Advertise on podcast: 5WH: Global Events Beyond the Headlines

Today I'll be having a chat about the recent Human Rights Watch report of Venezuelan troops supporting criminal and insurgent attacks against civilians across the Colombian Border. We'll have a look at each of the main actors, the situation which has brought them to this point, and what they might want out of it! If you like this, or have any comments, please search 5WH on Facebook or Instagram to give me a like and share your thoughts!

Shooting back to the subject of episode 8, the Ethiopian government has recently agreed a humanitarian ceasefire with the rebels in the Tigray Province, yet there doesn't seem to be a firm roadmap for peace, or much in the way of the promised humanitarian aid. Join me to think about what this might mean for Ethiopia moving forward, and the limitations of conflicts and ceasefires. If you like this, or have any comments, please search 5WH on Facebook or Instagram to give me a like and share your thoughts!

Welcome back to 5WH! As I'm sure many of you will have heard, the Haitian President, Moise, was assassinated by a group of "mercenaries" last week, and I'm going to take a quick whizz through what you need to know to put his death in some context. Grab a coffee or a snack and join me for Havoc in Haiti.

The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was killed in what many believe was an attempted kidnapping while on a visit to a World Food Programme site in the east of the country. The attack has raised numerous questions, and been tragically underserved by the main stream media coverage, so join me for a quick glance at the wider context that led up to this tragedy.

The world's been gazing intently upon the US election and praying for a smooth transfer of power, meanwhile, Peru has had three presidents in a week without even bothering to go to the polls. If you'd like to know more, grab a snack, put on your trainers, or just lounge on the Sofa and join me for a whistle-stop tour!

Some of you may have noticed that conflict has kicked off in Ethiopia's Tigray region, with Federal forces conducting offensive operations against local militias. As is sadly the norm in conflicts of this nature, atrocities have been reported, and it remains unclear what either side's end-state would be. If you like this, or have any comments, please search 5WH on Facebook or Instagram to give me a like and share your thoughts!

Late last week the European Council held a summit on external relations. While promoted as a forum to address political unrest in Belarus and armed conflict in the Caucasus (see episode 006!) the summit appeared to be hijacked by Greece and Cyprus as a platform to address what they consider to be ongoing aggression by Turkey within their waters. If you're feeling left a bit high-and-dry by media coverage of this, join me to explore it in a bit more depth!

Azerbaijan assaulted an Armenian-held enclave known as Nagorno Karabakh in the early hours of Sunday 27 September. Since then, both forces have been locked in combat, seeking to wrest control of key terrain in the region from each other. This is the latest in several decades of conflict, but the most severe recent outbreak. Somewhat concerningly, Russia and Turkey are backing opposing sides, and there remains scope for this to escalate into a full-scale proxy war. If this sounds like something you want to know about, hit play, and enjoy your breakfast!

Pakistan's leading opposition parties announced the formation of a coalition against the ruling Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and his PTI party. Citing opposition to the politicisation of anti-corruption efforts and the military's influence over politics, these parties appear to be setting out their stall for next year's upper-house elections. Given their history though, its anyone's guess as to whether these objectives are sincere or achievable.

Mozambique's popped up in the news recently, particularly in response to allegations of egregious breaches of human rights by security forces seeking to pacify the restive Cabo Delgado region. I'd like to take you on a brief whistle stop tour of the issue so you can see what's led to the recent trouble!

Seen Russian elections in the news? Seen that Putin and United Russia didn't get a clean sweep and wondered why? Curious as to whether Navalny's poisoning impacted it? Lets find out!

[Note: please excuse sound quality, I recorded this when traveling with work.] Some of you may have heard mention of Iran in the news again recently, buried under all the COVID and election chaos. Where its made its way into mainstream coverage context has often been lacking, so I hope you find this a useful primer from which to better understand the problem!