“Senegal is mired in a deep political crisis after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Friday sacked the popular Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government after months of tensions. Sonko’s election as parliament speaker comes a day after Faye named senior economist Ahmadou Al Aminou, former regional central bank official, as prime minister. … Faye essentially owes his position to Sonko, his one time mentor who would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in the last presidential election due to a defamation conviction. The two men have fallen out in recent months as Senegal battles public debt. Faye wants to discuss a new aid programme with the IMF, while Sonko prefers a domestic, sovereigntist approach.” (05/26/260
“French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot has told the BBC she is ‘deeply shocked’ that three teenage boys have been spared custodial sentences over the rape of two girls in Hampshire. The girls, then aged 15 and 14, were raped in separate incidents in Fordingbridge in November 2024 and January 2025, by two 14-year-olds. Another boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack. The judge had said last week he wanted to avoid criminalizing the ‘very young’ boys. The youth rehabilitation order sentences handed to the boys are being referred to the Court of Appeal by the attorney general. Pelicot said she ‘saluted the strength’ and courage of one of the girls for speaking out.” (05/26/26)
“An Indianapolis resident who has served as the chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana since 2021 has been elected chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Evan McMahon was chosen as the party chair out of a multi-candidate field during this weekend’s Libertarian Party convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the party said in a Monday news release.” [editor’s note: As is often the case, McMahon’s candidacy proved controversial. Too early to tell how much of the controversy is warranted, though my early evaluation of Libertarian National Convention outcomes is “mixed,” but I did not attend and haven’t completely caught up yet – TLK] (05/25/26)
“The Hong Kong government on Tuesday proposed issuing 10,000 new vehicle permits for drivers to work for online ride-hailing services like Uber, less than half the amount that industry representatives were hoping for. Hong Kong has about 18,000 licensed taxis and caps private service car-hire permits at 1,500, and these drivers can be summoned through ride-hailing apps. But the additional drivers who operate through those apps technically are outside the law and in the past have faced arrest, though they are prevalent in the city. The Hong Kong government unveiled details of a regulatory framework last summer to bring the industry under formal regulation, following years of pressure from taxi companies. Smart Transportation Alliance, whose members include ride-hailing firms and other transportation companies, had proposed in May that 20,500 new car permits be allowed in an initial phase.” (05/26/26)
“A Spanish national who was aboard the hantavirus-hit cruise ship has tested positive for the virus, Spanish health officials said, apparently increasing the number of confirmed and probable cases linked to the outbreak to 13. The unidentified patient was among the 14 Spanish nationals who disembarked from the vessel in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on the morning of May 10, after the hantavirus cluster was identified earlier that month. Three of the cases have died. Spain’s Ministry of Health said the patient was confirmed positive while in preventive quarantine at Gomez Ulla Hospital in Madrid, where the individual has been under clinical surveillance and isolation since disembarking from the vessel.” (05/26/26)
“A school assistant will go on trial in Paris on Tuesday accused of sexual mistreatment of young children in his care. It is the latest case in a year-long scandal that has shaken the school system in the French capital, where some 15,000 such assistants (known as animateurs) are employed as non-teaching staff. Currently enquiries are under way at nearly 100 Paris crèches, kindergartens and junior schools where animateurs have been accused of inappropriate, aggressive or sexualised behaviour. Trials in three other cases are to take place over the summer, and a verdict is due in a fourth which was held earlier this month. More are likely to follow. Last week police detained 16 people after a swoop at three schools in the 7th arrondissement or district. Three people were subsequently charged with sexually inappropriate behaviour to children.” (05/26/26)
“Blue Origin can now make more concrete plans for New Glenn’s next flight after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared the rocket for launch. If you’ll recall, the FAA grounded New Glenn after failing to properly put its payload in orbit during its third mission. Now, in a post on X, the aerospace company announced that the agency approved its report for the flight and accepted the corrective measures it implemented. … the FAA revealed that the final report had identified the direct cause of the mishap ‘”as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn.'” (05/26/26)
“Federal judges on Tuesday blocked Alabama’s plan to use a congressional map that could give Republicans an advantage in a key U.S. House race in the midterm elections. A three-judge panel in the state’s long-running redistricting case issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from switching maps, ruling that the Republican-backed plan ‘intentionally discriminated based on race’ by including only one [b]lack-majority district. The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where [b]lack residents compose a majority or close to it. ‘Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,’ the judges wrote.” (05/26/26)
“Tunisian lawyer and media commentator Sonia Dahmani, who was released from detention last year, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison over comments she made about the country’s jails, her lawyer said. A Tunis court issued the verdict following a hearing on Friday, according to defence lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi, who said he had filed an appeal. Dahmani was freed in November after spending more than 18 months in prison over comments she made denouncing racism in Tunisia. A critic of President Kais Saied, she faces prosecution in five separate cases, all tied to her comments and media appearances.” (05/25/26)
“The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were ‘proceeding nicely.’ The strikes were done ‘to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,’ but the military was ‘using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,’ Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for the U.S. military’s Central Command, said in a statement. Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations.” (05/25/26)
