Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

{{ subpage.title }}

Honduras' President Xiomara Castro delivers a speech during a ceremony to commemorate the National Flag Day, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras September 1, 2024.

REUTERS/Stringer

Honduras rocked by presidential drug scandal

Honduran President Xiomara Castro faced calls to resign on Wednesday after journalists released a video of her brother-in-law negotiating payoffs with convicted drug traffickers. The man in the video, Carlos Zelaya, denied he knew he was taking drug money, but he and his son both resigned from their government positions after the revelation. Carlos’ brother, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, is Castro’s husband and was president himself before being overthrown in a coup in 2009.

Read moreShow less

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a Conservative general election campaign event, in London, Britain June 24, 2024.

REUTERS/Phil Noble

Hard Numbers: Sunak shows up, Indonesia busts cyber racket, US sentences drug-trafficking ally, West Africa puts a price on security

50-50: British PM Rishi Sunak may be on the ropes these days — his polling numbers are in the gutter, his party is engulfed in a betting scandal, and he even got roasted by Menswear guy. But in his debate against Labour leader Keir Starmer this week, he managed to perform well enough (hammering Starmer for having no real plan for “change”) that straw polls showed a 50-50 tie. Still, with Labour ahead by double digits going into the July 4 election, Sunak’s days are numbered.

103: Indonesian authorities arrested 103 foreign nationals suspected of being part of a cybercrime syndicate on the island of Bali. The suspects – who included citizens of Taiwan, China, and Malaysia – had reportedly been abusing their residence permits as well. Indonesia’s rapidly growing e-commerce and tech scene has made the nation particularly vulnerable to cybercrime: It ranks eighth among Asia-Pacific nations when it comes to cyber security.

Read moreShow less
Paige Fusco

Viewpoint: As an angry China looms, Taiwan’s president seeks support in the Americas

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen will travel to the US, Guatemala, and Belize from March 29 to April 7 against a backdrop of deepening tensions with China, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province. In the US, Tsai is expected to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and in Guatemala and Belize she aims to shore up relations with two of the last 13 countries in the world that recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty. We asked experts at Eurasia Group to explain the motivations behind Tsai’s visit.

Read moreShow less

Comparative maps showing which countries had official diplomatic ties with Taiwan just before the UN recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1971 to today.

Ari Winkleman

The Graphic Truth: Taiwan's shrinking recognition

Honduras announced this week that it’ll sever official diplomatic ties with Taiwan and instead recognize China. This would bring the number of countries with formal ties to the self-ruled island down to 13, with only two Central American allies (Belize and Guatemala) remaining. China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, has been playing tug-of-war with Taipei for influence in Latin America for years. We look at which countries had official diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1971, just before the UN switched recognition of China’s government to the People’s Republic, compared to today.

What We’re Watching: West dents Russian gas leverage, Honduran president sworn in, Portuguese vote

Nord Stream 2 used as a bargaining chip with Russia. The US now says that if Russia invades Ukraine, it’ll block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is set to transfer even more natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. This is a big deal, considering that Germany – thirsty for more Russian gas – has long been pushing for the pipeline to start operating despite ongoing objections from Washington. The $11 billion energy project, which would double Russian gas exports to Germany, is seen as (a big) part of the reason why Berlin is reluctant to push back hard against the Kremlin over its troop buildup at the Ukrainian border. Still, German officials admit Nord Stream 2 could face sanctions if the Russians invade, suggesting that the Americans’ threat was likely coordinated with Berlin in advance. This comes amid ongoing diplomatic attempts to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis, with US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set to meet at the White House on February 7.

Read moreShow less

A vote for change in Honduras. Will they get it?

The small Central American nation of Honduras is in many ways a full blown narco-state. President Juan Orlando Hernandez – who’s governed the country for close to a decade – has been linked to the country’s booming drug trafficking trade. His brother Tony, a former congressman who is buds with Mexican drug lord El-Chapo, was sentenced to life-in prison this year for smuggling cocaine into the US. Narco-trafficking gangs run riot in the country, fueling one of the world’s highest murder rates, while corruption and poverty abound.

Read moreShow less

The Graphic Truth: Who's arriving at the US-Mex border

Despite a recent dip, migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border have surged over the past 10 months, driven by economic hardship, violence, and the perception that President Biden would be more welcoming to migrants than his predecessor. Most of those coming to the US from the South hail from Mexico, but a large number have also fled violence and poverty in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. We take a look at migration patterns from Central America in 2021 compared to 2020.

Omicron variant unlikely to lead to lockdowns by governments
Impact of Omicron Variant Remains Uncertain | World In :60 | GZERO Media

Omicron variant unlikely to lead to lockdowns by governments

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week with a look at the omicron variant, the Honduras presidential election, and the pros and cons of getting stuck in a UK pub for three days in a snowstorm.

As the omicron variant emerges, is a return to lockdown next?

The answer is, only in a few play places, because people are exhausted from lockdowns. They're angry with their governments from doing it. Governments are going to be very reluctant to have the economic hit as a consequence, especially when they know they can't pay out the relief money that they've been paying over the last couple of years, and they're not yet sure about just how much of a danger omicron is. I think all sorts of travel restrictions, but unless and until you see that the spread starts leading to significant lethality, hospitalizations, and once again, the potential for ICUs to be overwhelmed, I do not expect many significant lockdowns that are countrywide at this point. Not least in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the populations are very young and as a consequence, you can have a lot of spread and they're not paying attention to it, frankly.

Read moreShow less

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest