The Globalist Weekly: 8th July 2019
A concise weekly digest of the top readings, content, ideas and discussions from our global bureaux and correspondents at ComplexGlobal.
The storming of Hong Kong’s legislature
The storming of Hong Kong’s legislature on Monday was not a grand scheme hatched by protesters after much debate but emerged from a small group discussion and executed seemingly on the fly. The picture of an almost spontaneous action that snowballed into shocking scenes of mayhem and violence emerged after the Post pieced together interviews with protesters and observations on the ground.
Libya detention centre bombing
The United Nations has called for an independent inquiry into the bombing of a Libyan migrant detention centre that left at least 44 dead and more than 130 severely injured, describing the attack as “a war crime and odious bloody carnage”. The detention centre east of Tripoli was housing more than 610 people when it was hit by two airstrikes. Libya’s UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Italian interior minister, Matteo Salvini, blamed the bombing on the air force of Khalifa Haftar.
Taliban, Afghan rivals ‘set to meet’ for peace
Rival Afghans will meet starting on Sunday in Qatar, officials said, in a fresh attempt to make political headway as the United States seeks a peace deal with the Taliban within three months. The international efforts to bring warring Afghan sides to the negotiating table comes as the Taliban, which has been fighting the West-backed Kabul government, killed 16 in the latest attack in the capital.
KCNA hails Trump ‘amazing’ visit
On Sunday, Mr. Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, accompanied by leader Kim Jong-un. Mr. Trump had earlier tweeted asking Mr. Kim if he would like to meet while the US president was in South Korea. On Monday, KCNA carried extensive coverage of the unprecedented meeting. North Koreans rarely receive news of the outside world, and the heavily controlled media has depicted the US as its most hated enemy for decades.
Donald Trump’s July 4th jamboree
The US president’s unique interpretation of the declaration of independence was on full display on Thursday when he staged a militaristic, jingoistic and untraditional jamboree at the Lincoln memorial in Washington to celebrate the Fourth of July. Trump did not fulfil his critics’ worst fears of a politically partisan, campaign-style rally with his “Salute to America” event.
Sudan crisis: Military and opposition agree deal
Sudan’s military leaders have reached an agreement with the opposition alliance to share power until elections can be held, mediators say. The two sides agreed to rotate control of the sovereign council — the top tier of power — for at least three years. They have also pledged to form an independent technocratic government and to investigate the violence of recent weeks, the African Union (AU) said. News of the agreement reportedly sparked frenzied street celebrations.
Originally published at https://www.complexglobal.co
