US President Donald Trump appeared to hand Argentine President Javier Milei a financial lifeline ahead of the South American nation’s midterm election later this month, pledging to grant the long-suffering economy a $20-billion bailout. But, the US leader added, “If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.” Trump denied that he was seeking to boost Milei ahead of the midterms, but Democrats criticized him for helping out a foreign administration while the US federal government is shut down. It’s also unclear what would constitute enough of a “win” for Milei in the eyes of Trump – the Argentine leader is hoping to win a third of Chamber of Deputies seats so that he can gain veto power.
Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Russia on Wednesday, meeting with one of the biggest backers of the Assad regime he overthrew. Both Syria and Russia have reasons to bury that hatchet. Al-Sharaa is seeking guarantees that Russia won’t rearm remnants of Assad’s forces, and could instead help rebuild Syria’s army. He also implored Moscow to hand over Assad to face trial in Syria. Meanwhile, Russia has lost or been restricted from accessing its military bases and naval ports in Syria, which provide Russia its only stopover points in the eastern Mediterranean for planes and ships traveling to Africa. Following the meeting, al-Sharaa said that Syria would honor all past deals struck between the two countries, suggesting that Russia’s military bases may be open for business again soon.
One might not expect that a battle between a 92-year-old and a 79-year-old — who happens to be his former friend — would necessarily have such major consequences for a country, but that’s exactly the case for Cameroon. Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, 79, claimed victory yesterday over President Paul Biya, 92, following Sunday’s presidential election, and called on the long-time leader to “honour the truth of the ballot box.” Biya’s party denied Tchiroma’s claims, though the long-time leader hasn’t necessarily been the most reliable practitioner of democracy. The official results for Sunday’s poll have yet to be announced – the deadline for their certification is Oct. 26.
Even as Israel grows increasingly isolated on the world stage, there is one region where a whole swath of newly-elected leaders can't seem to get enough of the Jewish State: Latin America.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has deployed 500 troops to Milan and tightened nationwide anti-rioting laws in an effort to quell unrest that has gripped the city since the weekend.
President Trump has changed course on Ukraine before. We all remember the Oval Office pyrotechnics (and the reconciliation). But his latest turn toward Russia could prove harder to reverse.
South Sudan is accusing neighboring Sudan of launching a drone strike that killed at least 73 people at a market in Abyei, a disputed, oil-rich region of roughly 4,000 square miles claimed by both countries.