Oct 26 To Nov 2

North America: 

• Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” movement is a macho cult. It suggests the US can be “great again” only if modern American men learn to be strong “manly men” like their fathers and grandfathers, assert dominance over “their” women, and “take back control” – whatever that means (4 Nov). It encourages men to hide their feelings, adhere to archaic sex stereotypes, use violence to get ahead in life, and take advice not from experts and loved ones, but so so-called famous “alpha males”, like podcaster Joe Rogan or billionaire X owner (and now leading Trump backer) Elon Musk.  
• Thousands of women have rallied in Washington (4 Nov), DC, in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and reproductive rights. The vice president has made abortion rights a central plank of her White House bid against Republican Donald Trump, who appeared to have publicly backed the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that took away the constitutional right to an abortion.
• A former police officer in the state of Kentucky has been convicted of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose death in a police raid prompted racial justice protests across the United States in 2020 (2 Nov). Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police officer, was convicted on one count of civil rights abuse on Friday, with a 12-member federal jury determining that he used excessive force on Taylor during the raid. Hankison was one of four officers charged by the US Department of Justice in 2022 with violating Taylor’s civil rights. He is the first to be convicted and faces life in prison. He is set to be sentenced next March.
• US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has attacked Liz Cheney, suggesting the former lawmaker who has endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the race to the White House should face combat with guns trained on her for her policy stance (1 Nov). “She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump said on Thursday at a campaign event with ex-Fox News television host Tucker Carlson in Glendale, Arizona, also calling Cheney “a deranged person” and “a very dumb individual”.
• Striking Boeing workers in the United States are set to vote on a new contract deal after a previous offer by the company failed to get them back to work (1 Nov). The offer to be voted on Monday includes a 38 percent pay rise over four years, a $12,000 ratification bonus and the reinstatement of an annual bonus scheme that was not included in the earlier proposal, The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said in a statement on Thursday (31 Oct).

South America: 

• Angered over BRICS veto, Venezuela recalls ambassador to Brazil, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry has accused Brazilian officials of making ‘interventionist, rude statements’ (30 Oct). Venezuela has pulled its ambassador from Brazil in a spat over Caracas’s failed recent bid to join the BRICS alliance of major developing nations.The ministry also summoned Brazil’s business envoy for talks, reported Reuters. The move heightens tensions between the neighbouring South American states, which have soured since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared himself re-elected in July despite major irregularities in the tabulation of votes.
• Haiti’s gangs inflict ‘extreme brutality’ as casualties rise – UN report (30 Oct). Gang-fueled violence caused 1,745 casualties between July and September; police accused of summary executions, UN says. An escalating gang war in Haiti killed or injured 1,745 people between July and September, according to a new United Nations human rights report, representing a more than 30 percent increase from the previous quarter. At least 106 extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions were carried out by law enforcement officials, including six children aged 10 or younger, the report from the UN’s Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) revealed on Wednesday.
• Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took an emotional win in the Mexico City Grand Prix after Red Bull’s Formula One leader Max Verstappen was twice penalised for clashes with title rival Lando Norris and finished sixth. McLaren’s Norris, who called Verstappen ‘dangerous’ during Sunday’s race, finished second to slash the triple world champion’s overall advantage from 57 points to 47 with four rounds remaining. Charles Leclerc, caught and passed by Norris with nine laps to go to deny Ferrari a second successive one-two, was third and took a bonus point for fastest lap. The win was a first for Ferrari in Mexico since 1990 and fourth of Sainz’s career.
• Polling stations in Uruguay have closed in a presidential election race that has defied the regional trend of tectonic political shifts (28 Nov), with pollsters predicting a likely run-off next month between a leftist history teacher and a centre-right veterinarian. Yamandu Orsi, a former history teacher and local mayor who represents the centre-left Frente Amplio party, and Alvaro Delgado of the centre-right Partido Nacional will face off in the November 24 election run-off, forecasts showed.
• At least 200 soldiers are being held hostage by armed supporters of Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales, the foreign ministry has said. On Friday (1 Nov), Bolivia’s military reported that the armed group had taken control of a military facility near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. In an update Bolivia’s foreign ministry said the group had “seized weapons and ammunition”, adding that three military units were “assaulted by irregular groups”. Images of a row of soldiers with their hands behind their backs, surrounded by members of the armed group, were shown on local television.

Europe:

• The pro-western Maia Sandu is leading in the Moldovan presidential elections, indicating a significant boost for the country’s geopolitical alignment with the EU and a clear rebuke to Moscow (3 Nov). Sandu, who has intensified the nation’s efforts to break away from Moscow’s influence, was up against the Kremlin-friendly political newcomer, Alexandr Stoianoglo. While leading with a narrow margin of 1% with 86% of votes counted, analysts have predicted a guaranteed re-election win with half the diaspora votes remaining. Both rounds of presidential elections and the EU referendum vote have been accused of Russian interference to swing the election.
• Spain’s King Felipe and PM Pedro Sanchez were greeted with insults and mud during an official visit to Paiporta, one of the worst-affected municipalities of last week’s flood (3 Nov). This comes after an alert urging residents not to leave their homes after flood waters began surging, reflecting the lingering anger of locals. PM Sanchez and Valencia’s regional leader Carlos Mazon have faced calls for their resignations as residents’ grapple with a sense of abandonment. PM Sanchez was swiftly evacuated under umbrellas to protect the group from the barrage of mud.
• Russian troops have closed in on Kupyansk again, as Ukrainian defences crumble at the fastest rate since Putin’s invasion in 2022 (3 Nov). The Ukrainian city was seized in the early days of Russia’s invasion, and taken back by Ukrainian forces eight months later. With Russian combat units only two miles from Kupyansk and troops already reaching Oksil River, the situation has been described as ‘critical’ by Kupyansk’s mayor, Andriy Besedin. 1,400 residents, mostly elderly, have refused to evacuate despite having no electricity, water or gas. In October, Russian forces swallowed nearly 500 km of Ukrainian territory.
• A French student’s father has been put on trial for spreading lies that led to the beheading of Professor Samuel Paty by an Islamist terrorist in 2020 (3 Nov). In the days preceding his murder, Paty was the subject of online harassment following claims by a 13 year-old student that he had instructed Muslim students to leave the classroom while he showed students caricatures of the prophet Muhammad from the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. In truth, she was not in Paty’s class that day and made up the story to cover the fact that she was suspended for bad behaviour. Paty had told students that they could turn away if the images offended them. The father’s posting of this story on social media would lead to 18 year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov travelling 100 km from Normandy to kill the teacher.
• Brexit has added up to £390 million (SGD$668 million) to the price of power supplies from the EU since 2021 (25 Oct). According to industry representatives, the total energy costs could amount to £10 billion (SGD$17.3 billion) by the end of the decade. Before Brexit, the UK procured power through the EU’s internal electricity market, which brought together bids and offers in a system known as “single day-ahead coupling”, using an algorithm to optimise pricing and flows. After the post-Brexit trade deal came into force in January 2021, the British market was no longer part of the algorithmic system, reducing the efficiency of trading and pushing up costs. Energy UK, the sector’s trade body, has called on Keir Starmer to negotiate a closer trading relationship with the bloc as part of the “reset” he is seeking with Brussels.

Asia Pacific:

• North Korean white paper says South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol raised the risk of nuclear war through his policies towards the North (3 Nov). Compiled by North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies, the document was released by KCNA and criticised Yoon’s ‘reckless remarks’ about war, abandoning elements of an inter-Korean agreement, engaging with nuclear war strategising with the US and seeking closer ties with Japan and NATO. The paper states that this has pushed North Korea to stockpile nuclear weapons ‘at an exponential rate’.
• India denied that its home minister, Amit Shah, had plotted the anti-Sikh attacks in Canada, rebuking the ‘absurd and baseless’ allegations (2 Nov). This comes after Ottawa traced a campaign targeting Canadian Khalistan activists to the highest levels of the Indian government, implicating PM Narendra Modi’s right-hand man. Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside of India, including activists for ‘Khalistan’, a fringe separatist movement seeking an independent state for the religious minority in Indian territory.
• A Bangladeshi party formerly close to the regime decries protesters after a mob torched its offices (1 Nov). Jatiya Party chief Ghulam Muhammed Quader, a former commerce minister under toppled ex-leader Sheikh Hasina, said the offices were burned down in an arson attack by furious protesters late on Thursday (31 Oct). Jatiya Party was criticised for taking part in elections in January boycotted by the main opposition, and in which Hasina won a fourth consecutive term.
• Indonesia’s new President Prabowo Subianto administration’s first week has already been dogged with controversies (1 Nov). On Oct 20, his newly appointed Human Rights Minister, Mr Natalius Pigai, immediately drew widespread criticism after he complained on Oct 21 that his new office would only receive an annual budget of 64 billion rupiah (SGD$1 billion). On Oct 22, Mr Yandri Susanto, the minister of villages and development of disadvantaged regions, came under fire for sending out invitations for his mother’s death anniversary using his new office’s letterhead and stamp, which were designated for official matters. 
• The United States joined South Korea and Japan in a joint air drill involving a heavy bomber in response to North Korea’s latest long-range missile test (3 Nov). The exercise took place three days after Pyongyang launched one of its most powerful and advanced solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), to ‘demonstrate the commitment of the ROK-US alliance to integrated extended deterrence after nuclear and missile threats by North Korea’.

Middle East:

• The Israeli Knesset passed legislation banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Monday (Oct 28). Ever since the most reticent flare up of conflict on the Gaza strip, Israel has accused the agency of supporting Hamas under the guise of providing aid for refugees. World leaders have condemned the move, which has come amid rising tensions between Israel and the UN, with Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling it a “flagrant violation of international law” and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging the Israeli government to reconsider in light of the “devastating consequences” for Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 
• Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani announced a planned 200% increase in the country’s defence budget on Tuesday (29 Oct). This increase is part of a wider proposed budget that will be debated in Iran’s legislature, and is expected to be finalised by March 2025. The proposal also comes light of an escalation in conflict between Iran and Israel, with both countries making direct attacks into the territory of the other.
• Lebanese political party and militant group Hezbollah announced Naim Qassem as its new Secretary General on Tuesday (29 Oct). This comes a month after his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike. Qassim, who is well known for his interviews with international media, is one of the last remnants of the political leadership of hezbollah after Israeli attacks on the group’s most prominent figures. 
• On Wednesday (30 Oct), the Iraqi Election Commission announced the victory of Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Kurdish elections, which is likely to continue heading the government. The main opposition party, New Generations came a distant third in the elections, with 15 seats out of a total 100. This suggests a likely continuation of the status quo in Iraqi kurdistan. 
• In a session on Thursday (31 Oct), the Iraqi Parliament elected Sunni lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as speaker after a deadlock lasting several months. Al-Mashhadani, who has close ties to Iran, was elected via coalition primarily composed of Shia, pro-Iran parties, as well as the State of Law coalition, led by the Islamic Dawa Party of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Part of the difficulties with electing a new speaker comfrom the fact that the Speaker of Parliament is required to be Sunni under the country’s sectarian quota system, while the post of Prime Minister is to be occupied by a Shia, and the Presidency reserved for the Kurdish Community.

Africa:

• Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Tuesday (29 Oct) on human rights violations in the current conflict in Burkina Faso. The report noted that the government put civilians at “unnecessary risk” in its conflicts with Islamist groups. In particular, the report notes the use of civilians as forced labour in war zones as one practice that needs to be curtail;ed. The report notes that in the particular case of the massacre of 133 people by the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen in August, civilians were being asked to dig trenches to protect a town that already had a military base. However, the justice ministry has rejected the assertions made by the reporting, stating that such forced labour is considered illegal under local laws. This violence is not new in Burkina Faso, where violent conflict with Al-Qaeda and ISIS linked groups led to military coups twice in 2022. 
• The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) issued a statement during a press briefing on Thursday (31 Oct) stating that monkey pox (m-pox) outbreak is still not under control, and may reach levels more severe than COVID-19. According to the Africa CDC, in spite of an upward trend in cases, there has been a lack in financial resources to contain the outbreak. The faact that this outbreak came on the heels of COVID-19 has meant that these countries often lack the resources to devote to the outbreak. Particularly, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are epicentres for the outbreak, have also been dealing with issues of law and order as well as political stability that can jeopardise the situation further.
• Elections held in Botswana on Wednesday (30 Oct) delivered a shock result as Duma Boko of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ended 58 years of rule by the incumbent Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). In a further upset, the BDP was reduced to fourth place, winning only 4 seats in the 69 seat National Assembly. Boko, a human rights lawyer, found the UDC  to unite opposition groups to the BDP in 2012, competing in elections thrice as of this year. In his victory speech, Boko stated “What has happened today takes our democracy to a higher level,” with incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi also promising to step-aside and participate in a smooth transition process.
• Ahead of the COP 29 climate summit, 50 climate activists attended protests in Dakar, Senegal on Saturday (Nov 1) calling for climate justice. The climate activists note that although industrialised countries have contributed the most towards greenhouse gases, it is largely people in Africa and other parts of the global south who are suffering the most from climate change. The main organiser Khady Camara has also specifically called on all countries to respect the Paris Agreement, and work to achieve the targets set under that agreement. 
• The government of Mauritius announced on Friday (Nov 1), that it would be cutting access to all social media platforms until Monday (Nov 11) when national elections end, due to a scandal of illegal wiretapping. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth  has said that these restrictions are necessary to protect national security, also announcing a “crisis committee” with a mandate to “contain the existing risks” after 20 conversations involving politicians, journalists, activists, and others were leaked on TikTok and other platforms.However, the opposition has called the ban political move, with opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam accusing the government of “using all means to stay in power.”