Around the world

Ousted Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, apparently with the support of the same military who just launched a coup against him and his wife, has refused the ultimatum given to him by his own ZANU-PF party to step down or be impeached.

• His wife Grace Mugabe was expelled from the party for life and has not been seen in public since Wednesday, after the military launched their coup to prevent her from taking power.
• This new development may put the ZANU-PF Party and their heir-apparent Emmerson Mnangagwa in an awkward position with the Zimbabwean military.

Donald Trump hailed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as a “good guy” during his trip to the nation last week.

• Duterte, mostly known in international circles for his brutal, and probably illegal, war on drugs, had previously warned Trump to lay off any of that pesky human rights talk when they met in Manila last Monday.
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, possibly unaware of the warning, brought up the issues which Duterte thought was “bullshit”, or maybe he called Trudeau “bullshit”. Either way, NOT VERY NICE.
• Trump has pledged funds to the Philippines, including $2 million to assist Duterte in his war on drugs.   

Handling the delicate situation on the Korean Peninsula, where the fate of millions of people and entire countries lay, with the diplomatic mastery of Metternich, Donald Trump called North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un short and fat. Or actually, he “didn’t,” because he would “NEVER.”

• In that same tweet from our commander-in-chief, he expressed hope that one day the two might become friends.
• On Wednesday, North Korea responded through their state-run media, calling him a “hideous criminal that should be put to death.”
• In related news, Air Force General John Hyten, head of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), assured concerned Canadians on Saturday that he wouldn’t follow any “illegal orders” from President Trump regarding the use of nuclear weapons. STRATCOM is the military branch that handles the nuclear weapons of the US military.
• In news that will do little to diffuse tensions with North Korea, satellite images show that North Korea may be constructing their own version of the deadliest weapon in human history, a ballistic missile submarine.

The destruction of ISIS as a state continues as Rawa, the last town under their control in Iraq, was retaken on Friday. ISIS, which at one point controlled a third of the country, still controls some stretches of desert near the Syrian-Iraq border.

Lebanon’s former Prime Minster Saad al-Hariri will travel to Egypt on Tuesday to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before returning to Lebanon on Wednesday to celebrate Lebanese Independence Day.

• Hariri was resigned from his post as Prime Minister of Lebanon while in Saudi Arabia earlier this month and has not returned since, although he has been travelling. Hariri’s resignation has not been accepted by Lebanese president Michel Aoun.

Bonus round:

Kenya’s Supreme Court upheld president Uhuru Kenyatta’s reelection in last month’s presidential do-over, despite protests.

• NASA, the opposition coalition, released a statement saying it does not recognize the decision.
• The Supreme Court had nullified the results of the original election, “citing irregularities in the tallying of voters.”
• The country, meanwhile, has slid into violence: between nine and 31 people have died in protests and clashes with police.

A fossilized forest has been found in Antarctica, providing a glimpse of the forests that once covered the icy continent.

Germany has bested the US as the country with the best international image, although with the news on Monday that German chancellor Angela Merkel had failed to form a coalition government and is now in danger of losing her chancellorship, that may soon change.

Russian athletes are still doping with state support and could be banned from the Winter Olympics.

The EU takes another step toward the creation of a united army to defend the continent.

The corruption investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensifies.

Turkey bans LGBT events in the capital of Ankara ‘to protect public security,’ as its slide away from secularism continues.

header image: "memorial service of the late former President Nelson Mandela, 10 Dec 2013," governmentza / flickr