Global Beat is your weekly stop for news from around the world. Join us every Friday morning for important stories you should know about.

This week, police and protesters clash in Venezuela; China scrambles fighter jets in response to a U.S. warship in the South China Sea; WHO declares the Ebola crisis over in Liberia; and more.
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Americas

Venezuelan police used tear gas and pepper spray to block peaceful protesters from marching on the country’s election commission headquarters. Protesters are demanding that the commission work more quickly to verify their petition for a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro. The petition was signed by 1.8 million people. Onlookers are debating whether the country is falling apart.

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• Brazilian senate votes to begin impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff – Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate

​Central & South Asia

Several South Asian nations have partnered to create a new toll-free helpline and online platform to combat human trafficking. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Nepal are some of the countries that are most affected by human trafficking, especially of women and children.

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• India to file 16 cases against the United States for violating World Trade Organization (WTO) treaties – The Times of India

​China & East Asia

On Tuesday, after a U.S. destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea, China scrambled two fighter jets and three warships to force the American warship to leave. The Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam all claim the Fiery Cross Reef, which China has turned into a military facility. The United States claims it has the authority to sail through the area, while China said the move violated its sovereignty.

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• Obama will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima later this month – Gardiner Harris, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, and Jonathan Soble, The New York Times

​Europe & Russia

Two former Rwandan mayors are on trial in France for their active roles in the 1994 genocide that left nearly a million people dead. It is only the second such trial to be conducted in France, which many accuse of dragging its feet in bringing genocide suspects to justice. If convicted, the men face life in prison.

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• Azerbaijan is the worst place to be gay in Europe – Morgan Meaker, The Guardian

Middle East & North Africa

The Intercept this week highlighted the experiences of a man who says he witnessed and participated in "enhanced interrogation techniques" (i.e. torture) of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib as a former interrogator for a U.S. military contractor in Iraq. He later worked for the NSA. The interrogator detailed his doubts about the techniques in an internal article published by NSA’s Signals Intelligence Directorate, or SID.

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• 96% of the water in the Gaza Strip is unsafe for drinking – Isra Saleh el-Namey and Khan Younis, The Electronic Intifada

Southeast Asia & Oceania

Thailand attempted to defend its restrictions on human rights during the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review. A dozen countries accused Thailand’s government of mistreating its critics, abusing its military courts, cracking down on free expression, and other abuses since the May 2014 military coup. Thailand defended its measures by claiming they were only aimed at "those who stir up violence."

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• Don’t compare Trump and Duterte – the Philippines leader is far worse – Tom Smith, The Guardian

​Sub-Saharan Africa

In the lead-up to Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni’s inauguration on Thursday, social media were shut down and members of the country’s political opposition group, Forum for Democratic Change, were arrested in an attempt to clamp down on political dissent. Former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye has been held under house arrest since May 5, following a six-week house arrest in February and March after Museveni secured his fifth term in a controversial and disputed election.

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• The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an end to the Ebola crisis in Liberia – Melissa Winkler and Margaret Harris, World Health Organization

​Stay informed. We’ll see you here again next week.