Was that the world's worst presidential debate?

And other musings about the week.

This week, the world watched what may have been the most painful U.S. presidential debate ever. Former President Donald Trump argued effectively, but almost nothing he said was true. Meanwhile, his opponent, President Joe Biden, appeared incapable of issuing clear rebuttals or articulating arguments. The event’s moderators did almost nothing to fact-check the plethora of lies from the former President, including outlandish claims about Democrats killing babies, and allowed him to dodge important questions about whether he would support a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. The entire performance on Thursday night was utterly abysmal.

Meanwhile, it’s been another week that feels like a year. There are updates on at least five significant international court cases. Bolivia cracked down on a coup attempt. Ukraine and Moldova got closer to joining the European Union. And everyone in Washington is getting ready for the NATO summit, which will take place the week after next.

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that ultra-Orthodox students must be conscripted into the Israeli military, a decision with the potential to take down the Israeli government. But not before the government’s most far-right members consolidate Israel’s control of the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Congress next month, and I hope he’ll tell reporters what he really thinks about Biden’s proposed ceasefire plan. So far, the Biden team insists that Israel has signed off on the deal and blames Hamas for not agreeing to it. But Netanyahu’s statements raise many doubts about the claims of Israeli support for a ceasefire.

Iran held significant elections to replace its president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. There are also elections in Mongolia and Mauritania. EU leaders (finally!) nominated European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a second five-year term. Estonia’s Kaja Kallas, who I interviewed in March, will now be the European Union’s foreign policy chief.

You can read about that and more in the links I shared below. Many of you have been asking me to bring back the 195 series, and I will, perhaps as soon as next week! The next country is Colombia. I hope you’re all having a restful weekend, even as you read about the world's chaos.

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What I’m writing:

• A separatist movement in the Central African nation of Cameroon has ensnared U.S.-based diaspora groups in legal troubles and raised questions about the legality of sending assistance overseas. The latest case could set a precedent for others who have provided support to groups abroad, including in Israel or Ukraine. This story is unlocked and free to read.

My weekly news blurbs:

What I’m reading:

• North Korea will send a “large number” of engineering and construction troops to help rebuild Russian-occupied cities in eastern Ukraine, the Telegraph reports.

• Two key advisers to former President Trump presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine — if he wins the presidential election — that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks, Reuters reports. The United States would also warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would increase U.S. support for Ukraine.

• The Biden administration is moving toward lifting a de facto ban on U.S. military contractors deploying to Ukraine, CNN reported. The move would allow the Pentagon to provide contracts to U.S. companies for work inside Ukraine.

• Talks on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the European Union kicked off in a historic development, EuroNews reports. The talks set up both countries to become EU members eventually.

• European Union countries approved a first tranche of up to €1.4 billion in military aid for Ukraine from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets, Politico Europe reports. Hungary vetoed the plan, but the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU would use a “legal procedure” to get around Hungary’s blockage, the Financial Times reports.

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky removed one of his top generals, Lt. Gen. Yuriy Sodol, amid public criticism that the commander’s decisions resulted in excessive casualties, the New York Times reports.

• The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia and its proxy forces in Crimea committed human rights violations during its decade-long occupation of the Ukrainian territory, Al Jazeera reports.

• The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russia’s former defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov.

• Gunmen attacked synagogues and churches in two cities in southern Russia, killing at least 15 police officers and four civilians, the New York Times reports. The attacks took place in the republic of Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus that has a history of separatist and militant violence.

• North Macedonia’s center-right leader secured parliamentary approval to lead a new coalition government, the Associated Press reports.

• People applying for naturalization in Germany will be required to affirm Israel’s right to exist under changes to the country’s citizenship law, CNN reports.

• France’s government ordered the dissolution of several extreme-right and radical Islamic groups, the Associated Press reports. The move comes four days before the first round of high-stakes legislative elections that may see increased support for political extremes.

• Violent protests returned to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, with pro-independence protesters burning police vehicles and blocking roads, Reuters reports.

• France’s top appeals court ruled that an arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued for alleged complicity in crimes and humanity and war crimes is valid. The BBC has the story.

• Wikileaks founder Julian Assange left the United Kingdom after agreeing to a plea deal with the United States, ending a long-running legal saga. He was sentenced to time served and will spend no time in U.S. custody.

• Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students must immediately be conscripted into the Israeli military and are no longer eligible for substantial government benefits, the Washington Post reports.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the “intense phase of the war with Hamas is about to end” and that the military’s focus could then shift to the Israel-Lebanon border, NBC News reports.

• A far-right Israeli official described a secret government bid to cement control of the occupied West Bank, the New York Times reports.

• The Israeli security cabinet approved legalizing five West Bank outposts and a series of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, the Times of Israel reports.

• Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are prepared to participate in a postwar Gaza security force, the Times of Israel reports. Both demand that the plan be linked to the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

• Two human rights groups made a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing Peru’s President Dina Boluarte and members of her government of crimes against humanity, CNN reports. The allegations are in connection to the deaths of 49 people during the country’s weeks-long protest movement in 2022 and 2023.

• A Bolivian general was arrested after a coup attempt, the Washington Post reports.

• Bolivia arrested over a dozen high-ranking military and intelligence officials following a failed coup attempt allegedly led by its former army chief, Juan Jose Zuniga, CNN reports.

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You can write to me for any reason: c.maza@protonmail.com