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Briefing Room: Nicaragua Cancels Elections. And More.

Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have dropped even the pretense of a vote, cementing a family dictatorship with their opponents jailed, exiled, or silenced — and the region looking away.

Simon Whistler • July 26, 2026

Briefing Room: Nicaragua Cancels Elections. And More.

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Note: this transcript was generated by AI and may contain errors or inconsistencies.

Welcome to The Briefing Room, the weekly show designed to keep you up to date on all the other news happening in the world outside of Iran. I'm Simon, and this week we're checking in on Nicaragua, where longtime dictator Daniel Ortega has just cancelled elections.

Thousands of kilometers away, we're also looking at what's happening in Ethiopia, where the signs are that both the federal government and the Tigray region are still preparing for a renewed civil war in the near future.

But first, we're traveling to Mali, where an alliance between jihadists and insurgents is making life for the ruling junta and their Russian allies absolute hell. As always, thank you for subscribing. It's your subscriptions that allow us to make videos like this, covering the lesser-known things happening in the world.

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