DGI Brief - August 2, 2016

Good Tuesday, all. Today's top 5 global issues news are about #Turkey #Libya #SouthAfrica #Venezuela and #India

- TURKEY: President Erdogan’s rhetoric is relentless blaming foreign powers, in particular western allies, for supporting the coup plotters. Today he added accusations that EU is not upholding its commitments to the EU-Turkey migrant deal – funds & visa-free travel for Turks. What he’s not blasting about is his failure as a leader for Turkey to fulfill the criteria for the migrant deal – amending anti-terrorism laws, abandoning death penalty etc. In fact, the current purge seems to be moving Turkey further away from meeting these criteria. The worst kind of leader is the one who can’t admit mistakes, cannot reflect on opposition & criticism constructively.

- Many laud American involvement in the fight against ISIS in LIBYA, particularly as it seemed odd to leave alone the most powerful branch of ISIS outside of Syria/Iraq. Meanwhile, Italy, who disallowed the use of its Sigonella airbase for ‘offensive purposes’ is changing tune, keenly focused on stabilization of Libya. Why? Because 90% of migrant arrivals to Italy come from Libya.

- SOUTH AFRICA: Political violence ahead of Wednesday’s elections left 12 candidates dead, enough to prompt creation of an investigation task force. Main reasons appear to be competition for a steady, lucrative & powerful job, as well as impunity for such killings. The African National Congress party can expect to lose many municipalities to opposition as a sign of the nation’s frustration with their leadership.

- VENEZUELA: Step 1 – collect 1% of voter signatures in all 24 states (or 200,000 signatures) & get the National Electoral Council (CNE) approval. The next step – deadline not yet set – will be to collect 4 million signatures in 3 days demanding a recall referendum. The recall campaign is accusing President Maduro of mismanaging Venezuela’s economy … an allegation not far fetched given the country’s current situation.

- INDIA: From east to north, constant rains are causing massive flooding destroying land, infrastructure, killing people and animals – incl. 17 rare one-horned rhinos in a national park – & displacing millions. The government is responding as best as they can, highlighting the importance of disaster preparedness.

#democracy #autocracy #Erdogan #dictator #purge #Turkeycoup #EUmigrantdeal #allies #ISIS #USmilitary #airstrikes #airbase #Italy #Sicily #ANC #elections #municipal #politicalviolence #violence #opposition #referendum #recall #Maduro #monsoon #rains #flooding #extremeweather #drought #humanitarian #environment #destruction #climatechange