WEEKLY RECAP: 10 FEB TO 16 FEB

North America

El Salvador made huge strides on Thursday (Feb 13) towards a fairer democratic process amidst grave allegations of Bukele potentially running a dictatorship and centralizing power. In a bill passed through congress, political parties will no longer be granted funding from the state to run campaigns and will have to raise the money from the ground up similar to Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas in 2019, encouraging ground interaction with Salvadorans and building up legitimacy and support through this means. However, it is possible that the party system will experience grave turmoil and present-day oppositions may face extinction. This should not be a death flag to democracy as with the maturing of Salvadoran civilization, more issues and thus parties will arise to represent these issues.

Source: APNews

President Donald Trump met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (Feb 13), their discussions and press conferences revolved around reestablishing the bilateral relationship between the US and India amidst controversy surrounding the abuse of H1-B visas mentioned late last year in December by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswarmy. It is believed that in contrast to Biden’s condemnation of India’s human rights abuse among other alleged moral violations, Trump has a focus on business dealings with the state experiencing a population boom on track to 2 billion people in importing skilled labour as well as conducting manufacturing works in the US to allow Indian companies to avoid tariffs when engaging in sales within the US.

Source: Straits Times

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly come to the defense of the cartels on Friday (Feb 14). She stated that retaliation would be conducted by targeting US gunmakers if cartels were to be designated as terrorist groups. This comes among allegations that Sheinbaum has been heavily supported by the cartel in her rise to power as Mexican presidential candidates historically do not survive their term should they oppose cartelism in Mexico.

Source: CBS News

Vice-President JD Vance spoke in Munich on Friday (Feb 14), lambasting European elites for failing to protect free speech amidst UK’s security act empowering police and ministers to conduct arrests for posts on social media deemed ‘hate speech’ as well as various bouts of crimes from Sweden’s January bombings and shootings to Germany and France’s stabbings and brutal slaughters. Vance established that the focus on combating populism and what has been labelled extremist parties has resulted in a severe neglect to protect the average European citizen and secure their own state of affairs. He also condemned the cancellation of Romania’s elections following allegations from the opposition supported by the court of social media manipulation resulting in voter manipulation.

Source: Straights Times

Keith Kellogg, US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia stated on Saturday (Feb 15) that a peace deal for resolution of the Russo-Ukrainian war would be visible within a matter of days and weeks. The Russo-Ukrainian war has been ongoing since 2014 and escalated to an unprecedented conflict in 2022 dragging in the majority of Europe in the forms of loan provisions and the US in the form of grants, subsidies and direct provision of equipment. This comes among Germany’s demands that Europe has a seat at the peace dealings table as they believe the contribution of loans to be equivalent to presently free gifts from the US. It is important to note that President Trump has considered establishing demands for Ukraine to repay the US back in the form of natural resource extraction.

Source: CNBC

Europe

Former US President Donald Trump announced plans to discuss “peace in Ukraine” with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a possible meeting in Riyadh, raising concerns across Europe. The prospect of the US negotiating over Europe’s security without its input has unsettled many leaders, recalling the failed 2018 Helsinki summit. Fears of being left alone to confront an aggressive Russia have intensified, prompting renewed debates on NATO’s reliability. Some European nations are now considering hedging against US unpredictability by asserting more strategic independence. This shift could lead to a more autonomous European stance on global issues like China, trade, and tech regulations.

Source: Al Jazeera

World number one Jannik Sinner has been banned from tennis for three months after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following two positive drug tests in 2024. In a statement on Saturday (Feb 15), Sinner emphasized that WADA accepted he had no intent to dope and did not gain any competitive advantage from the banned substance. The 2025 Australian Open champion maintained that clostebol entered his system when his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut before administering a massage and sports therapy. Despite the ban, Sinner’s case has sparked debates on unintentional doping and the strict liability placed on athletes. His suspension raises questions about medical protocols in professional sports and the responsibility of support staff in anti-doping compliance.

Source: Al Jazeera

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United States and Europe to unite in supporting Ukraine against Russia, emphasizing the need for a coordinated effort to end the war. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday (Feb 14), he claimed that the US, including former President Joe Biden’s administration, never truly considered Ukraine as a NATO member. Amid ongoing tensions, Zelenskyy and the UN atomic agency confirmed that radiation levels remained unchanged despite concerns over Russian attacks. He later described a recent strike as a direct message from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the security conference. His remarks underscored Ukraine’s struggle for stronger Western backing as the conflict continues.

Source: Al Jazeera

German authorities are treating the Munich car-ramming incident that injured at least 36 people as attempted murder after the suspect, 24-year-old Afghan national Farhad Noori, confessed to deliberately driving into a labor union demonstration on Thursday (Feb 13). Prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann stated that Noori’s motive remains unclear, with no evidence linking him to Islamist or terrorist organizations or suggesting he had accomplices. The attack has intensified Germany’s immigration debate, with the far-right AfD party gaining traction ahead of elections by advocating stricter immigration policies. In a separate incident on the same day, police in Dresden arrested a 21-year-old German man for allegedly plotting to bomb an asylum seeker shelter. These developments have further fueled tensions over immigration and security across Germany.

Source: Al Jazeera

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have officially disconnected from Russia’s Soviet-era electricity grid, integrating with Europe and ending their last major energy ties to Russia. The Baltic states, which inherited their electricity infrastructure from the Soviet Union, had remained part of Russia’s BRELL network even after independence in 1990. Although they stopped buying Russian electricity after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, their power grids were still physically linked to Russia and Belarus. This shift marks a significant move toward energy independence and reduces reliance on Moscow, symbolizing the Baltics’ commitment to European integration and sovereignty.

Source: Al Jazeera

Middle East

Iran has accused Israel of disrupting flights from Tehran to Beirut after an Iranian plane was denied permission to land in Lebanon’s capital. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday (Feb 14) that Israel had threatened a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens from Tehran “which caused a disruption in the country’s normal flights to Beirut airport”. He condemned the alleged Israeli threat as a violation of international law. He also called for the International Civil Aviation Organization and other world bodies “to stop Israel’s dangerous behaviour against the safety and security of civil aviation”. Later on Friday, Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Iran, saying it would not allow Lebanese flights to land until its own flights were cleared to land in Beirut. The standoff has left dozens of Lebanese citizens stranded in Iran for three days after attending a religious pilgrimage.

Source: Al Jazeera

Israel’s move to force the released Palestinians to wear shirts with a Star of David logo and “we will not forget or forgive” written in Arabic has prompted anger and been slammed as a “racist crime”. On Saturday (Feb 15), 369 Palestinians were released in exchange for three captives in Gaza following days of tense negotiations. Before the exchange, the Israel Prison Service released photos of a few of the Palestinians dressed in those provocative shirts. As the Palestinians were being returned, a number of them wore their shirts inside out in order to cover the messages. Footage shot in Gaza by Al Jazeera showed a few Palestinians setting fire to the shirts upon their arrival at the European Gaza Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis. “We condemn the occupation’s crime of placing racist slogans on the backs of our heroic prisoners, and treating them with cruelty and violence, in a blatant violation of humanitarian laws and norms,” Hamas said in a statement. It added that this is “in contrast to the resistance’s firm commitment to moral values ​​in treating the occupation’s prisoners”.

Source: Al Jazeera

More than 25 people were arrested following an attack on a convoy of United Nations peacekeepers that wounded two people including a senior commander. “More than 25 people have been arrested by Lebanese army intelligence”, with another person detained by the security services, Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar told reporters after an emergency security meeting on Saturday (Feb 15). “This does not mean these detainees carried out the attack … but the investigations will show who is responsible,” he added. Major-General Chok Bahadur Dhakal was on his way to leave the country for Nepal on Friday (Feb 14) night after completing his mission when the UNIFIL convoy taking peacekeepers to the airport was attacked by protesters. 

Source: Al Jazeera

Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defence ministry said on Sunday (Feb 16). The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 pound bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius. The Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip. The Biden administration sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants from Gaza but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month. “The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said late on Saturday. 

Source: Reuters

Turkey removed another elected pro-Kurdish provincial mayor over convictions on terrorism-related charges and appointed a state official in his place on Saturday (Feb 15), the interior ministry said. The local governor replaced Abdullah Zeydan, a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and mayor of the eastern province of Van because of his recent conviction for “assisting an armed terrorist organisation”, the ministry said in a statement. Eight DEM Party-member mayors and two main opposition CHP-member mayors across Turkey have been removed from their posts over terrorism-related charges since March 2024 local elections. Another CHP-member mayor has been under arrest over tender-rigging charges. DEM, which has 57 seats in the 600-seat parliament, said the trustee appointment to the Van municipality was “a blow to people’s will”, and it will not “bow to this unlawfulness”. Opposition politicians have faced a series of legal probes, detentions and arrests in what critics say is a government effort to muzzle dissent and hurt their electoral prospects. Turkey’s government dismisses accusations of political interference in the cases and says the judiciary is independent.

Source: Reuters

Africa

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that a regional escalation of the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be avoided at all costs, at the African Union summit (AU) on Saturday (Feb 15). The AU’s 55 members are meeting as the Rwanda-backed M23 fighters continue there advance in the eastern DRC, on Friday (Feb 14). claiming to have entered the region’s second largest city, Bukavu. In recent weeks, M23 rebels have captured swathes of the DRC’s mineral-rich eastern region, including the key city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province. With international pressure mounting on Rwanda to curb the fighting in eastern DRC, the conflict was set to dominate the summit at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. DRC’s President Félix Tshisekedi continues to plead with the international community to intervene to contain the rebels and blacklist Rwanda for backing them.

Source: Africa News

Kizza Besigye, a prominent Ugandan opposition leader, appeared in court on Friday (Feb 14) looking weak, according to his supporters, after one of his lawyers described him as “critically ill.” Currently on trial for “threatening national security,” Besigye began a hunger strike on February 10 to protest his detention, as stated by his lawyer Erias Lukwago. Lukwago mentioned on Thursday that Besigye was too unwell to leave his cell, yet he made an appearance in a civilian court on Friday for a different case. Doreen Kyanjura, deputy mayor of Kampala and a member of Besigye’s PFF party, expressed her distress, saying, “He was in a sorry state. He appeared very weak, frail, and at one point gasped for breath, which made us break into tears”. Besigye was present with his political ally Samuel Lubega Mukaaku, facing charges of inciting violence during a protest against rising commodity prices in 2022.

Source: Africa News

Morocco’s cattle and sheep populations have dropped by 38% since the last census nine years ago, primarily due to ongoing drought conditions, according to Agriculture Minister Ahmed El Bouari on Thursday (Feb 13). The country has faced six years of severe drought, which has depleted its dams, led to significant job losses in agriculture, and prompted a faster implementation of desalination projects. This year’s rainfall was 53% below the average of the past three decades, El Bouari reported. With limited grazing land available, meat production has declined, resulting in increased imports of cattle and red meat. To stabilize domestic prices, Morocco’s 2025 budget has eliminated import duties and value-added tax on cattle, sheep, camels, and red meat. So far this year, the country has brought in 124,000 sheep, 21,000 cattle, and 704 tons of red meat.

Source: Africa News

Djibouti’s Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Youssouf, has won the race to become the new Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Youssouf defeated former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former Malagasy Foreign Minister Richard Randriamandrato for the prestigious role. Youssouf says he will prioritise regional security and promote greater unity across Africa, aiming to bridge linguistic and cultural divides on the continent. His win marks a significant moment for Djibouti, as he prepares to lead the African Union’s efforts in tackling key issues facing the region.

Source: Africa News

A group of white South Africans gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, showing support for former President Donald Trump last Saturday (Feb 15). The protesters, numbering in the hundreds, carried signs that read “Thank God for President Trump” and voiced their concerns over what they see as racist policies by the South African government, which they claim discriminate against the white minority. Many of the protesters were from the Afrikaner community, which Trump had recently highlighted in an executive order aimed at cutting aid to the Black-led South African government. In response, the South African government has rejected claims that its new laws are racially motivated, accusing Trump of spreading misinformation and distortion about the country’s legal changes.

Source: Africa News

South America

Colombia’s Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez has resigned from President Gustavo Petro’s cabinet along other ministers on Tuesday (Feb 11) following a series of oppositions against the controversial appointment of Armando Benedetti as Chief of Staff. Petro has requested the resignation of multiple ministers with the intention to conduct a cabinet reshuffle. However, it is not known if the unstable coalition of Petro would survive the exchange of portfolios.

Source: AP News

China’s Ganfeng has begun conducting Lithium mining operations in Argentina on Thursday (Feb 13), partaking in the Mariana project that President Javier Milei has opened to various companies as a means of achieving a budget surplus and accumulation of wealth for the country. This means of welcoming foreign investment was never before seen in Argentina as they have a history of socialism amidst the Cold War and have been lost in space since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. Argentina has struggled to find its footing in the economy but Milei has been successful in his chainsaw directive and push for Argentinian financialisation.

Source: Reuters

Brazil’s central bank chief rebutted demands of preemptive action against economic slowdown on Friday (Feb 14). He states that the market concerns of economic slowdown were valid but have yet to materialize and that he would be committed to align the central bank’s policies to combating inflation first and foremost. This is primarily centralized around the alleged tariffs to come from President Trump against Brazil, but exact details have yet to be revealed or presented and thus decisive action would not be wise in the current unpredictable state of affairs.

Source: Reuters

Cuba experienced a major electrical grid shortage following the failure of a major power plant on Friday (Feb 14). They have told non-essential workers and students to remain home amidst the electricity crisis. This comes among fuel shortages experienced by the island state compounded by worsened sanctions on oil following President Trump’s decision to reverse Biden’s earlier order to lighten sanctions.

Source: Reuters

Argentina’s opposition threatens President Javier Milei with an impeachment trial following a stunt on X promoting a crypto coin on Friday (Feb 14). The value of the coin peaked at $5USD per coin and plummeted to under $1USD in a matter of hours. This has been deemed a potential rugpull case that lawmaker Leandro Santoro hopes to be sufficient in pushing an impeachment case against Milei.

Source: Reuters

Asia-pacific

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence reported detecting 24 Chinese military aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, conducting “joint combat readiness patrols” around the island on Sunday (Feb 16). The activity coincided with a Canadian warship transiting the Taiwan Strait, a move that frequently draws China’s ire as the US and its allies reinforce the strait’s status as international waters. A US destroyer and an ocean survey ship also passed through the strait, prompting China’s military to condemn the move as a provocation that heightened security risks. Meanwhile, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung welcomed the US’s continued support for Taiwan, following recent changes in the language used on official platforms regarding Taiwan’s status. The developments underscore rising tensions in the region as China continues military maneuvers near Taiwan while Western allies maintain their strategic presence.

Source: Al Jazeera

Malaysia’s economy grew by 5.1 percent in 2024, driven by strong domestic demand and investment, despite a slowdown in the commodities sector, according to Bank Negara Malaysia on Friday (Feb 14). The country’s GDP expanded by 5 percent in the fourth quarter, slightly lower than the 5.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter but surpassing the initial estimate of 4.8 percent. The central bank emphasized that Malaysia remains on track for robust investment, exports, and household spending in the coming months. This growth highlights the resilience of Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest economy amid global uncertainties. Moving forward, policymakers are optimistic about sustaining economic momentum through continued investment and domestic consumption.

Source: Al Jazeera

Indonesia is considering setting a minimum age for social media use as part of new legislation aimed at protecting minors from “physical, mental, or moral perils,” officials announced on Friday (Feb 14). While the government has yet to specify an age limit, the move follows Australia’s recent decision to ban under-16s from accessing social media platforms. The proposed regulation reflects growing concerns among parents, like Laila Lubis, who worry about the long-term impact of social media on children’s development. Australia’s law, introduced in November, imposes fines of up to $32 million on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for non-compliance. Indonesia’s efforts signal a broader push in the region to regulate digital access for young users and ensure safer online environments.

Source: Al Jazeera

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump comes amid growing tensions over tariffs, deportations, and Iran-related sanctions. While the two leaders have previously showcased a strong personal rapport, their meeting at the White House on Thursday (Feb 13), will test India-US ties as Modi seeks tariff waivers and relief from US pressure on Iran. At the same time, Modi is expected to offer strategic cooperation, with both nations sharing concerns over China’s growing influence. Trump’s tariff threats and stricter immigration policies have unsettled relations, despite past displays of friendship. The outcome of their discussions could shape the future of India-US trade and diplomatic engagement.

Source: Al Jazeera

North Korea has condemned US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to occupy the Gaza Strip, calling it an act of “slaughter and robbery” and demanding an end to US interference in Palestinian affairs. In a statement on Wednesday (Feb 12), state media KCNA accused Washington of trampling on Palestinian dignity and sovereignty, warning of global outrage over the move. Separately, North Korea’s Ministry of Defence criticized the presence of a US nuclear submarine on the Korean Peninsula, calling it a sign of America’s “hysteria for confrontation.” On Tuesday, Feb 11, Pyongyang reiterated its stance that US military actions pose a grave threat to its security. The escalating rhetoric highlights growing tensions as North Korea continues to challenge US influence in global and regional conflicts.

Source: Al Jazeera