tweeted that issues such as a hard border with Ireland remain unclear, but both parties are confident negotiations are moving forward, as May faces increasing pressure at home. 

Across the border in Germany, Merkel’s CSU allies lose majority in Bavaria, which greatly shakes up the German political scene. The chancellor’s conservative sister party suffered massive loses in Bavaria, as the CSU appears to have lost voters’ approval following their controversial stance on immigration. Read Cathy’s article on Merkel’s party politics for deeper analysis on the matter.

​
Favourite International News Story of The Week:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rwanda-beetrootwine/rwandan-entrepreneur-woos-drinkers-with-beetroot-wine-idUSKCN1MF28C

Lara Gibson