World News in Brief: Shipping alert from IMO, democracy vanishing in Nicaragua, alert over political ‘denialism’

Amid a rising number of attacks on shipping in key waterways in the Middle East linked to the US-Iran war, the head of UN maritime agency, Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, has insisted that the conflict is not a “pretext” to target “innocent seafarers”.Since the current conflict in the Middle East began on 28 February, the International Maritime Organization, IMO, has verified 80 attacks on international shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. This has resulted in the deaths of at least 22 seafarers and injuries to many others. In the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, dozens of fatalities have reportedly resulted from attacks on international shipping in recent months, although precise numbers are difficult to verify. Attacks in the Red Sea have also resumed, with four fatalities confirmed in the latest attack by the Houthis on a merchant vessel on 11 August, the UN agency said. Here’s Roel Hoenders, Chief of Staff at IMO:“Apart from putting seafarers’ lives at risk, attacks on merchant shipping are having a severe impact on global supply chains and people everywhere around the world. - And let’s not forget that 22 crew have already been killed since the conflict in the Middle East began on 28...