Global Beat: World Leaders Respond to US Election, and More
Gage Skidmore
November 11, 2016
In:
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, world leaders respond to Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election; India withdraws bank notes from circulation; Kenya pulls its troops from a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan; and more.
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Americas
On Tuesday evening, Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. Some world leaders expressed uncertainty about the Trump administration’s foreign policy priorities, while others signaled a new willingness to work with the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is willing to fully restore ties and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said he does not "want to quarrel anymore."
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- Mexico reminds Donald Trump it will not pay for a border wall, but seeks cooperation – Michael O’Boyle and Noe Torres, Reuters
Central & South Asia
India suddenly withdrew its 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation on Tuesday in an effort to "break the grip of corruption and black money," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a televised address to the nation. The notes, which are worth about $7.50 and $15, respectively, are the largest notes in use in India. "Black money" is the term used for unaccounted-for-income. The move caused a late night rush by customers to withdraw smaller notes from ATMs on Tuesday before all banks and cash machines were to close on Wednesday in preparation for the turnaround.
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- Pakistan asserts leadership of Haqqani Network in Afghanistan – Ayaz Gul, Voice of America
China & East Asia
Thousands of South Korean protesters took to the streets of Seoul this week to call for President Park Geun-hye to step down. The president has been embroiled in a corruption scandal in which she let her confidante Choi Soon-sil – the daughter of a late cult leader – view confidential documents and presidential speeches and accumulate millions of dollars in donations to her foundation. Park apologized on television and accepted responsibility for the scandal, but denied accusations that cultish rituals were being performed in the presidential palace. The president has fired the country’s prime minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, and South Korean prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for two former aides as part of the investigation into government corruption.
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- China’s new cybersecurity laws could have chilling effect on Tibet – Steve Shaw, Tibet Post International
Europe & Russia
German police raided apartments in northern and western Germany on Tuesday and arrested five people connected to ISIL, including a senior figure. All five men are suspected of recruiting jihadists and supporting them financially to travel to Syria and Iraq, and all five have denied any terrorist links. The detainees include a 32-year-old Iraqi imam, a 50-year-old Turk, a 36-year-old German-Serb, a 27-year-old German, and a 26-year-old Cameroonian.
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Middle East & North Africa
The Syrian army said it has made significant gains against anti-government rebels in Aleppo, including a strategic district called the 1070 Apartments. Anti-government fighters say the battle is not over yet, however. Syrian government forces are backed by allied militias and Russian air power. In September, they launched a major assault on eastern Aleppo, a rebel stronghold that is home to 275,000 people.
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- Morocco is a perfect place for the world’s biggest climate change conference – Max de Haldevang, Quartz
Southeast Asia & Oceania
The Australian senate voted against holding a national vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriages on Monday. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australia’s center-right coalition government proposed the vote, but the bill required support of some opposition lawmakers. The rejection is a blow to the prime minister, and the country’s attorney general warned that the defeat would result in delaying same-sex marriage in Australia for years to come.
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Sub-Saharan Africa
Kenya began withdrawing its soldiers from a UN peacekeeping mission in war-torn South Sudan this week. The move followed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's firing of Lieutenant General Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki, the Kenyan commander of the mission. The firing was a response to a report that found the mission had failed to respond to an attack on civilians by South Sudanese government troops in July.
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