Global developments on September 13, 2024

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday.

Today we look at American politics, election campaigns in Africa and other news from around the world.

Let’s get started.

Africa

-The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Cissoko Embalo announced Thursday night that he would not seek re-election in the November presidential election. The surprise move came after he called a meeting of his cabinet ministers.

Embalo was elected in 2020 and is eligible for a second term. He did not name a potential successor.

The West African country has suffered a series of coups and ongoing political unrest since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.

-Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Thursday dissolved parliament and call new elections for November 17.

Faye said in an evening speech that he had taken the step because he believed the opposition party was not willing to negotiate on the country’s budget law.

Yesterday marked two years since the current parliament came to power. That is the minimum period before new elections can be called.

In March, Faye defeated the ruling party candidate in a landslide victory, promising to stamp out endemic corruption and boost the economy.

-The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that the confident it could raise $600 million There is a need to combat the outbreak of MPOX disease on the continent.

Morocco confirmed yesterday the first case of the more contagious variant.

Other links:

Sudan accuses UAE of arming rivals, prolonging war, UAE accuses Sudan of refusing to talk peace – AP

US Pressures Nigeria to Release Jailed Binance Employee -Newspaper

Turkey wants ballistic missile test site, spaceport in Somalia -Bloomberg

Egyptian, German presidents discuss Gaza war and bilateral cooperation – Africa News

Nigeria’s Alau Dam Collapses in Maiduguri: Survivors Desperate as Hunger Strikes -BBC

Guinea-Bissau is a West African country with a population of approximately 2.1 million.

America and the Caribbean

-The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions about 16 henchmen of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in response to electoral fraud in the presidential elections in July.

Washington, along with other regional and Western capitals, has recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the disputed vote. Just last week, González fled the country to seek asylum in Spain after Maduro’s government issued an arrest warrant for him.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in addition to the sanctions, Washington would also impose visa restrictions on an unspecified number of people identified as “associated with Maduro.”

-Protesters collided with police outside Argentina’s National Congress after lawmakers in the House of Representatives blocked a pension increase.

The proposal was opposed by populist President Javier Milei.

-A majority of Mexican states approved a controversial judicial reform package that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the final step toward securing ratification. The Senate approved the overhaul on Wednesday by an 86-41 vote after an overnight debate. The House of Representatives approved the legislation earlier this month.

The reforms, backed by the ruling Morena party, would shake up the country’s judiciary by shrinking the Supreme Court and organizing elections for the country’s more than 7,000 judges and magistrates.

The revision will come into effect once it is published in the government register.

Constitutional measures must receive two-thirds support in both chambers of the General Congress, in addition to the support of a majority of the country’s 32 states.

-Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate their independence on Sunday.

On September 15, 1821, the countries declared their independence from Spain.