Gabon Military Officers Announce Seizure of Power, Raising Fears of Coup |
Military officers announced on television today that they have seized power (FT) in the country, hours after election authorities declared long-standing President Ali Bongo Ondimba the winner of Saturday’s vote. If the coup attempt holds, it would be the latest in a string of military takeovers (WSJ) in former French colonies and Western military allies in Africa. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the events “a big issue for Europe” with the potential to destabilize the whole region, while France called for the results of the election to be respected.
Bongo, who staved off a prior coup attempt in 2019, confirmed via video that he was being held captive today and called on Gabon’s “friends all over the world” to “make noise” about what is happening. The internet had been largely shut down in the country since Saturday’s election and partially came back online after the military leaders made their announcement. The military officers said the state institutions were dissolved and the country’s borders closed.
|
|
|
“The contagion effect [is] in full swing,” the Brookings Institution’s Vanda Felbab-Brown posts. “[With] each additional one, any single one is harder to reverse as focus & resources of [international] democracy supporters [are] divided. Another big blow to France & [the Economic Community of West African States] & U.S.”
“The gangsta militariat (more gangsta than militariat) is the logical outcome of the African military’s involvement in politics, insofar as the latter has resulted in the militarization of politics, the politicization of the military, and subsequently the de-professionalization of the armed forces,” CFR expert Ebenezer Obadare writes for the Africa in Transition blog.
|
| |
UK Foreign Secretary Visits China to Reinforce Business Ties |
James Cleverly is the first United Kingdom (UK) foreign secretary to visit China in more than five years. He said that the UK is open (FT) to Chinese investment provided it does not create national security concerns, and signaled that it has no immediate plans to restrict outward investments in China, as the United States is doing. Cleverly also said he raised concerns (AP) over human rights issues with leaders in Beijing.
This In Brief by CFR’s Noah Berman explains what to know about the U.S. bans on investment in China.
China: In a new report, Meta, the owner of Facebook, said it took down (Nikkei) more than 7,700 Facebook accounts and almost one thousand pages connected to inauthentic Chinese influence operations.
|
| |
Report Flags South Asian Air Pollution’s Threat to Health |
Rising air pollution could cut more than five years (Reuters) off people’s life expectancy in the region, according to a new report from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute. It found that people in Bangladesh, the world’s most polluted country, stand to lose an average of 6.8 years of life per person and that India is responsible for about 59 percent of the global rise in air pollution since 2013.
This virtual roundtable led by CFR expert Tom Frieden discusses the health effects of air pollution and how to combat the problem.
China/India: New Delhi's foreign ministry issued a “strong protest” (The Hindu) with Beijing over the publication of a map of the countries’ border region. It included boundaries that India’s foreign ministry called “absurd,” further straining bilateral tensions ahead of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit to be held in New Delhi next month.
|
|
|
Middle East and North Africa |
WSJ: Saudi Arabia Offers to Restart Funding to Palestinian Authority Amid Talks With Israel |
The offer is an effort to secure the Palestinian Authority’s support for potential Saudi-Israeli normalization, the Wall Street Journal reported. Palestinian leaders criticized Gulf officials’ establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.
Israel: After leaked news of a meeting between Israeli and Libyan officials caused public outrage and resulted in the sacking of Libya’s former foreign minister earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an order (Al Jazeera) requiring his personal approval of any secret talks. |
| |
UN: Clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region Have Killed at Least 183 Since July |
Violence broke out (France 24, AFP) in July between the army and a regional militia despite the end of Ethiopia’s war in Tigray, Amhara’s neighboring region. More than one thousand people have been detained across Ethiopia under new emergency powers related to the clashes, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office said. The office has called for an end to the killings and arbitrary arrests.
|
|
|
Ukraine and Russia Trade Air Strikes as Ukraine Widens Target Scope Inside Russia |
Ukrainian forces launched drones (WSJ) into seven Russian regions overnight, Russian officials said, while Russian strikes in Kyiv killed two security guards at an industrial facility. Ukraine’s strikes appeared to be the widest simultaneously launched at Russian military targets since the war began, hitting four military transport aircraft at an airfield in Pskov, Russian state media reported.
Europe: While European countries have weaned themselves off of natural gas piped from Russia, their imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia have risen faster (FT) than the world average in the first half of this year, according to industry data analyzed by the nonprofit Global Witness.
This Global Energy Tracker by CFR expert Benn Steil explores the energy profiles of countries across the world.
|
| |
Guatemala’s Outgoing President Endorses Transition of Power After Election Controversy |
President Alejandro Giammattei said the doors are open (Reuters) in the country toward an “orderly, transparent, and above all, efficient” transition following the election on August 20 of pro-reform candidate Bernardo Arévalo de León. An electoral body’s order for Arévalo’s party to be suspended following the vote prompted local and international criticism. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that Washington “will stand firm against attempts to undermine Guatemala’s democracy.”
U.S./Canada: Ottawa issued an advisory (WaPo) yesterday warning LGBTQ+ travelers that they are at risk of being affected by new laws in some U.S. states. While it did not give specifics, the warning comes after U.S. human rights groups issued a travel advisory for the state of Florida, noting that it had banned transgender people from using many bathrooms and changing areas.
|
|
|
Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall in Florida, Prompts Emergency Declaration in Four States |
| |
Council on Foreign Relations |
58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 |
1777 F Street, NW — Washington, DC 20006 |
|
|
|
