Subject: Morning Brief: Maduro closes border to block aid
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2019 07:57:43 -0600 (CST)

Maduro Closes Border to Block Aid

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MORNING BRIEF

Today's Global News from Foreign Policy

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02/22/2019

02/22/2019

TOP NEWS

Maduro Closes Border to Block Aid

Top News: In a standoff between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó—who has declared himself interim president and been recognized as such by dozens of countries—over the issue of emergency aid, Maduro ordered the closure of Venezuela’s border with Brazil and threatened the same for the border with Colombia.

The opposition has been pushing to receive humanitarian aid to offset the country’s food and medicine shortages. Maduro has portrayed aid as a U.S. propaganda tool.

Syria: The White House, in a step back from U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria entirely, said on Thursday that a peacekeeping force of 200 would remain on the ground. The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces welcomed the decision.

AFRICA

•  Kenya’s top court postponed a highly anticipated ruling on the constitutionality of a colonial-era law that bans gay sex, thus criminalizing LGBT relationships.

•  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari pledged proper security for this weekend’s postponed presidential election.

•  Botswana is considering lifting its 2014 hunting ban, imposed to preserve declining populations of elephants and other wildlife.

AMERICAS

•  Mexican environmental activist Samir Flores Soberanes was shot to death ahead of a referendum on a pipeline project he had vocally opposed.

•  The United States approved the extradition to Colombia of Andrés Felipe Arias Leiva, the country’s former minister of agriculture, who faces a 17-year prison sentence for corruption.

•  Brazilian prosecutors opened a money laundering investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro’s son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro.

ASIA

•  U.N. experts called for an investigation after a video showed Indonesian security forces in the eastern region of Papua using a live snake to menace a suspect under interrogation.

•  Liu He, China’s top trade negotiator, is set to meet with Trump in Washington on Friday.

•  Japan is fighting its most widespread measles outbreak since 2008. Most cases involve people connected to Miroku Community Kyusei Shinkyo, a religious group that shuns vaccinations.

EUROPE

•  A German court imposed a fine on gun company Heckler & Koch for illegal deliveries to Mexico.

•  A no-deal Brexit could pose challenges for Britain’s food supply.

•  The European Economic and Social Committee, an EU body that brings together workers’ and employers’ groups, imposed new rules allowing it to sanction members accused of sexual harassment.

MIDDLE EAST

•  The United Arab Emirates signed $5.4 billion worth of arms and military equipment deals at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi.

•  Iran showcased its first submarine-launched cruise missile during naval drills.

•  An Israeli lander is on its way to the moon.

- By Benjamin Soloway

(Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images)

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