Week In Review (WIRE) News 10.06.2025

Edited by Mary Wahn, Grey Cohen, John Wilson, Ethan Joyce, Bianca Orfila-Molinet

Asia and the Pacific

Written by Jesse Vu

South Korean Government Cracks Down on Anti-Chinese Rhetoric and Rallies

In the early hours of October 2, South Korean President Lee made an appearance on live television and vowed to crack down on anti-Chinese rallies as the country began its visa-free entry program for Chinese tourists. In his speech, President Lee painted these rallies as a form of racial hatred and urged the citizens of South Korea to halt these attacks on foreign tourists, as they are vital to the country's economy and national interests.

Ever since the former president Yoon Suk Yeol unsuccessfully implemented martial law last December and placed the country’s democracy at grave risk, anti-Chinese sentiments in the country have only worsened. According to the Korea Times, even though anti-Chinese rhetoric has existed in the country for a while, it intensified this year. In fact, from the year 2022 to 2024, the number of anti-Chinese rallies in the country remained relatively low, averaging less than 20 rallies a year. Following the martial law declaration, the number of anti-Chinese rallies surged to 65 in 2025 thus far and counting. 

The right-wing conservatives who aligned with former president Yeol’s unsupported claims of Chinese interference in South Korea’s election are mainly responsible for these rallies and rhetoric. Even though the former president is no longer in power, his many supporters and political allies continue to promote anti-Chinese sentiment and organize rallies using the unsupported claim of Chinese election interference while painting the left-wing Democratic Party of Korea as pro-China or pro-Communist. As these anti-Chinese rallies intensified, the Chinese embassy in Seoul sent an official letter to the Korean Foreign Ministry office requesting stronger protection. As the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea is approaching at the end of the month, during which South Korean President Lee hopes to improve ties with China, this vow to crack down on anti-Chinese rallies acts as a symbol of diplomatic goodwill, one that gives South Korea leverage and greater credibility at the negotiation table at the summit.

Central America and the Caribbean

Written by Gabriella Ramirez

UNSC Approves Gang Suppression Force in Haiti as Tensions in the Caribbean and El Salvador Increase

The United Nations Security Council made advances in Haiti with the approval of a gang suppression force. This force will replace the smaller UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police, which remains considerably understaffed and underfunded. The new force will reportedly have 5,500 personnel, a 12-month mandate, and the power to arrest suspected gang members. Additionally, the force will have the authority to conduct operations independently or with the Haitian police, provide security, and support efforts in combating drug and arms trafficking. 

Looking broadly at the Caribbean, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. is now formally engaged in armed conflict with drug cartels, which his administration labels as terrorist organizations. This notice declared such groups to be unlawful combatants following strikes on several boats in the Caribbean. This move expands President Trump's war powers by establishing that, under international law, the U.S. can legally kill or detain enemy fighters even when they pose no threat. Meanwhile, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parilla states that the recent U.S. escalations in the Caribbean are a result of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s personal agenda, while Rubio and U.S. officials accuse Cuban leaders of running a dictatorship.

Moreover, El Salvador’s Journalist Association will move its legal status and office to an unnamed country as a result of a foreign agents law that works to censor and criminalize dissent. The law states that any organization or individual in El Salvador that acts in the interest of a foreign entity or receives foreign funding to operate is required to register under the law. Although the U.S. has a similar law, President Nayib Bukele’s is much broader and grants him the power to deny or revoke registration. Additionally, every payment made to such groups will be subject to a 30% tax. This law subjects human rights organizations, community associations, and international aid agencies to investigation by the government. This move further allows Bukele excessive levels of control, drawing international attention and apprehension.

Europe

Written by Ethan Joyce

Labor Reforms Spark 24 Hour National Strike in Greece

On October 1st, Greece experienced a comprehensive general strike as public and private sector workers protested proposed labor law reforms. The strike, orchestrated primarily by the All Workers Militant Front (PAME), disrupted essential services including transportation, shipping, hospitals, courts, and educational institutions, while protest marches were mobilized throughout Athens and other urban centers.

The contentious legislative reform permits employers to extend standard shifts to thirteen hours from eight hours, ostensibly providing labor market flexibility. Government officials assert these reforms are a response to worker demands for jobs; however, union representatives contend the measures will cause workers to face systematic labor exploitation. 

PAME's digital campaign, created in response to these comments, garnered increasing visibility and momentum for their protests. In one video, they depict a blue-collar worker satirically requesting increasingly exploitative labor laws to be imposed upon him by the Greek government. At the end of the clip, it is revealed that the laborer was generated using artificial intelligence. The video ends with him saying, "As if there could be a real person who would want to work 13 hours a day," satirically highlighting the disconnect between governmental rhetoric and worker realities.

Greece's economic context significantly informs this labor dispute. The nation's recovery from its fairly recent financial crisis remains in focus, while tax breaks and austerity reforms persist. Greek workers already endure Europe's longest working hours while receiving comparatively lower compensation than some of their European counterparts, only exacerbating grievances further.

Middle East and North Africa

Written by Ansley Hovater

Trump Proposes Peace Plan Amid Renewed Iran Sanctions

On September 29, United States President Donald Trump and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a 20-point peace plan for ending the Israeli-Gaza war, which many Middle Eastern countries have since accepted. Days earlier, the United Nations reinstated sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, further threatening the state’s economic stability.

On Monday, September 28, the UN reestablished sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. In 2015, Iran reached an agreement with world powers concerning the development of nuclear weapons, and in June of this year, Iran violated that agreement by refusing to allow international inspectors into the nuclear sites in Tehran. Later, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors discovered Iran had nearly 400 kilograms of enriched uranium stored in Tehran–enough to create several nuclear bombs. The reinstated sanctions prevent Iran from transferring, selling, or using international assets, specifically those held by the Central Bank of Iran, and place travel restrictions on particular Iranian organizations and individuals. In addition, countries can now inspect cargo in Iranian government vessels as they travel by sea or air. As a consequence, the inflation rate in Iran rose to 40%, and power and water shortages remain prominent throughout the country. 

On September 29, President Trump and President Netanyahu appeared together to propose a 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza. Should the plan go into effect, both countries would agree to end fighting, and humanitarian aid to Gaza would immediately increase. Hamas must release all hostages, and Israel, in turn, would return hundreds of detained Gazans. This plan would also prohibit territorial annexation and does not include Trump's previous idea to forcibly remove Palestinians from their territory. However, President Netanyahu continues to refuse to recognize a Palestinian state, which the 20-point peace plan fails to mention altogether. Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates have voiced support for the peace plan and believe that, if instated, it would be effective. 

South America

Written by Catie Crowe

Heightened Tensions Between U.S. and Venezuela Following Boat Strikes

In recent weeks, the U.S. deployed several navy ships in the South Caribbean as part of counter-narcotic operations, according to U.S. officials. U.S. forces destroyed at least three boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela to the U.S.; 17 people were killed. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump has placed a $50 million bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to bring fentanyl-laced cocaine into the U.S.. Maduro announced on Monday that he is ready to declare a state of emergency in response to the strikes, as well as what he called the “threat of U.S. aggression.”

Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, claimed that the U.S. strikes amounted to a “non-declared war.” In the past month, thousands of civil servants and lay people have rallied together to defend Venezuela from potential U.S. operations, and Maduro has ordered the Venezuelan military to train these civilians. Declaring a state of emergency would allow Maduro to suspend Venezuelans’ basic rights and give the military authority over public services and oil. In addition to deploying the U.S. Navy, Trump said on Tuesday his administration is considering launching attacks on land to further curtail cartel activity. A clash between these forces would inevitably result in high casualties. 

The relationship between Venezuela and the U.S. has long been strained and has become even more hostile since Trump’s return to office. The left-wing authoritarian leader was indicted in Manhattan federal court in 2020 on federal charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy. Following Maduro’s 2024 reelection, the U.S., EU, and several Latin American governments condemned the results as a sham. Shortly after his own reelection, Trump designated the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a terrorist group, a label that has allowed the U.S. to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants and justify military action off the coast of Venezuela. Although data from the UN suggests that Venezuela is not a major source of cocaine coming into the U.S., the Trump administration continues to scapegoat the nation as tensions rise.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Written by Alex Whirley

The Disappeared of Sudan: A Crisis of the Missing 

A crisis of disappeared people is worsening the humanitarian disaster of the Sudanese Civil War. The Sudanese Group for Defending Rights and Freedoms estimates that the number of people missing or forcibly disappeared during the war is around 50,000, and, in 2024, the International Committee of the Red Cross recorded more than 7,700 requests to help locate missing persons – a 52% increase compared to 2023. Research indicates that the issue of missing persons in conflict has devastating and long-term implications for a post-war Sudan, including sustained psychological trauma, diminished public trust, and heightened socio-political instability.

Since April 15th, 2023, two rival factions of Sudan’s military government have been at war. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have largely centered their fighting around the capital, Khartoum, and in the Darfur region. The resulting humanitarian crisis has been described as the world’s worst, with nearly 25 million people experiencing extreme hunger and an estimated 7.7 million people internally displaced as of July 2025. The Sudanese Civil War has destabilized Northeast Africa and the Sahel and has deepened pre-existing vulnerabilities in its neighboring countries, Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt.

After the SAF captured Khartoum from the RSF in May 2024, many civilians were arrested on charges of collaboration and have since disappeared either into SAD detention centers or an unknown elsewhere. The history of disappearances in Sudan dates back to Omar al-Bashir’s rule (1989-2019) and, because the ruling authorities have often been implicated in the disappearances, there are little to no official records on the missing persons. Sulafa Mohammed Ahmed Khalil, who hasn’t seen her brother in nine months, said, “Not knowing is the cruelest part. When someone dies, that's a known fate. But forced disappearance is more brutal, the family remains in constant anxiety, imagining (their) circumstances and suffering.”