WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - The State of the World: Shifting Dynamics

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

The State of the World looks at European elections, China's population decline, and more!

Welcome to the State of the World on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Here's your host, Aaron Osborne. Hello, my name is Aaron Osborne, and this is the State of the World on WRFH 101.1.7 FM, where we discuss international news and current events around the world. Starting off with Europe today, a little bit of a parliamentary shake-up as German Chancellor Olaf Schultz has fired his finance minister. Although the move was not overwhelmingly large, the German government. has already scheduled another round of elections for February of 2025. They had elections earlier this summer that went into runoffs.

However, the center-left coalition that resulted from the elections was subject to a vote of no confidence. In other European news, soccer goers in Amsterdam were subjected to what the Israeli government is called a Fogrom following the coordinated attack on Israeli soccer supporters that attended the match. Experts say it's a reflection of growing anti-Semitism in Europe. In Asian news, the People's Republic of China debuted a new model of a stealth fighter jet on November 12th. The fighter jet was part of a made-in-flight generation and is known as a J-35A, a quote-unquote fifth-generation fighter that can attack enemy targets at supersonic speeds, which was debuted at the air show in Zhuge this week.

Experts say that the debut of the fighter jet comes as a response to perceived increasing competition with American military systems and the president-elect who was notoriously tough on China during his first presidency. The Chinese military also has been ramping up its naval production as experts fear conflict in the South China Sea and increasing regional aggression. In the Middle East, Israeli government officials have announced. a series of airport flights back to Israel for citizens that were at the soccer matches in Amsterdam. They also raised the alarm over what users of the popular messaging app within Amsterdam called a Jew hunt online. During the Second World War and Holocaust, Amsterdam was the final hiding place of Anne Frank, and it was also the refuge of Corey Tinboom who saved dozens of Jews. from life and death in concentration camps.

Dutch authorities said between 25 and 35 people were injured during the attacks, which were quote-unquote hit-and-run assaults. While many members of the international community have been quick to disparage the attacks on the Jewish community, the Palestinian diplomatic representation within Amsterdam called for further respect to the Arab nations and to the Palestinian flag. In a follow-up on last week's commentary on the freeing of political prisoners within Africa, the Nigerian court freed 119 people, including minors on November 12th, who had been charged under the deadly protests that happened in August over economic hardship. The accused faced charges including treason and inside a coup, some of which had charges including the death penalty.

This followed a series of popular. outcries, including the news that broke in early November and late October that up to 29 children were facing charges, including that death penalty. Over the cost of laying crisis in Nigeria, which saw thousands of protesters throughout the summer. Last but not least, trouble continues in Haiti as the Spirit Airlines flight 951 from Fort Lauderdale to Port-au-Polince, the capital of Haiti, was diverted to the neighboring Dominican Republic following being hit by gunfire as it tried to land in the Haitian airport.

The attack is the second in the past three weeks and several airlines have suspended flights to Haiti amidst increasing political turmoil in the region. BBC reports that the Haitian Prime Minister Gary Kunir has been fired by the country's council less than six months after he took office. In other news, an Ecuadorian prison riot is estimated to have killed at least 15 people and injured 14 in Ecuador's largest prison on the coastal city of Guayaquil.

Ecuador's prisons are among the deadliest in Latin America with problems including overcrowding and frequent riots, including one in 2021 that left 119 inmates dead. This is The State of the World on WRFH 101.7 FM. You've been listening to The State of the World with your host Aaron Osborne here on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.1.2. 7 FM.