Monday Briefing | May 8
Stories to Follow
Famine: The UNHCR has alerted that hundreds of thousands could die from famine in the Horn of Africa, Nigeria, Sudan and Yemen, if not enough funding is gathered for humanitarian relief. Climate change and ethnic violence threaten to provoke a tragedy worse than the 2011 famine, when 260,000 people died only in the Horn of Africa. You can donate HERE
The Kingdom strategy falters in Yemen: Thousands of separatists from Southern Yemen have demonstrated against president Abdrabbo Mansur Hadi’s ousting of Aidarus al Zubaidi as the Governor of Aden, signalling a fallout of support for Hadi. This would significantly challenge Saudi Arabia’s strategy in the civil war, where they intend to restore Hadi as the leader of the central government.
Uncertainty grows in Israel: While the “moderate” Ismail Haniyeh -who may represent a softer shift in the organization, that accepts the idea of a Palestinian and an Israeli state and defines their struggle as “political, not religious”- was elected as the new leader of Hamas’ political bureau, PM Netanyahu’s party (Likud) has renewed its attempt to pass a bill that would no longer recognize Arab -spoken by 20% of Israelis- as an official language; Ayman Odeh, the head of the group representing Arab-Israeli parties, said the bill was a “declaration of war” on Israel’s Arab citizens.
French elections aftermath: The world will be reacting to Emmanuel Macron’s victory over Marine Le Pen. Check his profile and wait –President Trump already sent his regards (by Twitter) – to see how euro-skeptics and pro-European forces accommodate to the new map.
This Week in JPI
Thank you for all of you who came out last week to celebrate the launch of the Spring 2017 JPI Journal. Congratulations to all the authors who contributed to this issue, where we cover US-Mexico Border Policy, Citizenship Rights in West Africa, and Political Reform in Egypt.
Happening This Week
Bronx Week – Friday 12 will be the annual banker’s breakfast, the kick-off of the week that will end on Saturday 20’s black-tie Gala and Sunday 21 is the parade, food, arts, festival and concert.
In Your Free Time
A jam packed week of sports: Only the LeBron James’ Cavaliers have already clinched a spot in their NBA conference finals. Now they wait for either Isaiah Tomas’ Boston Celtics or the Wahsington Wizards; in the West, the Spurs and the Rockets will struggle to face -unless a miracle happens- Golden Gate Warriors in the finals. This week’s menu also includes: New York Rangers hosting the Ottawa Senators, the UEFA Champions League semifinals’ final rounds, the major European leagues facing their final rounds and the Argentinean derby, between Boca Juniors and River Plate -recognized as one of the top-3 soccer standoff globally- on Sunday.
This week’s Monday Briefing is brought to you by Matias Ahumada Rioja.
