In this series of articles, our foreign affairs editor Colin McGinness provides a concise roundup of the biggest geopolitical events from the past month.
Asia
In an escalation of already rising tensions between the two nations, China has ordered that the American consulate in Chengdu be closed down. This is largely considered a retaliation for the closure of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Houston the previous week. These tit-for-tat actions have followed a polarising speech made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which called on American allies to work together to contain what he described as “totalitarian ideology”.
After a survey conducted over a random sample of 21,387 Delhi residents, nearly a quarter (23.48%) tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, meaning that they either had or currently have contracted the disease at some point. This is far above the reported 1% infection rate that is derived from the recorded cases in the city. In a country that has been rocked by the pandemic, these figures could indicate a worse crisis than predicted.
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Europe
The Polish government has announced that it will withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty aimed at combating violence against women. Zbigniew Ziobro, the country’s justice minister, claims that the treaty contains ideological elements and that certain education mandates of the treaty would be ‘harmful’ to children. The withdrawal has been met with protests by organisers concerned about Poland’s socially conservative interpretation of women’s rights.
The European Union has signed a historic coronavirus recovery fund agreement that seeks to further integrate its member nations. 750 Billion Euros will be borrowed jointly by the bloc, with the debt being shared by each country depending on their economic size. The larger countries of the EU have resisted this kind of integration before, but after a marathon of ministerial meetings, the deal has been struck.
North America
American president Donald Trump has announced that the United States will begin the process of exiting the World Health Organisation. President Trump has repeatedly accused the organisation of not providing an adequate response to the Covid pandemic. The process of withdrawing would take at least one year, so the process could be reversed should his presumptive opponent Joe Biden win the presidency in November’s election.
Federal officers have been deployed to the American city of Portland in an attempt to quell continuous protests. Reports of extensive force and little oversight of these officers have increased tension in the city, where local officials have urged the federal government to remove them as soon as possible.
Latin America
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19 this month, after initially downplaying the threat that the virus posed to his nation. President Bolsonaro is not the first world leader to test positive, most notably British Prime minister Boris Johnson spent a stint in intensive care while in hospital with the disease.
The former head of Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company, has been extradited from Spain to face charges of corruption in Mexico. Emilio Lozoya is accused of taking nearly $10 million USD while at Pemex. Much of this came to life during the Odebrecht corruption case in Brazil, which has implicated businesspeople and politicians across Latin America.
The Middle East and North Africa
The UAE have successfully launched their first ever space probe to Mars this month in what has been described as a momentous event for the small state’s developing technology centre. The rocket was launched from Japan with assistance from the American space agency NASA, and will be joined by the American and Chinese missions to Mars that are also launching this month.
The Egyptian parliament has voted to approve the deployment of its soldiers abroad to combat terrorism. This has largely been viewed as a signal to General Haftar, the rogue leader of an uprising against the UN-backed government in Tripoli, that Egypt is poised to continue supporting his efforts at seizing control of the country.
Africa
Ethiopia has reached a critical point in its Grand Renaissance Dam project on the River Nile, which is nearly full enough to begin turbine testing. If completed, the dam would be Africa’s largest provider of hydroelectric power. However there is significant controversy surrounding the project, as Egypt and Sudan accuse Ethiopia of impacting the Nile’s flow downriver. The three nations have agreed to resume talks to reach some sort of agreement, but previous diplomatic attempts to resolve the issue have largely ended in failure.
The general election date has been set in Tanzania for the 28th of October. The current president, John Magufuli is seeking re-election for another 5 year term. Chama Cha Mapizundi, the ruling party, has maintained control of the country since 1964 so any opposition is expected to be minimal.
South Africa has reinstated in an attempt to control the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak there. The country’s once-booming wine industry has taken serious economic hits due to the crisis, and this announcement has decreased confidence that it will be able to swiftly bounce back.