November 9 Bolivia: Former President Evo Morales returned to Bolivia after spending almost a year in exile. Thousands of fans gathered to wave flags and celebrate Morales’ return. Morales fled Bolivia in Nov. 2019 after violent and deadly protests broke out over a disputed election. He returned after a fellow socialist Luis Arce won the presidential election in October and was sworn in on Sunday. “When I left, I said: ‘We will come back, and we will be millions.’ Now we are back and we are millions,” Morales said when crossing the bridge between Argentina and Bolivia.
November 9 Lima, Peru: President of Peru Martín Vizcarra was suddenly impeached and removed from office after being accused of bribery. “I declare that without agreeing with the decision, today I will leave the presidential palace and go to my home,” Vizcarra said. “History and the Peruvian people will judge the decisions that each one of us makes.” Following the decision, protesters took to the streets and faced riot police and tear gas, according to Al Jazeera. At least two people have been killed during the protests.
November 11 New Delhi, India: Right-wing TV presenter Arnab Goswami was granted bail eight days after his arrest for his alleged involvement in a 2018 suicide case. India’s Supreme Court announced a lower court’s decision to deny Goswami bail was wrong. As the decision was made during a special session during a holiday recess, critics argued Goswami received preferential treatment. “I would only urge the Supreme Court that how they should provide ease of bail to everybody who deserves it and not just the rich and powerful like Goswami who can afford expensive lawyers at the Supreme Court,” said Prashant Kanojia, a Delhi-based freelance journalist who was released on bail after 2 months in jail for a tweet critical of the government, according to Al Jazeera.
November 13 Western Macedonia, Greece: Authorities identified minks at two separate fur farms have tested positive for coronavirus in Kozani and Siatista. COVID-19 has been found to be transferable between minks and humans and vice versa. In Kozani, a breeder tested positive for COVID-19 and 2,500 animals were culled. This comes days after Danish authorities announced a plan to cull all 17 million minks after discovering a different strain of the virus in the species. There are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of minks in Greece and fur exports typically bring in approximately 60–70 million euros every year.
November 14 Western Sahara: After a 29-year truce, the leader of the Polisario Front, Western Sahara’s independence movement, declared an end to the ceasefire with Morocco. This comes two days after Morocco launched a military operation in a United Nations-controlled buffer zone in Western Sahara, according to The New York Times. Morocco has had control of Western Sahara since 1975. “Morocco remains firmly attached to the preservation of the ceasefire, noting that the operation carried out by the Royal Armed Forces aims precisely to consolidate the ceasefire by preventing the recurrence of such serious and inadmissible acts that violate the military agreement and threaten regional security and stability,” Morocco’s foreign ministry said, according to CNN.
