Hello, everyone. Today at WPR, we’re covering the effect of the Israel-Iran war on Israel’s ties to the wider region, as well as the upcoming, first-ever legislative elections in the Philippines’ self-governing Bangsamoro region. |
But first, here’s our take on today’s top story: |
 | | Protesters scatter as police fire teargas at them during a demonstration on the one-year anniversary of mass demonstrations in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, June 25, 2025 (AP photo by Brian Inganga). |
Kenya: At least eight people were killed and hundreds more injured in nationwide demonstrations yesterday, timed to mark the one-year anniversary of mass protests against proposed tax increases. Last year’s protests were similarly met with intense repression by state security forces, and prominent rights groups later accused Kenyan authorities of covering up dozens of police killings, abductions and illegal detentions related to the demonstrations. (New York Times) |
Our Take: The inciting factor of last year’s protests was the potential implementation of controversial tax hikes at a time when a cost-of-living crisis, seen across the Global South, was still being deeply felt by Kenyans. And yet, as we wrote at the time, the mass demonstrations also... |
The war between Israel and Iran was a test of the relations between Israel and the handful of Arab countries with which it maintains diplomatic ties. The conflict created tensions for the pioneers of Arab-Israeli peace, Jordan and Egypt, as well as for the signatories of the recent Abraham Accords, and even for Arab states that do not have formal links with Israel but pursue quiet connections. |
Ultimately, however, it has confirmed the resilience of these seemingly fragile relationships. By all indications, and despite a measure of public acrimony, ties between Israel and those Arab countries have passed this stress test, columnist Frida Ghitis writes. |
| | | | | By Frida Ghitis | The Israel-Iran war has confirmed the resilience of ties between Israel and the Arab countries with which it maintains formal and informal ties. |
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The first-ever parliamentary election in the southern Philippines’ self-governing Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM, had been due to take place last month. Yet earlier this year, the BARMM’s election was postponed by five months, until Oct. 13. |
The Muslim-majority BARMM was created in 2019 by the referendum that ratified a peace deal between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, after decades of talks. It is hoped that the election, when it eventually takes place, will finally end the separatist conflict that pitted rebels from the MILF and other groups against Philippine troops since the 1970s. |
The latest delay was granted by Philippine lawmakers to allow competing parties more time to prepare for the polls. But as Michael Hart writes, the delay has also opened space for tensions to rise as the MILF gears up to compete with established local political elites as it attempts to retain power. |
| | | | | By Michael Hart | The Philippines’ self-governing Bangsamoro will hold its first-ever elections this year, capping a peace process that has faced numerous obstacles. |
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The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s meeting of defense ministers this week was unable to adopt a joint statement, reportedly because India refused to sign the document after a reference to April’s deadly terror attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir was omitted. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, ultimately leading to the two countries’ exchanging air and missile strikes for nearly a week. |
India was largely ineffective at influencing world opinion with regard to its central claim of Pakistani sponsorship of terrorism, undermining New Delhi’s rhetoric about its growing global influence. As Adarsh Badri wrote recently, that reflects a broader problem for India: Its global aspirations are out of sync with its capacity to shape and transform international outcomes, in large part because of its own domestic shortcomings under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. |
| | |  | | | | By Adarsh Badri | June 19, 2025 | Under Modi, India wants to be the leader of the Global South. But its domestic challenges are an obstacle to its foreign policy ambition. |
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Yesterday, police in Serbia arrested six people that they accused of plotting to overthrow the government, while a university student was arrested earlier this week for allegedly planning “an act of terrorism.” The arrests come after nearly eight months of almost daily anti-government protests in Belgrade, with the next major demonstration planned for this weekend. |
The demonstrations serve as a testament to the shifting tide of Serbian politics and the public’s frustration with the rampant corruption that is by now synonymous with the regime of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. As Stefan Antić wrote in March, the protests have also cornered Vucic, as none of his options offer him a path to comfortably maintaining the status quo. |
| | |  | | | | By Stefan Antić | March 31, 2025 | Mass protests reflect a shifting tide in Serbia’s politics and the public’s frustration with rampant corruption under President Vucic. |
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro yesterday signed into law a labor overhaul, a key victory for the leader who has broadly struggled to implement many of his promised reforms three years into his four-year term. As with other aspects of his agenda, Cabinet drama threatened to derail the labor reforms, but the popularity of this law in particular likely helped its passage. Read more in this briefing by James Bosworth. |
The European Commission has paused work on an anti-greenwashing directive that would have required companies to have environmental claims verified by independent third parties and regulate the use of eco-labels across the EU. The move is the latest reflection of the threat facing the EU’s climate agenda, including its landmark Green Deal, from an array of powerful political, corporate and economic forces. Read more in this briefing by John Boyce. |
Read all of our latest coverage here. |
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