Hitler Wins Again

Hi Global Recap readers,

Happy Thanksgiving to all our U.S. readers!

Here's a fun fact about Thanksgiving:

• Back in the day, Thanksgiving didn’t even fall on the same date across the U.S. States picked their own.

• Then in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried moving the holiday up a week to help the economy. The country was still climbing out of the Great Depression, and retailers worried that a late Thanksgiving meant fewer shopping days before Christmas.

• This stirred up so much confusion that Congress eventually stepped in and made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November, which is when we still celebrate it today.

And here' something else new for you... 👇🏼

🇳🇦 NAMIBIA
Hitler Wins Again

Namibian councilor Adolf Hitler Uunona just pulled off a fifth straight local election win in the Oshana region. Yes, that's his name.

• Result: Uunona secured his small northern constituency with comfortable support, continuing a streak that began in 2004, when he first won the Ompundja seat.

• Name: He says his father picked the name without grasping its global weight, and he insists he has nothing to do with the ideology of Hitler.

• Reaction: International headlines roll in each time he wins, yet voters at home tend to shrug off the symbolism and focus on local services.

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
Trump Orders
Green Card Sweep

The Trump administration has launched a reexamination of every green card issued to people from 19 "countries of concern" after the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.

• Trigger: The policy shift follows the identification of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national and former US government partner, as the suspect in Wednesday's shooting of two National Guard members in Washington D.C.

  • 2021: He entered under Biden's Operation Allies Welcome for Afghan partners.

  • 2025: However, he was granted asylum by the Trump administration after applying in 2024.

  • Lakanwal worked with US agencies, including the CIA.

  • One of the two Guardsmen, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom (20), died from her injuries, while the other, Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe (24) remains critically wounded.

• Directive: USCIS Director Joe Edlow said all green cards tied to countries labeled "of concern" will undergo a rigorous new review.

• List: Those 19 countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Haiti, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and others named in a June presidential proclamation.

• Afghan Focus: US Department Homeland Security (DHS) says it has indefinitely halted processing of all immigration requests tied to Afghan nationals while it rechecks vetting protocols and reviews asylum cases approved under former President Biden.

• Politics: In a video from Mar-a-Lago, Trump framed the attack as proof of what he called "the single greatest national security threat," claiming that "20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners" entered the country during Biden’s term.

🇫🇷 FRANCE
Macron’s Youth
Service Gamble

France is introducing a voluntary military service program that Macron argues is needed as Europe faces mounting geopolitical pressure. The first cohort starts in mid-2026, aimed squarely at teenagers coming of age in a more unsettled moment.

• How it works: Open to 18–19-year-olds, the program offers ten months of paid service, entirely within France.

• Targets: About 3,000 participants in 2026, scaling to 10,000 by 2030, with an eventual goal of 50,000 by 2035.

• Cost: Budgeted at €2 billion, it is being framed by Macron as a necessary investment.

• Military posture: The plan folds into France’s push for a more flexible force blending youth service members, reservists, and active-duty troops. Paris wants to reach 100,000 reservists by 2030.

• Politics: Debate flared after Armed Forces Chief Gen. Fabien Mandon warned that France must prepare for potential future losses. In his words (translation varies from outlet to outlet):

“What we lack ... is the strength of character to accept suffering in order to protect who we are..."

“If our country falters because it is not prepare to lose its children... then we are at risk."

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
Trump Shuts
South Africa

President Donald Trump says he will bar South Africa from next year’s G20 gathering in the Miami area, a decision he blasted out on Truth Social from West Palm Beach after boycotting this year’s summit in Johannesburg.

• Trigger: Trump rooted his move in two complaints: what he called violent attacks on white Afrikaners and South Africa’s refusal to pass the ceremonial G20 handover to a U.S. Embassy representative after Washington skipped the summit.

• Setting: His post came after a weekend in which the U.S. was entirely absent from the first G20 held on African soil, leaving South Africa to close the summit without America in the room.

• Angle: Diplomats and legal analysts say it is murky whether a host country can actually block a permanent G20 member, even if the host controls logistics and visas.

• Fallout: South Africa called Trump’s claims “misinformation and distortions” and said the U.S. decision undercuts already strained ties shaped by disagreements over climate policy, global governance and South Africa’s diplomatic tilt toward China and Russia.

• Evidence? One of the clips frequently cited by Trump and his allies is video of EFF leader Julius Malema and supporters chanting the struggle song "Dubul’ ibhunu" ("Shoot the Boer / Kill the Farmer") at a rally.

  • The song, long associated with anti-apartheid protest, is highly controversial. Critics say it encourages violence against white farmers, while South African courts and the government have recently held that, in its political context, it does not amount to hate speech or an official call to kill white South Africans.