14 of the Most Important International Headlines From the Past Week

1. Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq

Gas shell classified as a weapon of mass destruction; CC photo from Wikipedia

A New York Times article revealed the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. From 2004 to 2011, the article says, American soldiers reported finding around 5,000 warheads, bombs and other weapons that would fall into the category. These reports were not made public until recently.

2. Sweden Searches for Russian Spy Sub

Soviet submarine on display in Amsterdam; CC photo from Flickr

Sweden has spent the last three days searching for foreign underwater activity within its territorial waters, after intercepting a Russian distress signal. The Swedish government believes the Russians are searching for a damaged spy submarine just outside Stockholm, after at least three separate sightings. Russia has denied all reports.

3. Venezuela Elected to UN Security Council

UN Security Council; CC photo from Flickr

Elections for nonpermanent members of the UN Security Council took place this week. New Zealand, Angola and Malaysia all won seats for the 2015 term. Venezuela, previously blocked by countries like the U.S., finally won a seat.
Spain was the 5th nonpermanent member elected to the Council, after going through three rounds of votes in an upset victory over Turkey.

4. Iran Nuclear Agreement Could Bypass Congress

Iran nuclear talks continue; CC photo from Flickr

The word used to summarize continued nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran is “progress,” which came from reports by each party. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday.
There is little discussion on what that progress might be. The deadline for the talks is late November. Iran believes there will be no extension. There is a lot of concern in the U.S. that President Obama will bypass Congress to achieve a deal.

5. Putin Visits Serbia

Russian President Putin; CC photo from Flickr

Serbia held its first military parade in 30 years last week to celebrate liberation from the Nazis and brought Russian President Vladimir Putin as the guest of honor. Serbia says the visit does not change their Westernization goals, but they did sign multiple military and economic agreements with Russia during the visit.

6. Euroskeptic Group Collapses

Iveta Grigule of Latvia; CC photo from Flickr

The Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group (EFDD) in the European Parliament will be disbanded. The group, mostly made of up of euroskeptic parties, no longer has enough MEPs (members of the European Parliament) to exist after Iveta Grigule of the Latvian Farmers Union left the group. Parliamentary groups must have 25 MEPs from at least 7 countries.

7. Taliban Leaders Join ISIS

US military burns Taliban safehouse; CC photo from wikipedia

Six Taliban leaders from Pakistan announced their allegiance to the Islamic State through a spokesman earlier this week. This is a P.R. victory for ISIS and could lead to more divisions and defections across the Middle East. Previously, the Pakistani Taliban denied any allegiance to ISIS.

8. Ukraine vs. Russia Issues Continue

ASEM Summit; CC photo from Flickr

Ukraine and Russia met during the European-Asian summit (ASEM) in Milan, Italy, this week. The most serious breakthrough during these talks was an agreement between the two countries on a gas deal. Russia has been threatening to shut off gas to Europe all week.
Despite an order from Russian President Vladimir Putin for 17,000 Russian troops participating in exercises near Ukraine to pull back from the border, Ukraine saw violent protests in Kyiv.
The “nationalist” protest was made up of masked men clashing with police. Many claimed to be soldiers who had not received appropriate pay or reinforcements, or just Ukrainians fed up with the slow pace of change in Ukraine. Far right parties such as Right Sector said they had not sent people to participate in the protest, and most protesters would not identify a party or organizational affiliation.

9. Greece’s Government Retains Power

Greek Parliament building; CC photo from Flickr

Greece’s coalition government won a confidence vote over the weekend. The government called the vote to ease fear of instability and pull minority members of the coalition together. The Greek government is still dealing with a tough economic crisis.

10. Anti-ISIS Coalition Fights Islamic State

Some of the active members of the anti-ISIS coalition; CC photo from NBCNews

Officials from at least 20 countries met in Washington, D.C., as part of the Anti-ISIS coalition. The meeting included discussion of military strategy, as ISIS makes gains in Iraq and Syria, despite on-going airstrikes.
The significant border town between Turkey and Syria, Kobani, has finally made some gains over ISIS. Tonight, the U.S. military has airdropped supplies including weapons, ammunition and medical equipment to nearby Kurdish forces.

11. Mozambique Holds Contentious Elections

Lines in front of the polling station in Mozambique; CC photo from Flickr

Mozambique, a smaller country in Southeast Africa, held elections in a close race between the party in power, Frelimo, and the opposition party Renamo. The election was mostly peaceful, but the Renamo party made several allegation of voter fraud and refused to recognize the election results which gave Frelimo its fifth consecutive victory.

12. Local Elections in India

Narenda Modi campaigning; CC Photo from Flickr

India held two major state elections this week in Maharashtra and Haryana.The elections are seen as a measurement of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity, as he has campaigned for his BJP party in both states, personally. BJP had the largest turnout in the election, winning the majority of seats in Haryana and making gains in Maharashtra.

13. Protests in Spain

Catalonia’s Flag colors; CC photo from Flickr

Catalonia has called off its independence referendum tentatively planned for November 9th, after legal rebukes from Spain. Catalonia’s government said they will have a “consultation” with their citizens instead. Today, tens of thousands of Catalonians flooded Barcelona, demanding early elections after being prevented from their independence vote.

14. Yemen Appoints New PM

Khaled Bahah, new PM of Yemen; CC photo from Yahoo News

Yemen has appointed yet another new Prime Minister. This time the President selected UN envoy Khaled Bahah. Bahah was one of the three options that Houthi rebels suggested to fill the role.
The government hopes this will end the conflict with the Shia rebels. But the appointment of Bahah, who has 30 days to form a new government, has not halted the violence. The home of the Governor of Sana’a’s house was stormed by rebels, and 12 have died in clashes today.

Katrina Jørgensen is the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor for the Young Republican National Federation. You can find her on Twitter at @Veribatim.