Last Monday, the Security Service of Ukraine (S.B.U.) announced that it had detained a Russian military intelligence agent. The agent was arrested for premeditating an attack on Odessa, Ukraine’s largest Black Sea port. The Russian agent’s premeditation was evidenced in his attempt to recruit a potential attacker. According to the
One man has reportedly died in what is believed to be 2022’s first fatality in the English Channel. The B.B.C. reported that the migrant boat carrying the man was seen to be struggling off the coast of French town Berck-sur-Mer, south of Le Tourquet. The French rescue services were able
On January 10, Taiwan and Canada agreed to begin discussions on the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), as a way for Taiwan to strengthen its affiliation to other democracies. According to Taiwan News, the agreement is intended to “ensure fair treatment of investors, transparent dispute-settling mechanisms,” and increase
Ethnic divisions in Bosnia-Herzegovina have continued to widen this week as Bosnian Serbs, encouraged by their leaders, reportedly harassed Bosniak Muslim neighborhoods, sang songs in the streets celebrating war criminals, and even fired shots near mosques. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe released a statement blaming Bosnian Serb
In a recent election, Venezuela’s opposition party won the governorship in Barinas State. Political analysts, however, are saying that the party is still losing in broader elections to the more powerful political party. The current party in power in Venezuela is the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, led by president
Burundi’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established in 2014 to ease ethnic animosities between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, has caused controversy ever since. Development and Cooperation states that Tutsi politicians still accuse TRC members of being too one-sided in their investigations of Burundi’s troubled past. The TRC discovered
On January 2nd, Abdalla Hamdok resigned from his position as Sudan’s Prime Minister following months of upheaval. Only two months prior, Hamdok was ousted during a military coup and takeover, but was able to reassume his position, through compromise with military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. His resignation comes amidst civilian
Governmental systems have existed for thousands of years, and are the most powerful factor in maintaining state stability. Power and how it is distributed is a trait shared by all governing systems. The concept “power” frequently conjures up notions of intimidation and force. An individual must have authority over something
On May 9, 2022, the Philippines will hold their next presidential elections. In an attempt to minimize election-related violence, the government has imposed a national firearms ban as of January 9, 2022. January 9 was the official start of the 150-day election period; the ban will remain in place until
On Monday, January 3rd, Israel’s Jerusalem Post reported that its website had been hacked. They described this attack as an “apparent threat to the country,” according to Reuters. The website’s main page showed an illustration that recalled General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike on January
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a successful troop intervention in Kazakhstan after almost a week of the worst violence the Central Asian state has experienced since its independence in 1991. On Monday, January 10, 2022, Reuters reported that Putin declared victory after paratroopers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
This week, the Pope iterated one of his most assertive statements on vaccinations, urging individuals to get vaccinated as it is a “moral obligation.” Previously referring to vaccines as an “act of love,” the Pope denounced rhetoric discouraging vaccination as “baseless information.” The Pope’s pro-vaccine sentiments come at a pressing
At the end of December, following a speech in which Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso threatened indigenous leader Leonidas Iza, the Alliance for Human Rights condemned Lasso for intimidation tactics and impinging freedom of speech. Iza, known for his involvement in the October 2019 national protests against the economic policies of
After reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia to repatriate several Tigrayans back to Ethiopia, Human Watch Rights (HWR) reported that thousands of repatriated Tigrayans are being detained and mistreated by Ethiopian authorities. Between December 2020 and September 2021, HRW interviewed job-seeking Tigrayans deported from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia and discovered
A year ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, NGOs, football teams and even players raised their voices against the country’s violation of labour’s rights on migrant workers building the brand-new stadiums in the small Gulf Emirate. Earlier this year, Qatar announced measures, including reforms to its Sponsorship
A Google search that contains the words “overdoses” and “lockdown” will produce pages of headlines on the record numbers of deaths caused by drug overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and Canada. 81,000 people died of opioid overdoses in the U.S. between June 2020 and June 2021;
After weeks of violent unrest in Kazakhstan in reaction to anti-government protests, the Kazakh government claims to have retaken control of government buildings in all regions of the country. The unrest has killed over a hundred people, and thousands have been injured or arrested. Tensions in Kazakhstan boiled over in
COVID-19 is undoubtedly the most significant public health crisis in recent years. As of January 6th 2022, there have been almost 5.5 million deaths related to the disease across the world. With the emergence of new variants, it is difficult to predict how many more there will be. Potentially, the
The United States joined Russia, Britain, France, and China in a joint statement condemning the use of nuclear weapons, stating that no one will win in the case of nuclear war. The five countries, all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, currently amass 96 percent of nuclear warheads
Last Monday, January 3rd, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Bucharest Nine group of NATO allies to discuss the number of Russian military troops stationed along the Ukrainian border. In addition, the group discussed several strategies to create a united front against the military presence, one of
