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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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.
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