Former US President Trump Faces 34 Felony Charges
One of the most unmissable stories of the last few months was the indictment of the previous American president Donald Trump at the start of April. After correctly predicting his own arrest in March, Trump was arraigned on the 4 April to answer for 34 counts of falsifying business records.
All of these charges relate to hush-money Trump paid to the adult film star Stormy Daniels during his presidential campaign in 2016. The actress claimed to have accepted $130000 from Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as payment to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the ex-president. In 2017, during his tenure as president, Trump sent a number of cheques to Cohen, registering them as legal fees. Cohen, who has since been jailed, claims that these cheques were actually payments made to reimburse him for the hush-money. If true, this would constitute fraudulent falsification of business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A key moment seized upon by many media outlets during the arrest was a video of an official failing to hold a door open for Trump, which went viral. Jon Sopel of The News Agents Podcast, who has had past experience questioning Trump, tweeted that he thought the former president would have ‘HATED that’, going on to state that he seemed more ‘chastened’ than normal, perhaps due to the seriousness of the charges.
Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Called to Testify in Relation to the Incitement of Riots on Government Buildings
At the end of March, the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, returned from a lengthy stay in the United States. After narrowly losing the 2022 election to his opponent Lula, Bolsonaro travelled to Florida in January of this year, avoiding the incoming president’s inauguration. Just over a week later, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings in protest against his loss, mirroring the riots which broke out in America at Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021. Just as former US president Donald Trump is being ordered to give evidence regarding his involvement in the American riots, so too is Bolsonaro for those that occurred in Brazil. Though he had left by the time of the riots, those investigating claim that he may have incited the violence. The protestors argued that the election had been rigged, an accusation Bolsonaro did not refute. Rather, he posted a video, which has since been deleted, wherein he talked of a voter fraud conspiracy. He has also yet to formally recognise President Lula’s victory.
Dashed Hopes for Eid Ceasefire in Sudan
Ongoing fighting in Sudan throughout Eid is raising the risk of national civil war. The Muslim festival is a time to celebrate the end of fasting. However, for many, the sounds of gunfire during early-morning prayers on Friday 21st April indicates the shootings will not be stopping soon.
Violence first broke out on Saturday 15th April between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A power struggle is developing between these groups as, according to Adel Adbel Ghafar of the Middle East Council, the RSF ‘has resisted integration into the army, understanding it would lose its power’. Tensions over who would be the military’s commander-in-chief are particularly rife. Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo are at the centre of this sticking point.
The failed three-day ceasefire comes after UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the military factions to relieve civilians. Street battles are mostly occurring in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and hundreds have been killed in the first days of conflict. Alongside Guterres’ concern for UN personnel, the WHO are also expressing concern for civilians’ access to healthcare facilities.
Horrific Junta Airstrike in Myanmar Kills Over 100 People
On 11 April, around 168 people were killed in Pa Zi Gyi by an airstrike launched by the reigning military junta. Eyewitnesses describe horrific scenes, with children, pregnant women, and the elderly amongst the deceased.
The attack targeted a celebration for the opening of a new village hall and administrative centre for the People’s Defence Force (PDF). The PDF is the armed wing of the democratically elected National Unity Government (NUG), which was ousted in the military coup of 2021 and now leads the anti-junta resistance.
This is the most deadly airstrike out of around 600 launched by the junta in the past 2 years. Many of these have been aimed at weakening opposition strongholds in the Sagaing Region, which Pa Zi Gyi is part of.
The massacre triggered international uproar, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, ASEAN, the US, Japan and France expressing strong concern and condemnation for the junta’s actions.
There are concerns that this is just the beginning, as junta airstrikes intensify and its ties with Russia, a major weapons supplier, deepen. Amnesty International is urgently calling on countries to cut the supply of aviation fuel to Myanmar’s military. ASEAN, which excluded Myanmar from its summit this year, emphasised that its Five-Point Consensus should be followed to halt the atrocities. Recently, the UN Security Council also adopted a powerful resolution calling for an end to the violence; however, China, Russia and India abstained.
Month-Long Manhunt Leads to Arrest of Sikh Separatist Amritpal Singh
On the morning of April 23rd, self-styled preacher and Sikh separatist leader Amritpal Singh was taken into custody by police authorities in the Indian state of Punjab, the state’s inspector-general Sukhchain Singh Gill said in a press conference.
Singh rose to national significance following an incident in February when hundreds of his followers stormed a local police station demanding the release of a jailed aide. He also became popular among supporters of the Khalistan movement, a controversial movement for an independent Sikh state that led to horrific violence in northern India in the 1980s and 1990s. The Khalistan movement is viewed as a security threat by India and is banned, but support for the movement still exists in Punjab and abroad. Calls for Singh’s arrest led to violent and non-violent protests in countries like Canada, the US and the UK.
The Indian police first tried to arrest Singh on March 18, deploying thousands of personnel and setting up traffic blockades across Punjab, but following a dramatic car chase he was able to evade arrest. Within hours of Singh’s escape, authorities blocked internet services in Punjab, home to 27 million people, restricted the movement of people, and arrested hundreds of Singh’s supporters. As the restrictions eased, an unprecedented manhunt commenced, rife with rumours and purported sightings of Singh, spanning northern India and even the neighbouring nation of Nepal.
Following his apprehension, Singh is scheduled to be transported to a prison in the northeastern state of Assam where some of his associates are being held, but some in Punjab are of the view that the arrest of Singh will only result in an increase in tensions.
Macron Signs Controversial Pension Reforms into Law
Following months of protest, Emmanuel Macron signed his highly controversial pension reform into law after assent was granted by France’s Constitutional Council on 14th April. The reforms, which were core to Macron’s 2022 election manifesto, will increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. Workers will also now have to pay social security contributions for an additional year to receive a full pension.
Pension reform is no new issue in France; every French government of the last four decades has attempted to change the pension system, but on each occasion proposals have been met with fierce protest. For opponents to reform, the pension system is critical to workers’ rights, as all workers receive state pensions, and the vast majority rely on them. In particular, there are serious concerns that the laws will harm those in intensely physical jobs as well as women who take career breaks to raise children.
The most recent bout of protests has been driven by the manner in which the laws were passed. In March, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne invoked Article 49.3 of the French constitution, which allows a bill to be passed without a vote of the National Assembly, just before the vote was due. The move sparked outcry, with opposition MPs singing the Marseillaise in protest as Borne made the announcement. The government survived the subsequent vote of no-confidence by only nine votes.Supporters of the bill argue that changes are necessary to alleviate pressures on the French economy, and that they will help to increase the pensions of the poorest in France. Macron has also spoken out in defence of the reforms, arguing that they are necessary in order for France to retain its economic independence from global powers like the US.