Global Briefs: Flamingo frustration

Fact Box Source: The World Bank

Albania

Peaceful Flamingo Revolution protests turned violent on Day 101 as demonstrators threw eggs and tomatoes at police blocking them from parliament buildings in Tirana. Protests have been ongoing since May 30, sparked by a real estate scheme on the Adriatic coast linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The couple has proposed developing 10,000 luxury villas in a protected natural wetland that hosts migrating flamingos, nesting herons, and loggerhead turtles. It is opposite Kushner’s private 1,400-acre island, Sazan, once a military outpost, where he plans to build a luxury resort. Prime Minister Edi Rama gave the €4.7 billion villa project “strategic investor status” and exempted 5-star resorts inside the protected area, saying it’s an opportunity to modernize the former Communist country. Protesters have called for Rama’s resignation and an end to government corruption. —Amy Lewis

Germany

Critics of the country’s political status quo said leaders must reconsider a historic political firewall against hard-right ­parties after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won Saxony-Anhalt’s state elections Sept. 6 with 44% of the vote. State AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund called the results a clear mandate. He plans to form a ruling coalition despite mainstream opposition and the German intelligence agency’s decision to label AfD as extremist. The party’s anti-immigration stance has resonated with an increasing portion of the population, particularly in former East German states, and AfD is polling better than the ruling CDU party across Germany. Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who once promised to squash support for the AfD, now faces calls for his resignation. —Jenny Lind Schmitt

Fact Box Source: The World Bank

Mongolia

Amid Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s oil facilities, Mongolia is grappling with a fuel shortage crisis. The landlocked country has historically imported over 95% of its fuel from its northern neighbor, Russia. On Sept. 7, the average price per gallon of gas hit $6.75, while diesel cost $6.02 per gallon, according to Global Petrol Prices. The government has limited daily fuel purchases and increased fuel imports from its southern neighbor, China. It has also started importing fuel from South Korea and begun talks with Kazakhstan on petroleum products trade. Sparsely populated Mongolia, which spans 603,908 square miles (slightly larger than Alaska) and has a relatively small population, relies heavily on fossil fuels for its infrastructure. In 2018, it launched construction of its first domestic oil refinery, but the facility is not expected to be operational until 2028. —Joyce Wu

Sarah Khalifa Sarah Khalifa via Instagram

Egypt

Television host Sarah Khalifa and 11 other people were sentenced to death by hanging Sept. 6 after a Cairo court convicted them of operating a drug trafficking ring. Khalifa, 39, known for presenting the crime and security program Mission Impossible, has denied the charges and will appeal the conviction. The proceedings have brought renewed scrutiny to Egypt’s capital punishment practices. Human rights body Amnesty International has condemned the application of the death penalty for drug-related offenses. Many details of the case have not been revealed to the public, leading to calls on social media for more transparency concerning the evidence against Khalifa. —Olalekan Raji

Togo

The West African nation championed a United Nations vote on Sept. 4 to endorse the Equal Earth map. Most world maps use the Mercator projection—useful for traditional navigation, but inaccurate in representing the relative sizes of landmasses in 2D. A Mercator map shows Africa and Greenland to be of similar size, when in reality Africa is 14 times larger. The Equal Earth map represents locations proportionally. “Maps shape our understanding of the world,” Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said. “They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.” The endorsement encourages textbooks, businesses, and media platforms to use the Equal Earth map. —Evangeline Schmitt

Screengrab from BBC video

Fact Box Source: The World Bank

Peru

Archaeologists found a 600-­­year-old intact mausoleum from the Chimú kingdom, an ancient civilization that preceded the Inca Empire, on Peru’s northern coast. Stone fill had prevented the tomb’s prior looting or study, but this year an entirely Peruvian team of 98 people persevered for months to excavate the telltale depression in a square adobe platform. The tomb measures 55 feet wide and long and 16 feet high. Scientists found 37 complete skeletons, likely all related to a single elite ruler. Most Chimú artifacts are in private collections and museums. This archaeological find allows researchers to gather direct scientific data about Chimú burials. Thus far, archaeologists have only excavated 7% of the ancient city. “The citadel has much more to tell,” the project’s leader said. —Evangeline Schmitt