Global Beat is your weekly stop for news from around the world. Join us every Friday morning for important stories you should know about.

This week, Puerto Rico’s debt crisis deepens; the king of Spain dissolves parliament; Doctors Without Borders slams the UN Security Council; Kenya burns the largest stockpile of ivory in history; and more.
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Americas

Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank missed a $400 million payment on Monday, exacerbating the U.S. territory’s debt crisis. Puerto Rico is now $70 billion in debt to investors. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans are leaving the island in record numbers, and budget cuts are impacting health services on an island that has been heavily impacted by the Zika virus. In a recent segment on Last Week Tonight, comedian John Oliver and ‘Hamilton’ creator Lin-Manuel Miranda made a plea to the U.S. government to intervene.

Also check out:

• How Mexico City is using the internet to crowdsource its new constitution – Rafa Fernandez De Castro, Fusion

​Central & South Asia

Xulhaz Mannan, the founder of the only LGBT magazine in Bangladesh, was stabbed to death on Monday, the latest victim in a horrific series of targeted murders of progressive bloggers and activists in the country. Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch warned that freedom of speech and democracy in Bangladesh is under threat if the government doesn’t take immediate action. Local militant groups who claim affiliation with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have taken credit for the killings.

Also check out:

• Food Wars: Azerbaijan, Armenia clash over invention of dolma – Sputnik International

​China & East Asia

North Korea’s ruling elite will meet in full for the first time in 36 years on Friday during the seventh congress of the Korean Workers’ Party. It is widely expected that the meeting will cement Kim Jong-un's absolute control over the Pariah state, and provide an opportunity for the 33-year-old leader to highlight his commitment to accelerating the country's nuclear weapons program.

Also check out:

• China’s military has released a rap video in order to lure more recruits – Josh Horwitz, Quartz

​Europe & Russia

On Tuesday, King Felipe VI of Spain dissolved the nation’s parliament and set a new election for June 26, just three days after the UK’s vote on whether or not to leave the European Union. The move came after four months of negotiations between Spain’s fractured political parties failed to form a government. If voters once again do not agree on a majority government in June, the political stalemate will continue, which polls suggest is a likely outcome.

Also check out:

• NATO considering thousands of troops near Russia’s border – Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Washington Post

Middle East & North Africa

Joanne Liu, president of the French medical relief agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF or Doctors Without Borders), slammed Britain, France, Russia, and the United States - four of the five major UN powers on the Security Council - for being "associated with coalitions responsible for attacks on health structures over the last year," including bombing hospitals and killing medical personnel. Just last week, more than 50 people were killed during an airstrike in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo.

Also check out:

• U.S. service member killed in Iraq after ISIL breaks through Peshmerga lines – Barbara Starr, Jeremy Diamond, and Emanuella Grinberg and Ryan Browne, CNN

Southeast Asia & Oceania

Myanmar’s foreign ministry, led by de facto head of state Aung San Suu Kyi, has advised foreign embassies to refrain from using to use the term "Rohingya" to describe the stateless Muslim minority, siding with the country’s hardline Buddhist nationalist groups. Suu Kyi's government views the group as Bengalis who have entered the country illegally. Myanmar's government is frequently criticized for its treatment of the Rohingya. 

Also check out:

• Australia chides rights advocates for giving ‘false hope’ to asylum seekers – Michelle Innis, The New York Times

​Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya set fire to a stockpile of more than 100 tons of ivory and 1.5 tons of rhino horns (worth more than $172 million) in an effort to combat the poaching of elephants. The fire was ignited by President Uhuru Kenyatta himself. Some critics say destroying the stockpile will increase the price of ivory on the black market, thus encouraging even more poaching.

Also check out:

• IMF cuts Africa growth forecast to 3% in 2016 – John Aglionby, Financial Times

​Stay informed. We’ll see you here again next week.