For those who watched the 2020 Olympics last summer, many may have been confused as to why Taiwan was competing under the name “Chinese Taipei.” Despite being a sovereign nation, the country is not officially recognized by the international community. Breaking away from China over 70 years ago, Taiwan has
In January 2010, Hilary Clinton announced that the digital age would challenge authoritarian rule by “helping people discover new facts and making governments more accountable.” However, today’s reality is a stark contrast to this idealism. For Chadian citizens, opposition politicians and pro-democracy activists, the rights to freedom of expression and
At last five Indian soldiers and two militants were killed in a series of gun battles in Kashmir on Monday, October 11th. The incident is a result of a violent shootout between suspected rebels and occurred in a mountain pass near the Line of Control in the Himalayan region dividing
On October 1, Iranian military exercises took place near Azerbaijan’s border. Countless armored vehicles, artillery units, drones, and helicopters flooded northwestern Iran in an exceptional show of force that has rattled Baku, according to Reuters. Iranian ministers and officials justify these ominous maneuvers as a response to Israel’s burgeoning alliance
Since the 2015 referendum, one of Brexit’s most contentious issues has been the border between Northern Ireland (N.I.) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI). The N.I. protocol has recently stoked a flurry of speeches from U.K. Brexit Secretary Lord Frost, calling for “significant change” with regards to its inefficacy. Hitherto,
In a meeting in Belgrade, members of both the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the United Nations (U.N) called on developed nations to do their part in global efforts to combat COVID-19 and climate change. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo spoke at length about the inequity the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent
The current conflict in Yemen is one of the greatest humanitarian crises of all time. Indeed, it is the most pressing one blighting our modern world. Since its beginning in 2014, at least 100,000 people have been killed and 4 million people displaced. In addition, the devastation of Yemeni agriculture
In October 2021, the fragile state of Pakistan’s water security was forced back into the spotlight with a contested proposal to revisit the 1991 Water Accord. The original accord is a water-sharing agreement between Pakistani provinces that included plans to establish more reservoirs, thereby significantly increasing the country’s water resources.
Thomas Sankara was an icon in Burkina Faso for using his power to promote peace and equality. He was called the Father of the Revolution for the new vision he incited for his nation and its citizens: a vision void of the corruption and terror which plagued the country for
In May 2021, the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Articles, marches, and protests erupted across Canada as people all over the country expressed their fury over the harm done to these children and their premature deaths. The Canadian government and the
On the 20th of September, 63 dead African Penguins were discovered at Boulder Beach, a world-famous tourist site outside Cape Town, the oldest and second-largest city of South Africa. After researchers found the penguins, they took the bodies to the South African Foundation for Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). In
In the aftermath of the brutal murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, the UK government is facing difficult questions about police reforms and the issues regarding women’s safety on UK streets. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called the police’s failure to take sexual violence against women seriously ‘infuriating’, according
Five more students abducted from their schools by gunmen in Nigeria have been released, reported a correspondent at Reuters early on Saturday morning. Since December of last year, upward of 1000 students have been kidnapped in northwest and central Nigeria. Many are still being held in captivity, including 136 children
In September of 2021, Reuters documented the story of Mustafa Suleiman, a 21-year-old asylum-seeker fleeing from the ongoing Darfur conflict in Sudan. Suleiman stated that he “won’t be deterred [by] London’s threats to intercept boats illegally carrying migrants” from northern France to the United Kingdom (UK), stating that he had
The European Union has restated its commitment to the admission of six Balkan nations after overcoming divisions within the socio-political block. Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia are the countries in question; their potential membership status has conjured much consternation among the EU’s 27 member states. An EU
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) flew nearly 150 warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over a four-day period last week, prompting Taiwan to scramble its own defense systems. According to Reuters, China blamed the U.S. for increased tensions due to the American influence in Taiwan. Popular Mechanics
October 9th is one of the most important dates in the history of Ecuador. On that date, in 1820, a group of patriots led by the Guayaquil poet José Joaquín de Olmedo and José de Villamil stood up against the Spanish crown’s rule in the city of Guayaquil and put
On October 4th, plans to pitch a greater European Union presence in the Indo-Pacific region were announced on behalf of French president Emmanuel Macron. This comes in the wake of the AUKUS crisis in September, which saw Australia cancel a substantial submarine contract with France and opt instead for U.S.-designed
On October 9th, U.S. officials met with representatives of the Taliban for the first talks after American withdrawal from Afghanistan in August. These talks, taking place in Qatar, are expected to focus on issues of humanitarian aid, the evacuation of American citizens, and the ongoing containment of extremist groups in
As conflict escalates in Tigray, Eritrean refugees are finding themselves caught in the middle, subject to increasing abuse and violence from armed forces. Refugees have reported that their camps are being targeted not only by Tigrayan militias, but also by the very military forces which caused them to flee Eritrea
