On April 10, 2018, the Malaysian Election Commission announced that a general election has been scheduled to take place on May 9th of this year. This is a controversial move and is regarded as a threat to the ruling coalition’s 61-year reign. Barisan Nasional (BN) is the ruling coalition in
On February 16th, 2018, Ethiopia declared a state of emergency after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced his decision to step down from his position amid the continuing political crisis in the nation. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s (EPRDF) coalition council, the nation’s ruling political coalition, “came to the conclusion that imposing emergency
On Thursday February 8th, Bermuda became the first jurisdiction in the world to first legalize same-sex marriage, only to subsequently repeal the legalization. The Supreme Court of the British island territory ruled same-sex marriage legal less than a year ago in May of 2017. The bill was signed into law
During the late hours of February 1, 2018, the Polish Upper House of Parliament, known as the Senate, voted on and approved a controversial bill relating to the Holocaust. The bill states, “whoever accuses, publicly and against the facts, the Polish nation, or the Polish state, of being responsible or complicit
On January 26, 2017, Russian authorities raided Moscow’s Pioner Cinema, an art-house cinema which had defied the government ban on a screening of The Death of Stalin. Police officers and numerous plainclothes officials entered the theatre during the midday screening of the film in question. When asked whether the cinema faced
On Thursday, January 18th, the United States House of Representatives voted by a margin of 230-197 for a budget bill to extend funding through February 16, effectively ending a government shutdown. However, there are still concerns regarding which way members of the Senate will vote, leaving many U.S. citizens scared
On January 3, 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, announced plans to free political prisoners, among them being politicians, terrorists, and those who support the ethnic minorities within the country. “Politicians currently under prosecution and those previously sentenced will either have their cases annulled or be pardoned,” AFP news agency
On December 17th, 2017, billionaire businessman Sebastian Pinera was elected as President of Chile. Pinera is a member of the National Renewal political party, which is a liberal conservative party. Such a party combines liberal and conservative stances, with the conservative stances largely influencing social and ethical concerns. One such
On December 23, 2017, the United Nations (UN) unanimously voted to enforce strict new sanctions on North Korea. These sanctions are in response to the recent missile launches from North Korea, particularly the one which Pyongyang says is capable of reaching anywhere in the United States. While there is still
On Friday, August 25th, violence erupted as result of a series of coordinated attacks by Rohingya, a Muslim minority, insurgents. The group attacked 30 police stations on Friday and violence continued through Sunday. The death toll has risen to 98, 80 of which are insurgents. Twelve are members of security
In late July, Venezuela saw the formation of a new political body called the National Constituent Assembly. This was decided through a vote, which is now highly contested as reporting false numbers. President Nicolas Maduro called for the vote which led to the establishment of the staunch pro-government assembly. Critics
Guam is an incredibly tiny United States colony, one of less than twenty colonies remaining in the world. The island only has an area of 210 square miles and a population of about 160,000. The island became a US colony in 1898 when Spain ceded the land following the Spanish-American
On Saturday, August 5, Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega was forcibly removed from office in what she deemed to be a “siege” of power. She posted a number of photos on social media depicting the large number of troops surrounding her building and tweeted that she “denounce[d] this arbitrary act
On July 28, North Korea conducted its latest in a series of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests. Launched at 23:41 North Korean time, the missile launched from the Jagang province, which is located in the north of the nation. The missile has been reported to have reached an altitude of
On July 4th, while walking in Mile End, a heavily pregnant woman had acid thrown on her stomach. Her partner also suffered facial burns as a result of the acid. On July 15th, an unnamed 16 year old was arrested in connection with five attacks using acid, all of which
On July 13, 2017, Israeli and Palestinian officials announced that the two nations have reached a water-sharing deal in order to bring relief to Palestinian communities who have been without water for days and in some cases weeks. US Middle East representative Jason Greenblatt announced the deal in Jerusalem. This
On Saturday, July 8, 2017, two United States bombers were flown out to the Korean Peninsula to join South Korean and Japanese fighters to partake in a joint-training mission. This practice bombing run is in response to North Korea’s recent claim of a successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, as
On Friday, June 30th, 2017, German lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage. The vote passed 393 votes to 226, with four lawmakers abstaining. The bill in question allows for the same rights of marriage as heterosexual couples, as well as the right for same-sex couples to jointly adopt. This was
On July 6, 2016, Philandro Castile was brutally shot and killed by police officer Jeronimo Yanez in a suburb of Minnesota. Castile was pulled over due to a broken tail light. Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend, and her four-year-old daughter were in the car with him. When asked for his license
In Bahawalpur, Pakistan, a court handed out a death sentence to 30-year-old Taimoor Raza. What was his crime? He has been found guilty of blasphemy for insulting the prophet Muhammad. Last year, Raza was arrested following his participation with a man on Facebook about Islam. As it turned out, this
