Volume 1 | Issue 5 December 4, 2017

WEEKLY INTELLIGENCE BRIEF

Published by the Chanticleer Intelligence Brief at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, USA

IMAGE CREDIT: CNBC

NEW ZIMBABWE PRESIDENT FACES

VITAL CABINET NOMINEE DECISIONS

Allison Reilly, Head, Africa Desk | November 28, 2017

Emmerson Mnangagwa became President of Zimbabwe this past

Friday following former President Robert Mugabe’s resignation

after more than 37 years in office. Mugabe resigned on November

21, just days after the Zimbabwean military took control of the

government on November 15, citing government corruption as

the reason for the takeover.

This sudden change in power comes after Mugabe fired Mnangagwa

from his position as Vice President in early November, according to

the BBC. The military and higher courts have stated that this was completely

legal —not a coup d’état, but merely a way to rid the ruling

ZANU-PF party from “crooks”.

Mnangagwa returned to the country and was sworn in as President in

the capital city of Harare on November 24. He stated that he fled the

country and went into hiding after being fired because he felt that his

life was in danger. The new president is expected to announce his choices

for Cabinet nominees later this week, according to the Associated Press.

Appointing his Cabinet will likely be Mnangagwa’s first act as President

of Zimbabwe after nearly four decades under Mugabe’s rule.

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student-run initiative supported by the Department

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RAUL CASTRO MEETS

WITH SENIOR NORTH

KOREAN OFFICIAL

Joseph Cain, Member, Americas Desk

November 29, 2017

Last November 24, Cuban President Raul

Castro met with Ri Yong Ho, the Foreign

Minister of the Democratic People's

Republic of Korea, to discuss and

persuade North Korea from engaging in

a potentially catastrophic nuclear showdown

with the United States.

ATTACK ON MOSQUE BELIEVED TO BE

THE DEADLIEST ON EGYPTIAN SOIL

Daniel Lewis, Member, Africa Desk | November 29, 2017

Cuba and North Korea have maintained

diplomatic ties since 1960. They are two of

just a handful of countries that maintain

Soviet-style command economies. This

makes Cuba a potentially effective choice

for easing the aggression of its Asian ally.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister,

has been instrumental in this process.

Earlier this month it was revealed that Trudeau

discussed the possibility of a dialogue

between the two countries with Castro

over a year ago, according to the Reuters

news agency.

IMAGE CREDIT: AFP

On Friday, November 24, 2017, militants launched an attack with

guns and explosives on Sufi Muslims praying at the al-Rawda

mosque in the North Sinai region of Egypt. The attack resulted in

more than 300 casualties.

France24 relays that militants approached the mosque on four off-road

vehicles and commenced the attack in a way that worshipers could

not escape from the mosque once the shooting began.

IMAGE CREDIT: THE CANADIAN PRESS

Trudeau stated: “It was a topic of discussion

when I met Raul Castro last year.

These are the kind of things where Canada

can, I think, play a role that the United States

has chosen not to play, this past year”.

Ri also met with Cuban Foreign Minister

Bruno Rodriguez, and discussed common

concerns about the United States. They

called for respect regarding their peoples’

sovereignty, according to Reuters.

This could be a major step in easing the

current tensions between the United States

and North Korea. It also provides Cuba and

Canada protection from conflict.

The Reuters news agency states that while no group has claimed the

attack yet, the militants carried the black flag of the Islamic State (IS).

The Egyptian government has recently struggled with the presence of

the group in the country.

The BBC claims that Egypt’s president, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, has given

troops the authority to use all the “brute force” necessary to reach a

deadline of three months to secure the Sinai region.

The Agence France Presse news agency relays that on Tuesday, November

28, 2017, Egyptian security forces killed 11 militants in a

shoot-out while conducting a raid on a hideout that was thought to

have provided logistical support.

While it seems that there is some progress concerning the president’s

renewed determination, it is still too early to predict if this action will be

successful. There have been similar vows in the past that have failed.

However, 300 casualties and the label of the deadliest attack in Egyptian

history may be the motivation needed to counterattack.