On September 2, the presidents of both Colombia and Venezuela announced that the closure of their countries’ borders for cargo traffic will end on September 26, and flights between their capitals will also resume, reports the Associated Press. On August 29, the presidents of Colombia and Venezuela officially re-established diplomatic ties, three years after ties had been severed.
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On September 11, Sweden’s right-wing party won the general election after a tight race against the center-left. As of September 15, conservatives have won 176 of 349 seats in parliament, reports The New York Times. Though the Swedish Social Democratic Party obtained the largest percentage of votes, they only were able to grab 173 seats in parliament, marking an end to Sweden’s historic left-leaning control of the government.
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On September 11, Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels announced that they are willing to participate in peace talks headed by the African Union (AU), reports Al Jazeera. This announcement comes after fighting resumed between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in August.
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On September 10, Greek forces attacked The Anatolian, a Turkish cargo ship, just 11 miles off the coast of Bozcaada, further straining relations between the two countries. According to the National Interest, the Greek ship assessed the Turkish cargo as “moving suspiciously,” which served as justification for their attack.
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With the latest effort to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, U.S. allies have stated that they have “serious doubts” that Iran and the U.S. will strike a deal, reports Reuters. President Biden promised to restore the nuclear agreement during his 2020 presidential campaign, yet negotiations appear to be delayed ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
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On September 12, more than 100 people were killed when fighting erupted along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border surrounding the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, reports The Washington Post. In a series of attacks by “heavy artillery, drones, and large-caliber weapons,” Azerbaijan attacked Armenian troops along the border in response to what they claimed were military provocations from Armenia, according to the United Nations.
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In partnership with Food for the Hungry, Foreign Policy and Dr. Mayesha Alam hosted a discussion titled “From Fragility to Resilience.” The virtual symposium focused on promoting resilience measures aimed at helping economically unstable communities reduce the risks posed by crises.
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Beginning September 10, Ukrainian forces launched a significant counter-offensive against Russia, recapturing many cities and marking a major shift in the conflict, reports Reuters. During the past five months of the war, Russia captured 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. However, Ukraine regained those northeastern territories in a surprise offensive that caught the Russians off guard.
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Violent, Islamic-extremist terrorism has captured headlines around the world for much of the last two decades, with the number of deaths attributable to Islamic terrorism, sharply increasing in both the West and the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. This rise in terrorism across the Middle East has spurred a migration crisis, as desperate people flee to neighboring countries and across the sea to Europe in hopes of escaping violence, economic despair, and civil repression.
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Throughout the twenty-first century, there has been a rapid increase in Central American emigration, especially from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, known together as the “Northern Triangle.” The Migration Policy Institute found that in 2019, out of all the Central American immigrants in the United States, 37.3 percent (1,412,000 people) were from El Salvador, 29.4 percent (1,111,000 people) were from Guatemala, and 19.7 percent (746,000 people) were from Honduras.
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