Friday News Roundup - International

Clashes between pro-government and opposition supporters in Venezuela this week left at least one woman dead and dozens of people injured, according to the BBC.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó asked Venezuelans to protest each day until Maduro’s government relinquishes power.

Guaidó told Fox Business Network “as long as we are mobilized and united, we are very close to achieving our freedom…Can't tell you a specific date or time. Working on transition. Democracy has always taken time.”

The New York Times obtained a secret document about one of Nicholas Maduro’s confidants, Tareck El Aissami, that allegedly exposed corruption and other criminal activity.

According to a secret dossier compiled by Venezuelan agents, Mr. El Aissami and his family have helped sneak Hezbollah militants into the country, gone into business with a drug lord and shielded 140 tons of chemicals believed to be used for cocaine production — helping make him a rich man as his country has spiraled into disarray.

Also this week, ISIS released a video of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first in five years. Baghdadi “has always maintained an extreme security protocol, which explains how he's stayed alive since 2010, when he became emir of the Islamic State of Iraq,” according to reporter Rukmini Callamachi, who covers ISIS for The Times.

She also notes:

Baghdadi praises the attackers in Sri Lanka, calling their combined murder revenge for Baghuz. This is significant because everyone from the Sri Lankan government to prominent journalists fell for unofficial statements from ISIS fanboys calling it revenge for Christchurch.

Baghuz is a Syrian city previously held by ISIS, of which American-backed forces recently took control.

In addition, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaking the U.K.’s Bail Act.. He also appeared in court this week for a hearing on his extradition to the United States, a process which could take many months.

A new emperor, Naruhito, ascended the Chrysanthemum throne in Japan this week. The 85-year-old former Emperor Akihito was the first to hold the position in only a ceremonial role, and also was the first to step down from the position in over 200 years.

We round up the week of news from around the globe.

GUESTS

Nina-Maria Potts, Director of Global News Coverage, Feature Story News; @ninamariapotts

Greg Myre, National security correspondent, NPR; co-author of “This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”; @gregmyre1

Amna Nawaz, National correspondent and substitute anchor, PBS NewsHour; @IAmAmnaNawaz

Sheila Smith, Senior fellow for Japan Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; author, “Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China”; @SheilaSmithCFR

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

© 2019 WAMU 88.5 – American University Radio.

Copyright 2019 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.