WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - The State of the World: Moldova 2.0

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

The State of the World discusses the Moldovan runoff elections, Sudan, and more!

Welcome to the State of the World on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Here's your host, Aaron Osborne. Hello, this is Aaron Osborne, and you are listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM, the State of the World podcast, where we talk about international news and foreign relations. Starting off in Europe today with the small Eastern European country of Moldova. We previously discussed their referendum and potential joining of a, international organization like the European Union, but this, the presidential elections that were with that election ran into a runoff and as of November 4th, President Maya Sandu has been renewed for a

second term as president. Known for her pro-Western policies, President Sandu is the first Moldovan president to be elected to two consecutive terms. Also in Europe this week, in the eastern region of Valencia, which is in Spain, the region has seen significant flooding and the King and Queen of Spain had mud thrown at their faces by protesters. To Asian news following last week's episode on October 31st, North Korean President Kim Jong-un announced that the country had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, which we remained in the air for more than 85 minutes, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.

The news of an ICBM is considered inflammatory within the region, especially as within recent months, North Korea's nuclear program has appeared to be shrinking, at least in the terms of international media. Pyongyang and Washington have spent five years without nuclear talks, and experts say that this, coupled with increasing interaction with the Chinese and Russian governments, may lead to increasing power in the region for Kim Jong-un. In addition, China's concerns about population decline are increasing, as this year's official data reports that the number of new marriages is the lowest on record

at 4.74 million couples registering for marriage this past year. In Middle Eastern News, the country of Israel informed the United Nations that it has terminated the longstanding United Nations Agreement for the UN Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, which oversees the Palestinian refugees. The organization UNRWA came under fire, as several reports indicate that members, of UNRWA and thus funded by the United Nations were participants in the deadly October 7th terrorist attack on Israel. Also this week on the 45th anniversary of the Ayatollah system coming to power in Iran, a female student in an Iranian university stripped her underwear as a protest against the country's Islamic dress codes.

The woman has since been detained in a move that many are comparing to the 2022 protests at the death of Masa Amini, a Kurdish woman arrested and then beaten to death for improperly wearing a hijab. Shifting to Africa, the Kenyan government has submitted a request to join Bricks and held talks with the Chinese foreign minister in Nairobi on November 4th. Bricks is a coalition of member states including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and met a few weeks ago for their annual summit. In Nigeria, charges of treasions have been dropped against more than 30 children who took part in anti-government demonstrations and were arrested in August. The arrest and detention of the children was subject to public outcry following the collapse of four of the children in court this past week due to malnourishment.

Some of the children are as young as 14 and their release has sparked broader conversations about governance and prison conditions. In news from South America, over 200 soldiers are being held hostage by armed supporters of Bolivia's former President Morales, according to the foreign ministry. The group took control of a military facility near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, the BBC reported. In Argentina, President Javier Milley sacked his foreign minister, Diana Mundino, after she voted in favor of listing the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba at the U.N. The vote, which was held on October 30th, saw only two countries, the United States and Israel, opposed the lifting of the ban, Argentina being one of the 187 countries that supported the lift. Javier Milet, known for his libertarian tendencies, has taken a step back from Cuba, which the BBC reports that previous Argentinian governments were more sympathetic to. I'm Aaron Osborne, and this has been Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. You've been listening to The State of the World with your host, Aaron Osborne, here on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.