Hello, everyone. Today at WPR, we’re covering the dual challenge of isolation overseas and domestic censorship facing Israel’s creative community, and Germany’s long-delayed response to a proliferation of drones in its skies. | But first, here’s our take on today’s top story: |  | Youth protesters call for President Andry Rajoelina to step down, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Oct. 14, 2025 (AP photo by Brian Inganga). |
| Weeks of youth-led protests against poor governance in Madagascar culminated in a coup Tuesday as an elite unit of the military announced it had taken control of the country. President Andriy Rajoelina has fled and is reportedly hiding in Dubai, having been impeached and removed from office by an overwhelming majority of the legislature. | It was an ironic coda for Rajoelina, who was installed in 2009 as interim leader following a takeover by the same unit of the military that ousted him 16 years later: the Personnel Administration and Technical and Administrative Services Corps, more commonly known as CAPSAT. | Rajoelina is not the first leader to be ousted amid a global Gen Z uprising. Nepal’s government collapsed last month following a week of intense protests against corruption, inequality and a ban on social media platforms. In the case of Madagascar, one of the most impoverished countries in the world, the main sticking point was persistent cuts to electricity and water supplies that disrupted daily life. | “How can they expect us to stay silent?” Sarobidy Ramarimanana, a 22-year-old student, asked in an interview with Al Jazeera. “We fetch water in the dark, we sleep through power cuts, and they tell us to be patient? For how long?” | Even before these protests, Rajoelina was a controversial figure. As Cornelia Tremann wrote for WPR in 2023, he positioned himself … Purchase a subscription now to get the paid edition of the Daily Review, which includes the full top story. |
|
| | This is the free edition of our Daily Newsletter. If you are a paid subscriber and believe you are receiving this edition by mistake, please reply to this email and we’ll make sure you receive the paid edition going forward. | | In the six months or so before Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire last week, as international condemnation of Israel’s military actions in Gaza grew to new heights, so too did pressure to culturally isolate Israel. That is particularly true in the West, which has historically had the strongest cultural ties with the country. At the same time, the greatest threat to Israel’s cultural sectors may not actually be international isolation, but rather domestic politics, Jakob Cansler writes. | | | Over the past few weeks, newspapers in Germany have been discussing drone types, experts have been commenting on countermeasures and the government has proposed a new law that regulates the German armed forces’ authority to shoot down drones above national territory. Behind all the frenzied attention are several drone sightings over critical infrastructure. What is behind the proliferation of drones in German skies and why is there so much attention now? More importantly, can Germany stop these mysterious drones over its territory, and if so, how should it do so? WPR columnist Ulrike Franke tackles these questions. | | | Two Venezuelan activists survived a shooting attack in Bogota, Colombia, on Monday in what appeared to be a professional hit. Yendri Velasquez, a human rights activist, and Luis Peche Artega, a political consultant, were exiting a building when 15 shots were fired from a nearby car that had ben waiting for them. Both victims are in stable condition after surgery. | It was not the first time that Venezuelan opposition figures have been targeted outside the country. In an April 2024 WPR column, James Bosworth examined the case of Ronald Ojeda, a former Venezuelan military officer who was kidnapped from his apartment in Santiago, Chile, by armed men and later found dead. As Bosworth wrote, evidence in the case indicated that “Ojeda’s murder was an extraterritorial assassination carried out on the orders of the Venezuelan government.” |
|
| | | At a meeting today in Moscow, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that his government would “respect all agreements” made with Russia in the past, Reuters reported. Sharaa did not directly reference the fate of Russia’s two military bases in Syria, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believes Damascus wants the facilities to stay. | The talks reflect the pragmatic approach that Russia has taken since the ouster late last year of Bashar al-Assad, Moscow’s longtime client. “Officials in Moscow and their new counterparts in Damascus have engaged each other, with both sides seeing a value to maintaining bilateral relations despite the baggage of Russia’s past support for Assad,” Giorgio Cafiero write in WPR in March. |
|
| | | The paid edition of today’s newsletter includes two additional On Our Radar items. Purchase your subscription now to make sure you don’t miss anything. | If you are already a paid subscriber and believe you are receiving this free edition by mistake, please reply to this email and we’ll make sure you receive the paid edition going forward. | | More from WPR | John Boyce on the EU’s struggles to make its Russia sanctions bite. Alexander Costy on the case for more robust U.N. peacekeeping operations at sea. Paul Poast on why the U.S. needs more than Hegseth’s “warrior ethos” to win wars. Marisa Lourenço on Mozambique’s reliance on Rwanda to prop up its flailing campaign against ISIS insurgents.
| Read all of our latest coverage here. |
|
Comments
Post a Comment
Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.