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Story Publication logo July 20, 2019

Indira Lakshmanan on NPR 1A's Global Friday News Roundup — July 19, 2019

Author:
Pulitzer Center Executive Editor Indira Lakshman speaks President Trump's use of the term "Fake News." Screenshot from a Washington Post video stream. United States, 2018.
English

"Indira Lakshmanan Reports" highlights Lakshmanan's reporting, commentary, and public event...

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Image courtesy from NPR's 1A.
Image courtesy of NPR's 1A.

Please note that the international news roundup featuring Indira Lakshmanan begins at 47:16

Show Notes for July 19, 2019

The World Health Organization declared an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a global health emergency.

More than 1,600 people are dead. From The Guardian:

"This is perhaps the most complicated epidemic the world has ever had to face, yet still the response in the DRC remains overstretched and underfunded,” said Dr Josie Golding, epidemics lead at Wellcome. “A step-up in the response, led by the DRC and with full international support, is critical if we are to bring the epidemic to an end. This must include enhanced diplomatic, public health, security and logistic efforts as well as releasing much needed financial resources."

And in Sudan, the military and civilian activists reached a deal to share power. But questions still remain about how power will be divided and transferred.

NPR reports:

The deal establishes a joint civilian-military sovereign council to govern Sudan during a three-year transition period before elections. The council will be made up of five civilians, five people from the military, and an 11th person to be chosen by the council. A military leader will head the council for the first 21 months, and then a civilian leader will lead it for the following 18 months.

In Europe, Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new president of the European Union Commission, the first woman to hold the position. To take on the new role, she resigned as Germany’s defense minister. Der Spiegel identifies her as a center-right politician. One of her biggest challenges will be trying to lead the EU through Brexit.

And Christine Lagarde resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund this week. She is currently in the nomination process to lead the European Central Bank.

A recent video showed Lagarde reacting to a comment made by the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, while in conversation with British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emanuel Macron.

The former president of Peru, Alejandro Toledo, was arrested in the United States based on “accusations he received $20 million as part of a bribery scandal that has engulfed the region,” according to The New York Times.

More from The Times:

The charges are related to Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction giant that admitted in 2016 to paying $800 million in bribes to secure large infrastructure contracts throughout the region. The scandal has been particularly explosive in Peru: One president resigned as a result, while an ex-president committed suicide this year as the police were coming to arrest him on corruption charges.

And the United States is planning to send hundreds of troops to Saudi Arabia amid high tensions in the region.

This move comes as Iran says it has seized another foreign oil tanker in the Gulf region. The Revolutionary Guard says the foreign tanker, the origin of which has not yet been identified, was smuggling fuel. Twelve people were on board.

We wrap up a busy week in global news.


Guests

Peter Bergen CNN national security analyst; vice president and director of the international security program at New America; author of "United States of Jihad: Investigating America's Homegrown Terrorists"; @peterbergencnn

Indira Lakshmanan Executive editor, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting; columnist, The Boston Globe; @Indira_L

David Lawler World news editor, Axios; @davidlawler10

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