Photo of Mali President, Ibrahim Boubacar

Thousands took to the streets in Mali’s capital Bamako on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, despite pleas from regional mediators to stay home.

Demonstrators filled Bambako’s Independence square, holding signs with anti-government slogans, blowing vuvuzela horns and shouting, “Keita step down.”

Kamala Harris has been announced as Joe Biden’s vice-presidential running mate in the upcoming US presidential elections, becoming the first Black woman and the first Tamil to be nominated for national office by a major party.

Harris, who is a  senator and former California attorney general, was hotly tipped to be selected by Biden, with the New York Times reporting that he “may well be anointing her as the de facto leader of the party in four or eight years”.

Former President Barack Obama said "Biden nailed this decision", and said Harris "is more than prepared for the job", in a tweet. US President Donald Trump said he was "surprised" as "nasty" and disrespectful”.

Jimmy Lai, the founder of a media company and pro-democracy supporter in Hong Kong, was arrested under Hong Kong’s repressive new national security law. 

Lai owns a media company that was raided as part of his arrest, a move that signals the Chinese governments’ continuing clampdown on dissent in Hong Kong. China adopted this law six weeks ago, and already many people have been arrested for advocating for independence and autonomy. Additionally, the elections that were scheduled have been postponed a full year, and twelve pro-democracy candidates have been barred from elections.

The descendants of the 1904-1908 Namibia genocide and leaders of Namibia’s Nama and Ovaherero people expressed concerns over the Namibian and German government’s handling of the 1904-1908 genocide, which they described as being treated as a “political game”.  

“Neither the Namibian nor the German government has undertaken any effort to restore relationships with the affected Nama and Ovaherero communities,” said traditional chiefs Vekuii Rukoro and Gaob Johannes Isaak in a joint statement.  

Security forces clashed with protesters in Beirut during demonstrations against the country’s leadership after a blast on Tuesday at the city’s port killed at least 200 people. 

Security personnel used tear gas and batons against protesters who are demanding the resignation of many of the country’s political elite following the explosion. Protesters were spread throughout the city, and some occupied the Foreign Ministry building for hours until military personnel arrived. Many of the protests centred around Martyrs’ Square, near Parliament. 

While tension has been rising in Lebanon, the blast was the final straw for many protesters who have been facing economic uncertainty, coronavirus spikes, and problems with infrastructure. 

Photo of Juan Carlos I, former King of Spain

On Friday, the regional parliament of Catalonia passed a non-binding motion denouncing the monarchy following the recent decision of the former Spanish King, Juan Carlos I, to go into exile.

The house was presented with the proposal, “Catalonia is a republic and does not want a king” and it received 69 votes in favour and 65 against, allowing the motion to pass.

Around 50 refugees are reported to have died after news broke of refugee shipwrecks off the west coast of Africa.

The two separate refugee boats were attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from Western Sahara at the time of the shipwreck.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmed the deaths of 27 people who were found in the Atlantic alongside one survivor from Guinea.

A protest in a Peru oil field on Sunday ended with at least three Amazon tribesmen killed by police and 17 other demonstrators injured.

The indigenous people from Peru’s Amazon were protesting against PetroTal Corp, a Canadian energy company after they announced they will be halting operations in their Loreto location.

PetroTal usually extracts around 12,00 barrels of crude oil from a production field in Loreto, in the northeast region of Peru.

Over 1000 anti-government protesters rallied in Bangkok’s commercial district on Saturday, after two protest leaders were arrested by Thai authorities and held overnight. 

Human rights lawyer, Anon Nampa, and student activist, Panupong Jadnok, were charged on Friday and held because of their connection with a series of protests demanding the ousting of a conservative government led by pro-military politicians and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha. Both were released on bail on Saturday. 

Pending further investigation “the court’s condition was that the two not repeat actions like allegations from this case,” said Anon’s lawyer, Weeranan Huadsri, but they could join legal protests. 

The United Kingdom is considering deploying the military to block migrants boats in the English Channel before they enter British-controlled waters. 

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has appointed Dan O’Mahoney, director of the Joint Maritime Security Centre since 2019 and a former Royal Marine, as the UK's ‘Clandestine Channel Threat Commander’, as the UK looks to block migrants from crossing the channel.

“Route is incredibly dangerous & we’re doing all we can to make it unviable,” Patel tweeted earlier.