Foreign Digest Updates: Iran, Venezuela, China and Ethiopia

Iran

The protests in Iran were more deadly than originally known, with at least hundreds killed by the Islamic Republic.  There were thousands of arrests of peaceful protesters.

Venezuela

            Two democratic opposition members of Venezuela’s assembly who were among those who had taken refuge in the Italian embassy from the Socialist tyranny have gone into exile in Italy.  The leader of the assembly, Juan Guaido, invoked a constitutional provision to declare himself interim president after the Socialist tyrant had supplanted the opposition-led assembly.

China

            There have been continued mass protests in Hong Kong, the territory of China against the Communist government’s violations of the city-state’s autonomy and liberty it had promised.  The protests have been met with violence and arrest by the Peking-dominated territorial government.  Hong Kong’s territorial government had withdrawn its proposed extradition law that could have been used against dissidents to extradite them to mainland China.  Pro-democracy candidates had won the elections last month for the territorial assembly. 

Ethiopia

           The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his successful negotiation of the end of the war between his State and Eritrea last year.  The border dispute had lasted twenty years and claimed tens of thousands of lives.  The Premier has somewhat liberalized Ethiopia.