Foreign Digest: Italy, Ireland, Syria, Philippines, Belarus and Hungary

Italy

            A ring of anarchists with international ties was arrested in Italy earlier this week.  They had ties to anarchists in Greece, Germany and Chile.  Italy and Greece have suffered from many violent attacks by anarchists over the years.  There have been several in Italy over the last few months.

Ireland

            The two leading rival Irish political parties, both of which are on the center right, have formed an unprecedented bloc this week to keep the far-left Sinn Fein from power in the Ireland.  Sinn Fein in Ireland is a version of the same party in British-ruled Northern Ireland associated with the Irish Republican Army terrorists during the Troubles, when thousands were killed over decades of violence.  The leftist party seeks unification of the province of the United Kingdom with the Irish Republic.

Syria

            There was a protest in Syria earlier this week against the tyrannical regime of Bashar Assad, the first since Syrian regime forces, with the help of its Iranian, Hezbollah (the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorists sponsored by Iran) and Russian Federation allies have won a series of battles.  Syria has been in a civil war since 2011 when there was a popular uprising against the Assad dictatorship.  Both moderate Muslim and Islamists have been engaged in the fighting, as well as Kurds.  The United States backed moderate Muslims and the Kurds against the Islamists, together with a coalition of Western and Arab States, but has retreated.  Turkey has opposed the Kurds and backs a different group of Arab Muslims.  Fighting sometimes spilled into Lebanon or Israel.  The Israelis continue occasionally to strike Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria that threaten it.  Millions of Syrians have fled their homes, creating the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.  Over half a million have been killed.  Syria’s Assad regime uses chemical weapons and other indiscriminate weapons on civilian populations while Russia targets hospitals and aid convoys.

Philippines

            A reporter critical of the Filipino Government was convicted on criminal charges in the Philippines earlier this week.  Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, the “Filipino Trump,” has been violating the freedom of the press while he encourages Filipinos to murder suspected drug dealers.

Belarus

            The Belorussian opposition presidential candidate was arrested late this week.  The former Soviet Republic of Belarus has been ruled by the same authoritarian leader since independence in 1991.  After protests today of his arrest across Belarus, the Belorussian regime arrested them.  Mobile Internet was cut off and journalists were also arrested.

Hungary

           The European Union’s court ruled late this week that Hungary’s restrictions on non-governmental organizations violated its rules.  The increasingly authoritarian and autocratic Hungarian President refers to his rule as “illiberal.”  It is also xenophobic and anti-Semitic.  The particular organization in question in the case was founded by a Jew the Government makes accusations about, just as it bans refugees from fleeing across its borders.