It has been a full decade since Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside the provincial headquarters of Sidi Bouzid. On December 17th, 2010, Bouazizi, who was regularly harassed by local police into conceding commission and merchandise, acted out of “sheer desperation,” says Thessa Lageman of Al
In a potentially historic move, Sudan’s government has agreed to a peace deal with the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of rebel forces in Darfur. The deal was signed on Monday, August 31st at a ceremony held in the South Sudanese capital of Juda, which has hosted other negotiations
On August 7th, human rights groups across the world celebrated as Belgium confirmed that it will halt weapons exportations to Saudi Arabia’s National Guard (SANG). This announcement came following an injunction made by Belgium’s top legal authority, the Council of State, who formally suspended arms export licenses for shipments to
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has been embroiled in yet another human rights issue. Last week, Dr Saad Al Aljabri accused MBS of ordering an assassination attempt on him in 2018. Dr Saad was a former top aide in the Saudi Interior Ministry who now lives in Toronto
Last weekend, foreign ministers representing Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held a rare meeting to discuss “bilateral, regional and global situations,” including the COVID-19 crisis. The meeting, which was done over video call due to the pandemic, included an exchange of greetings between both parties in celebration of
The tension between Israel and Hezbollah has flared up again as the two groups reportedly exchanged gunfire on Monday, July 27th, 2020 along the Lebanese border. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), three to five Hezbollah soldiers crossed the border and entered Israeli territory by “a few meters” armed
Last month, U.S. and Iran relations reached a new low point after Tehran issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump over a drone strike which killed top Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani. According to the New York Times, 35 other individuals were also issued arrest warrants for their roles in
Social transformation has unfolded in all corners of the United States in the wake of the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other African Americans as a result of racially motivated violence and police brutality. Policy changes including choke hold bans have been introduced in several
With the next academic year due to begin shortly, students around the world are eagerly awaiting to see how their education will continue in the fall. However, for international students attending college in the United States, the remainder of the summer holiday will likely include even more anxiety and distress,
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve day by day, it is impossible to know how exactly schools will operate in the fall. With infection rates continuing to spike in countries like the United States, it seems certain that in order for students to safely return to the classroom by
On Saturday, June 20th, the Chinese government unveiled the blueprint for a highly controversial new national security law in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong. Under this legislation, China can bypass Hong Kong’s independent judicial system, which according to CNN, will allow the city’s pro-Chinese top official “to handpick which
Nearly three weeks ago, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American citizen of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was arrested by police officers after an employee at a convenience store called 911 claiming Floyd had used a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes. The rest of the story, which has circulated throughout international media
Members of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed “horror” on Thursday, June 11th over “reports on the discovery of at least eight mass graves in past days, the majority of them in Tarhuna.” Until recently, this western Libyan town was controlled by Commander Khalifa Haftar of the
Just a few months ago, the world eagerly awaited as the calendar ticked ever so closer to the third decade of the twenty-first century. Many hoped that the new decade would play witness to a time of revolutionary human innovation, and that global technological capabilities would continue to exceed the
In what initially appeared to be an admirable demonstration of strength and courage, the children of Jamal Khashoggi publicly expressed their forgiveness to father’s assassins in a recent tweet. This announcement will in all likelihood spare the lives of five Saudi officials who have each been convicted and sentenced to
Last month, Donald Trump shocked world leaders and health experts after announcing his intention to cut American funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). Speaking before reporters at a White House press briefing on April 14th, Trump accused the WHO of “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the
As COVID-19 continues to disrupt everyday society, governments around the world have had to make careful changes to their judicial systems in order to adapt to physical distancing policies. Thousands of prisoners serving minor or short sentences have been temporarily released, and many European countries have chosen to postpone trials
Since COVID-19 first broke out and swept across the globe, the world’s most well renowned and developed nations have been devastated by the deadly virus. As of Thursday May 7th, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy have a combined coronavirus count of almost 650,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile,
Speaking before a Vancouver audience at a March 2015 TED Conference, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates predicted that “if anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war.” Gates’s warning came amidst the West
When will we be able to go back to work? This is a question which millions of Americans have asked as stay-at-home orders continue to impact more than 97% of the national population. The truth is that nobody yet knows when it will be safe to gather in large numbers,
