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20,000 troops vs palace bugs

6 November4 min read
Collage of Indonesia's palace crisis

How do you go from 81% approval, a commanding legislative majority, and a grand political bargain with powerful elites, to deploying 20,000 troops to protect yourself?

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  1. 01

    PARAGUAY

    President steps down.

    President Peña has now tendered his resignation following the catastrophic collapse of a fast-growing digital bank he had recently part-owned, leaving half the country’s adults without access to their accounts. He’s now also facing a criminal investigation, pending his formal impeachment as early as today (Friday). (AP)

  2. 02

    UNITED NATIONS

    Straw poll shuffle.

    The latest secret straw poll within the all-powerful Security Council suggests Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan is pulling away from the pack to be the UN’s next secretary-general, scoring 12 out of 15 votes. But she’s still facing three mystery “discourage” votes, raising the prospect at least one of the Council’s permanent five (probably the US and/or Russia) might veto her. (PassBlue)

  3. 03

    SOUTH KOREA

    Naval deployment.

    Shrugging off domestic fears of getting pulled into the Iran war, Seoul now plans to expand its naval operations in the Middle East, projecting further down near Somalia while adding extra military assets to protect shipping routes. (Korea Times)

  4. 04

    FRANCE

    Strike.

    Another 600,000-to-1.5 million (depending who you believe) demonstrators have taken to the streets across France in a nationwide day of action, demanding wage increases and emergency relief against a grinding cost-of-living crisis. Spearheaded by major trade unions, the strike closed schools, disrupted transport, and even shuttered landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. (France24)

  5. 05

    RUSSIA

    Missile launchers for Iran.

    Leaked defence industry documents reveal a planned deal for Moscow to supply Iran with 90 helicopter-mounted launchers for its advanced LMUR missiles, the same weapons Russian forces have used extensively across Ukraine. (Guardian)

  6. 06

    MEXICO

    Judge drama.

    Federal US prosecutors have charged a Mexican judge with taking a $2M bribe to grant bail for a key lieutenant of Canada’s alleged Olympian-turned-narco, Ryan Wedding. Local authorities took Judge Luis Benítez into custody in Colombia, with extradition procedures now underway. (CBS)

  7. 07

    BURUNDI

    Pay to play.

    President Ndayishimiye has set a May 2027 date for the country’s next election, but the beleaguered opposition isn’t celebrating yet. New-ish electoral rules mean any candidates must now fork over a cool $50k in fees. (Channel Africa)

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