Safe zone in Syria
Turkish-American talks on creating a safe zone in northern Syria took place in Ankara this week. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Turkey and the United States have agreed to establish a coordination center for joint operations in establishing the peace corridor.
https://uwidata.com/4836-turkey-and-us-come-to-agreement-on-creation-of-security-zone/
Argentine elections
On Sunday, primary elections took place in Argentina. According to preliminary estimates, the opposition Peronist party has a strong lead. With 81% of votes counted, opposition leader Alberto Fernandez is polling at 47.10%. The country’s current leader, Mauricio Macri of the Juntos por el Cambio Party, pulled in only 32.47% of the vote.
As the results began to come in, Macri took note of his party’s poor showing and promised to improve his relationship with the population by October.
Elections in Guatemala
According to preliminary results of the second round of the Guatemalan elections, the leader of the center-right party “Forward,” Alejandro Giammatti, has defeated social democrat Sandra Torres.
With 85% of ballots counted, Giammatti has won 60% of the vote, while Torres is sitting at around 40%.
The next president of Guatemala will decide the fate of an agreement between US President Donald Trump and former Guatemalan leader Jimmy Morales from late July (the so-called “safe third agreement”). The deal has not yet been ratified, which means the responsibility will rest on the shoulders of the next head of state.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan’s ex-President Almazbek Atambayev was detained by the state after government forces stormed his residence this week.
On Wednesday evening, Kyrgyzstani special services executed a swat style operation and detained Atambayev at his residence in Koy-Tash, a village 20 kilometers from the capital. During the raid, a firefight broke out between Atambayev’s supporters and government forces. On Thursday, clashes between Atambayev’s supporters and security forces resumed.