What's next for Syria's Kurds?

This issue is focused on Syria's Kurds and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni. The Kurds feel betrayed again, and President Museveni has been re-elected again. Some things, I guess, just don't change.

Also in this issue: a documentary about foreign fighters in Russia, communication with humpback whales in Hawai'i, how to train yourself getting better at finding AI labor abuses, basbousa and chai, Indian female football players, and so much more.

It's a very important moment for Syria and its Kurds

What happened:
Last weekend, the Syrian government has announced an immediate nationwide ceasefire with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), taking almost full control of the country, Syrian state media says. The ceasefire ends nearly two weeks of fighting and forms part of a broader 14-point agreement that will see the SDF integrated into Syria's military and state institutions.

On Sunday evening, the commander-in-chief of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, released a statement, saying, "We wanted to stop this war through the Damascus and Erbil meetings. However, certain powers had already planned this war and it was imposed on us. In order to stop further deaths, we accepted withdrawal [...]. We are determined to protect the gains of our people. This is a long-term struggle."

Why this matters:
Many Arabs celebrate this. Many Kurds feel betrayed and abandoned by what's happening.

Tell me more:
To understand the Kurdish perspective better, I talked to Kamal Chomani (X/Twitter), who is a PhD candidate at Leipzig University and editor-in-chief of The Amargi. (Disclaimer: I sometimes publish videos on The Amargi's social media.)

You can read the entire interview here: https://gishty.com/interviews/interview-with-kamal-chomani

President Yoweri Museveni won, again

What happened:
Uganda's election commission called it: President Yoweri Museveni won, again.

Why this matters: Museveni is Africa's longest-serving leader, and this win sets him up for a seventh term. That's a lot of "same guy, same seat."

Tell me more:
First, the official numbers. Museveni took 71.65% of the vote. His main challenger, Bobi Wine (yes, the musician turned opposition leader; I've shared this documentary about him before in this newsletter), got 24.72%.

Was it a free and fair election?
Context matters here. The vote happened during an internet shutdown and with a heavy security presence. Observers and civil society groups are raising big red flags.

For example:

• Damaged public trust: Nigeria's former president Goodluck Jonathan was in Kampala with election observers from the African Union and regional groups. He said there were reports that security forces threatened, arrested, and kidnapped opposition people, journalists, and civil society.
• Possible cheating: Meanwhile, civil society groups from East Africa said they saw possible cheating. One representative, Mwanase Ahmed from Jumuiya ni Yetu, said many polling stations opened late, some did not have the voting materials, and some ballot boxes looked already full. They also said that where they could watch the vote count, the numbers later published did not match what they saw.
• Bobi Wine cries foul: There are also several big allegations by Bobby Wine: Wine says his party's polling agents were abducted. He also declared his "complete rejection of the fake results" and said he was on the run after a raid on his home on Friday night. "I want to confirm that I managed to escape from them," Wine posted on X on Saturday, but also shared that his wife and other family members were put under house arrest.

The police deny seeking to detain him.

Did you know that, in order to bypass the internet shutdown, Ugandans turned to Bitchat? Iranians do the same thing.

Good to know: Another major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye (who ran against Museveni four times), was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and taken back to Uganda. His treason case in a military court is still ongoing.

Any protests? Despite the internet shutdown and fraud allegations, most of the election passed without major incidents. The main exception was a clash between police and opposition supporters in central Uganda. Police said they fired in self-defence and that at least seven people were killed and three injured. This account is disputed by MP Muwanga Kivumbi, who said security forces killed 10 people at his home.

Who's Museveni, again?
He's 81 and has ruled Uganda for about 40 years. When Yoweri Museveni became president in 1986, he presented himself as a reformer, even criticizing African leaders who stayed in power too long (he wrote this book about it). But during his time in power, he removed presidential term limits and age limits. Elections still happen, but experts say they are manipulated (as alleged in this case). The army, police, courts, parliament, and the election commission are widely seen as controlled by Museveni and people close to him. Some political opponents have been jailed. He has never said when he plans to step down.

Dig deeper: Anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani (yes, Zohran's dad) wrote a very recent book on this, "Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State". In the book, he explains the factors and characters (like those two in the title) that shaped post-independence Uganda.

what else happened

Global: For the first time ever, the planet was 1.5°C hotter than normal for three years straight (2023-2025). Remember the Paris Agreement? Countries promised to keep warming below 1.5°C, and we just blew past that line. (Copernicus Climate Change Service)

Benin:
In Benin's recent election, provisional results said that two parties won all 109 parliament seats. Plot twist: Both parties support the president. This means Benin's opposition was completely shut out of parliament. The country used to be seen as one of West Africa's most stable democracies. (Benin Web TV)

El Salvador: Since 2022, El Salvador's president has locked up 91,000 people for "suspected gang activity." Many were arrested just for having tattoos. The mass incarceration campaign, called the "State of Exception," has made El Salvador the country with the highest imprisonment rate in the world. (The Japan Times)

Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai, a 78-year-old newspaper owner, was convicted of "conspiring with foreign forces." His crime? Running a newspaper that criticized China. Lai founded Apple Daily, a pro-democracy paper, which Beijing forced to close in 2021. Now Lai faces life in prison. He's been in solitary confinement for over 1,800 days, and his health is not in very good shape. A sentencing date...