FinPol Digest

With its constant engagement in Somalia, Turkey has made it clear that it does not want to loosen its influence on the African land. It all started with the first visit of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Somali in 2011.  Reports had already revealed that Turkey has ulterior motives in Somalia but it further became even more evident with Ankara’s backing of government forces of Gurgur with Dervish forces of Jubaland on January 25. This month itself Somalian state had opened its borders for foreign countries to explore oil companies.  It gives the agreement between Somalia and Turkey that happened a year ago a formalized approach. The agreement than had allowed Turkey oil companies to explore Somali waters. After this agreement, in November last year, Turkey willingly paid about $3.4 million of Somalia’s debt to the International Monetary Fund.  The expansion of Turkish companies in Somalia was not a sudden move; rather it took nearly ten years for Turkey to f...

The past week saw widespread protests in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, with people especially the youth coming down on the streets demonstrating against the government. Since the past few days protests have gradually spread across working-class districts and neighborhoods in at least 15 sites across Tunisia.  The reason is declining quality of life, poverty, and unemployment, especially among the younger generation.  So far 600 people have been arrested across the country, the majority ranging between 15 and 25 years of age. In order to protect the federal properties army has been deployed.  Early this week, a large demonstration was held in the central part of Tunis demanding the ending of police violence and the release of those detained. Many videos have been circulating showing police officers beating protesters during the clash. Amnesty International has called out the police for this. Videos also show young people being spewed with tear gas and well-organized ...

On Tuesday, Prof David Halpern, the head of the Behavioral Insights Team stated that as per the survey many people that had received the coronavirus vaccine were preparing to meet their loved ones, which could bring about another wave of the pandemic.  Clinical experts have cautioned that people that have been inoculated against Covid-19 should carefully follow protocols as Vaccines are not 100% viable; it requires a long time to develop immunity, very little is known about Covid-19 transmission even after vaccination. As the rollout of various coronavirus vaccines has begun in many nations, there are questions regarding many important issues related to the vaccine making the rounds, such as, can somebody who has been inoculated still spread the illness? Will the immunization stay effective as the virus mutates? How long will the antibody's protection last?  According to Behavioral psychologist Prof David Halpern, immunized individuals by mistake believe that they are protecte...

Law enforcement officials across the United States are bracing for more possible violence in the coming days ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony.   As per reports, several state capitols have been put on alert after the FBI issued a warning to local law enforcement agencies of potentially armed protests by Trump supporters that can take place across other states in the days leading to the Inauguration Day. Fresh protests are expected by authorities in Washington and other states in the aftermath of the violent breach of the Capitol building on January 6. Addressing a news conference on Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that officials are on high alert in Sacramento and additional security measures have been put in place in the state Capitol to counter any potential violence.  Similarly, Michigan state police have also heightened security at the state Capitol in Lansing. Washington Governor Jay Inslee has also ordered extra security in ...

  Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that Tehran is in no hurry to see America re-join the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with major powers following the US President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Khamenei also emphasized that Iran won't end its presence in neighboring nations.   "We are in no hurry and we are not demanding their return," Khamenei stated on January 8, emphasizing Iran's concern for a lifting of sanctions that President Donald Trump reimposed following Washington's departure from the 2015 nuclear deal agreement.    Trump has contended that the 2015 agreement didn't go far enough and added that the economic pressures would compel Tehran to negotiate a fresh deal that would address Iran's nuke programs.   In Nov 2020, The United Nations' atomic watchdog asserted in a report that Iran began working on centrifuges at an underground site however says the country's uranium-enhancing limits still haven't ...

 As per The Hill, there is a growing discussion among the US officials for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump before Joe Biden takes to office following the rioting at the Capitol. However, the discussions seem to be less and it's still unclear whether they have reached to any Cabinet officials. The Congress was in session, counting the Electoral College votes when a sudden ugly episode of breaching the security and violence inside the Capitol took place. Moreover, the Legislators are urging for a complete investigation into how law enforcement managed the violent breach in Washington DC.  Officials from both the Democrat and Republican parties have denounced the havoc unleashed by Trump supporters at the US Capitol and his response to the rioting. Trump had lately continues to reject the presidential election results and calling it voter fraud. U.S. Capitol Police, who were ensuring the protection of Congress had to ask for other law enforcement's, help con...

Iran has requested Interpol to issue a "red notice" for the arrest of US President Donald Trump and 47 other American officials, claiming their role in the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani a year ago. Reportedly, this is the second time Tehran has asked Interpol's help for the arrest of the US President and dozens of others it believes were behind the assassination of the Iranian top general in Baghdad.  However, Interpol had rejected Iran's request in June 2019 stating that its constitution forbids it from undertaking actions against a political figure.  Reiterated its earlier stance, France-based Interpol reportedly rejected Tehran's latest request stating that it does not undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious, or racial character. According to media reports, Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili addressed a press conference on Tuesday confirming that a request for the issue of Red Notice in the assassina...

An attack at the airport of Aden in Yemen killed 22 people on Wednesday, leaving over 50 people wounded. The Yemeni officials have blamed the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for this attack calling them cowardly.  https://twitter.com/ERYANIM/status/1344246809116475392?s=20 The Minister of information, Culture and Tourism of the country, Moammar Al-Eryani said that he strongly condemns the attack claiming that Houthis were behind the grave attack. Reports detailing the attack say that there was an explosion shortly after a plane carrying government officials from a neighboring country, Saudi Arabia, arrived.  Those among majorly affected people are the aid workers and other airport officials but the Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed confirmed through social media that his cabinet members were ‘fine’.  Reports and videos on different social media platforms were soon published where loud blasts and gunfire sounds were heard. As soon as the plane landed in the temporary capital...