Sassou Nguesso Eyes Fifth Term in Congo
Congo-Brazzaville's Sassou Nguesso set to extend four-decade rule - RFI
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China factor spices up tussle over key part of the Indian Ocean | The Straits Times
Summary: - The piece analyzes how the Chagos Archipelago dispute (Diego Garcia) fits into wider Indian Ocean geopolitics, focusing on Mauritius, Britain, the United States, and India. - Key background: Chagos was detached from Mauritius at independence (1968); Diego Garcia hosts a long-running US military base, with the archipelago under BIOT. - 2019 ICJ ruling suggested Mauritius could exercise sovereignty; UN resolutions backed this emphasis, though Britain contests binding
Polls are open on Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas islands, but voters feel forgotten - ABC News
Summary: - Polls opened for remote voters on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, both part of the NT’s Lingiari electorate, Australia’s largest marginal seat by area. - Voters on the islands, about 1,000km apart, say they feel neglected by national campaigns and candidates, with climate change and cost of living as top concerns. - Local leaders warn of rising sea levels and storm surges threatening the Cocos atoll; discussions of a long-term “managed retreat” h
Inside the British Virgin Islands’ corruption crisis | TBIJ
Summary: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s report on the British Virgin Islands (BVI) details a prolonged corruption crisis that exposed how the territory’s governance has been undermined by tensions between locally elected leaders and the British governor. Key points include: - The governor’s limited, but pivotal, role in national security, foreign affairs, and civil service oversight, contrasted with locally controlled domestic matters. - Tensions under pro-independe