Guatemala is a Central American country, south of Mexico.
Read the country profile attached to the top of this post. Offer your views about the country's main issues that it currently faces in relation to climate change, equality, political system or any other aspect of the profile that you found interesting.
Do a little of your own research to find out more about Guatemala's bilateral relationship with the USA.
The US Department of State is a good place to begin
Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between seeking closer integration with Western Europe and being drawn into the orbit of Russia, which sees its interests as threatened by a Western-leaning Ukraine.
Europe's second largest country, Ukraine is a land of wide, fertile agricultural plains, with large pockets of heavy industry in the east.
While Ukraine and Russia share common historical origins, the west of the country has closer ties with its European neighbours, particularly Poland, and nationalist sentiment is strongest there.
Read the article attached to the post about Ukraine. Watch the news report above and offer your views about why Ukraine is strategically important to many countries, but particularly the USA & Russia.
You can read more about Ukraine here and understand the significance of referring to Ukraine as 'The Ukraine' and simply 'Ukraine' here.
Read the article attached to the top of this post and watch the video above about Bolivia. The video shows demonstrators in Bolivia that occupied the headquarters of two state broadcasters and other buildings, in what President Evo Morales said was an attempted coup. Morales called for talks with the opposition, but leaders rejected his offer. They accuse him of rigging the last election. Meanwhile police officers also changed sides, marching in the demonstrations they were meant to be bringing under control.
Can you offer a view of the state of democracy in Bolivia?
How would Plato view the state of democracy in Bolivia?
Read the profile of Pakistan attached to the top of this post and watch the news report from November 2019.
How could you summarise the political situation in Pakistan?
How important is it for Pakistan to maintain a good bilateral relationship with the USA?
Read more about the bilateral relationship between the USA and Pakistan here and here.
As of today (28th Sep 2020) it's been fifty days since the disputed Belarusian presidential election fuelled a wave of anti-government demonstrations and protesters have not yet given up.
An estimated 100,000 protesters gathered in the country on Sunday calling for authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko to step down, AP reported. Around 500 people were detained over the weekend at protests in 22 cities across the country, Belarus' interior ministry said on Monday.
Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who contests the election results, encouraged people to continue demonstrating peacefully.
Despite a violent crackdown by security forces and widespread reports of torture, daily protests have continued.
Just last weekend, hundreds of protesters were detained as tens of thousands showed up at an anti-government rally.
Here's a look back at the past seven weeks of the largest protest movement ever seen in the country:
What happened during the Belarus presidential election?
The August 9 presidential election saw Belarusian strongman Lukashenko face his first serious challenge in 26 years of power when the wife of a disqualified opposition candidate decided to run for office and rose in popularity.
Tens of thousands of Belarusians showed up to rallies for this new candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher and political novice, who promised to hold fair elections if she won.
Then, on August 9, election officials announced that Lukashenko won by nearly 80% of the vote, with partial results even being announced before people finished voting.
Monitors said there were thousands of election violations. Experts and international leaders said the election was neither free nor fair.
How did people react?
Protests immediately broke out in the aftermath of the August 9 election, with a violent crackdown by security forces. Police detained thousands of people in the aftermath of the election, human rights groups said.
Authorities also restricted access to the internet, according to internet watchdog Netblocks.
Evidence soon emerged of widespread violence, torture and abuse of detainees including systematic beatings and electric shocks. Some had serious injuries and had to be hospitalised, human rights groups said.
In late September, the UN's top human rights body passed a resolution that seeks scrutiny of the alleged violations in Belarus. The resolution had been submitted by the European Union which called on the UN human rights chief to report back on the situation by year-end.
What has happened to the opposition?
Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fled Belarus for Lithuania two days after the election. Her colleagues said she had been placed under "unprecedented pressure" at the Electoral Commission in Belarus before fleeing.
Several members of the opposition formed a coordination council in the wake of the protests but many have been detained.
Maria Kolesnikova, who had thrown her support behind Tsikhanouskaya and become a significant opposition figure herself, was detained after authorities tried to expel her from the country earlier this month.
Her colleagues, who were forced to leave Belarus by security forces, said she tore her passport up at the border. She now faces charges of undermining state security.
It remains to be seen what will happen in Belarus, although Lukashenko currently enjoys the support of both Russia and China and assumed his sixth term of office after a secret inauguration ceremony in Minsk.
EU foreign ministers, meanwhile, were unable to agree on sanctions against Lukashenko this past week. Tsikhanouskaya encouraged EU leaders to "be more brave" at a meeting earlier this week, stating that sanctions were important in the fight against Lukashenko's regime.
This web article may be of interest to you.
What do you think that this means for democracy?
What more do we need to know about this event?
What do you think will happen next?
What do you think should happen next? Why do you think this?
Should other countries get involved to try to resolve this issue?
Can the issue be resolved?
What would you do if you were opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya?
What would you do if you were President Alexander Lukashenko?
What role could Russia have in this incident?
Sources used:
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