The UK government has announced that the Department for International Development will be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with the expectation that a new department will take their places in September this year. The new department, to be called the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will absorb
Several months into the Coronavirus pandemic, its worldwide effects, whether it be health risks, financial hardship or interpersonal conflict and violence, are acutely felt in communities, families, and by individuals. This article is the second in three that seeks to highlight the different ways in which women have been impacted
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday, June 15th, that a landmark civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination, thus handing the movement for L.G.B.T. equality both an outstanding, yet unexpected, victory. “Ours is a society of written laws. An employer who fires an individual merely for
In the words of President Cyril Ramaphosa, this has been a ‘dark and shameful week’ for South Africa. On June 1st, the government relaxed restrictions on COVID-19 lockdown rules. Since then, the horrific murders of numerous women have sent shock waves across the country. A list of more than 400
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been widely criticized for his decision, on the 16th of June, to merge the Department for International Development (DFID) with the Foreign Office. According to Johnson, the merger seeks to “integrate all the strands of [the U.K.’s] international effort” by collapsing “outdated and artificial” distinctions
On June 16, North Korea blew up a liaison office and de-facto South Korean embassy that represented the détente between the two countries. North Korean officials, including Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, who is believed to follow her brother as the leader of North Korea after his death, justified their
On 15th of June, the United Nations removed Saudi forces from their annual blacklist of parties who have violated children’s rights. The decision came as a shock to many, given the UN’s own investigators found that there were hundreds of children who were killed or injured last year in Saudi
White supremacist sentiments in the United Kingdom came to a head on the 13th of June, as London’s Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement cancelled its protest due to fears of violent reprisal from various far-right groups. These fears were confirmed when crowds, largely compromised of white men, descended on London. Paul
On June 7th, U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) accused China of trying to block the development of a Coronavirus vaccine in the West, sparking further controversy between the two nations. According to a BBC article dated June 7th, Scott provided no details to back his claims. China meanwhile, released a
The escalating violence in Africa’s Sahel region is beginning to have widespread consequences. Thousands of civilians, targeted by both terrorist organisations as well as military forces, have been forced to flee from their local communities for safety. The Sahel conflict is quickly becoming one of largest displacement crises in the
On Sunday, June 14th, warplanes took off from various air bases in Turkey directed at multiple Kurdish targets in various regions of northern Iraq, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Qandil stronghold. The Turkish Defence Ministry said that these actions came in response to an increase in militant attacks on
