Venezuela on the brink

A fresh wave of political upheaval washed over Venezuela last week as opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president, increasing pressure on embattled President Nicolás Maduro. Since then, different countries have thrown support behind the two leaders, who remain locked in a power struggle with no clear path to peace.

The revolt began Jan. 21 after a curtailed military uprising in the capital city of Caracas. Protesters seized the opportunity to voice their opposition to Maduro, who began his disputed second term on Jan. 10 after his major competitors were disqualified from the presidential race. Since taking office in 2013, Maduro and his ruling United Socialist Party has assumed control of the majority of the country’s institutions and violently oppressed dissent.

The United Nations human rights office said at least 20 people died in last week’s protests. Guaidó, 35, who is president of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president on Wednesday before thousands of supporters, saying he “formally assumed the responsibility of the national executive.” He called for more protests this week.

In response to Guaidó’s announcement, the United States, several European nations, and some Latin American governments recognized his leadership, and the United States followed through Monday by sanctioning the state-run oil company and blocking Maduro’s access to $7 billion in assets. Maduro, who received backing from Cuba, Russia, Syria, Turkey, and others, ordered U.S. diplomats to leave Venezuela but later relented after the United States refused to comply.

With major world powers backing different sides, Venezuela is in a political stalemate. Maduro retains support from top military commanders and the country’s defense minister. Guaidó extended amnesty to Maduro and his allies should they assist the transition back to democracy: “Those guarantees are for all those who are willing to side with the constitution to recover the constitutional order.”

Phil Gunson, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the military will play a crucial role in any political transition: “If elements of the military with sufficient firepower were to break with Maduro, they could force him from power or oblige him to negotiate his departure from office. In theory, this development would enable Guaidó to take the reins of government and call fresh general elections.”

Geoff Ramsey, the assistant director for Venezuela with the Washington Office on Latin America, said Maduro’s government and the opposition need time to negotiate. He called on international players to restrain from threatening military action in the country.

“Not only would these extreme proposals deepen human suffering with no guarantee of ending the crisis, but they are also deeply divisive among the opposition,” Ramsey said.

No safe harbor

Maritime authorities last week sent at least 250 migrants and refugees back to war-torn Libya after their rescue while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. International aid groups working in the region said the move violated international law and threatened the travelers’ safety.

A merchant vessel rescued 144 migrants on Jan. 20 and dropped them off in the Libyan port city of Misrata under the orders of the Tripoli Joint Rescue and Coordination Center, the United Nations refugee agency reported. One day later, another 106 refugees disembarked from a commercial ship at Khoms, aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, confirmed.

So far this year, more than 5,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean trying to enter Europe, according to the International Organization on Migration. More than 200 died along the way.

Several European Union nations responded to the arrivals by refusing to allow boats with people rescued at sea to dock. MSF warned of ongoing clashes in Libya and said the returnees would be placed in overcrowded detention facilities: “Libya is not a safe place to return refugees and migrants: The levels of violence they are exposed to while in the country is well documented.” —O.O.

Cleaning up their act

Retailers in Japan are clearing pornographic magazines from their shelves while a group is creating mobile mosques in preparation for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games. Japan will also host the Rugby World Cup, beginning in September of this year.

The country’s three major convenience store chains—7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart—will stop selling pornographic magazines by August at nearly all of their 50,000 stores nationwide, Kyodo News reported.

Last year, an event planning group in Tokyo joined with other companies to unveil a mosque on wheels. The truck can accommodate up to 50 people and will be leased to gyms, stadiums, and tourist facilities that don’t have enough space for Islamic prayer rooms.

“Infrastructure is being improved to accommodate visitors to Japan of various nationalities, cultures, and religions,” said Yasuharu Inoue, head of the executive committee for the mobile mosques. “However, the nation is short of places of worship for Islam, one of the three major religions in the world.”

To accommodate the major sporting events, the country is also working on a blockchain-based consumer payment network that could handle more than a million transactions per second and is testing several driverless buses to shuttle visitors. —O.O.

Repeating China’s mistake

The Supreme Court in Pakistan this month asked religious scholars and civil groups to back a two-child policy, the country’s latest attempt at population control.

The three-member court, led by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, issued an order calling Pakistan’s growing population—the fifth largest in the world—a “ticking time bomb” and a burden on national resources: “Two children per home will help to control the population. There is a need for a campaign on the matter.”

A 2017 census tallied Pakistan’s population at 207,774,520 people, ranking just behind China, India, the United States, and Indonesia. Officials warn the country’s growing population puts pressure on resources like water. But many Islamic clerics oppose the move on religious grounds. They preach that women ought to have many children and consider contraception a sin.

Steven Mosher of the pro-life Population Research Center has warned against other countries’ adopting limits on childbearing after China’s one-child policy proved disastrous: “People are the ultimate resource—the one resource you cannot do without—as China is belatedly discovering after having eliminated 400 million from their own now-aging and dying population.” —O.O.

Miserable cold

Back-to-back winter storms hit Lebanon in January, devastating informal refugee camps and leaving thousands in need of emergency assistance. Rain, snow, and cold caused suffering and even death, NPR reported, as tents flooded with rain mixed with sewage.

The initial storm affected 11,000 refugees and put 70,000 more at risk, including nearly 40,000 children, according to the UN refugee agency and Mission Network News (MNN).

“The majority of refugees in the Beqaa Valley live in what we call tent settlements,” Tom Atema of the Christian relief group Heart for Lebanon told MNN. “It’s basically oversized Boy Scout tents on a concrete slab or dirt floor.”

Heart for Lebanon was one of many charities and nongovernmental organizations trying to bring relief. More than 1.5 million Syrian refugees are in Lebanon, but the government prohibits official refugee camps. Most build shelters out of scrap materials and must rely on aid from relief organizations. —Julia A. Seymour