Ukraine's president says Kiev unlikely to publish Trump call transcript

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky opposed the publication of his own version of the transcript of a conversation with US leader Donald Trump.

“There are certain nuances and things that, it seems to me, would be incorrect to publish,” Zelensky told reporters on September 30. He noted that before becoming president, he was not a diplomat, but he had a lot of similar conversations.

He also noted that Ukraine was ready to investigate the activities of Joe Biden and his son Hunter, but only at the initiative of their own investigative authorities. “We must not order anything. We are an independent country, ”Zelensky added.






Anaita Andikkhou

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-zelenskiy/ukraines-president-says-kiev-unlikely-to-publish-trump-call-transcript-idUSKBN1WF152?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29

Spanish dictator’s remains can be exhumed

The Spain’s Supreme Court ruled last week that Franco’s body can be exhumed after some last months of division in Spain concerning to this issue. Currently, the body is located in The Valley of the Fallen, just outside Madrid. It is a controversial aspect the fact that many Spanish Civil War victims have their grave in the same site. Besides, political prisoners were the people in charge to build the mausoleum for the ruler. Likewise, Franco’s family ask to locate the his remains in the Cathedral of La Almudena, but the Supreme Court has rejected this appeal as well. Consequently, his remains will rest in peace in a cemetery located in the North of Madrid, forty-four years after of his death.

José Luis Villarreal

"Saudi crown prince warns of 'Iran threat' to global oil"

Saudi Arabia's crown prince claimed that oil prices may rise to "unimaginable prices" if no one takes action against Iran. This is a huge deal as this could ruin the global economy. These claims are stemming from an attack on two oil facilities two weeks ago. However, Iran continues to deny any involvement which has escalated the entire ordeal. Saudi Arabia is in an interesting situation right now because they can make this into a global issue very easily because of their abundance of oil. The Middle East "represents about 30% of the world's energy supplies, about 20% of global trade passages, and 4% of the world GDP" which means if Saudi Arabia causes these three things to collapse, it will be a total collapse of the global economy as we know it.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49874807

Ben Williams

Hong Kong Protests: Chaotic Scenes Unfold In Streets Ahead Of China's National Day

Tom Pancione

China has stepped up attack on protesters in Hong Kong. Communist China is set to have its 70th anniversary on October First. Leading people to believe that They want to have Hong Kong under control for the anniversary. Most of the protestors have no pride in this anniversary, and feel disconnected from it. The Protestors plan to take to the streets and protest on that day. This would be an embarrassment for Communist China and President Xi Jinping. This is the 17th week in a row there have been protests in Hong Kong.

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/29/765517895/hong-kong-protests-chaotic-scenes-unfold-in-streets-ahead-of-chinas-national-day 

Hundreds of boys, men freed from torture building in Nigeria- Cortney Ferretti

In the northern portion of Lagos, Nigeria, hundreds of men and boys were rescued from building where they were being held captive. Those rescued said that they were beaten, starved, and sexually assaulted. The police aiding in the rescue stated that there were visible marks on the bodies about 400 men and boys rescued. After receiving a tip on Thursday, the police were led to a building that was said to have been a reformatory or educational program.  The families that dropped off their children thought it was a place for them to learn the Quran. The six teachers and owner of the unlicensed program were arrested. 

When boys are seen begging on the streets of northern Nigeria, they are often sent to a place for Quranic training. This specific location was said to be “another level entirely” in regard to the intense abuse that the victims received. President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly banned this practice of taking children off the streets and putting them in highly intensive religious schools. The government claims that primary school children should be in school rather than on the streets, but the locations need to be regulated enough to prevent abuse. This situation is tragic and will hopefully be avoided in the future with stricter regulations.

https://www.apnews.com/525c02a7afdd4f208b6dcfbb793a1a9c

Ships Fitted With Equipment To Circumvent New Environmental Legislation

Legislation requiring new scrubbers that extract the sulfur from ship exhaust has been worked around. Only 23 ships have been fitted to not discharge this sulfur into the sea, while around 2,000 other ships have not. These 2,000 ships installed the scrubbers, but do not have a closed loop system to keep the sulfur until it can be safely removed, but instead openly release it into the sea. This is very concerning with cruise ships, as these ships often go into parts of the world with rich sea life and coral. Most of these cruise ships will not have adapted a closed system to protect the waters from pollutants.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html

Katherine Staniszewski

US-made bomb used in deadly Saudi-led air raid in Yemen

It was recently uncovered that a Saudi air raid in June that ended up killing six civilians was delivered by an American made bomb. It was a 500 lb GBU-12 Paveway II from the US-based defense company, Raytheon. Rasha Mohamed, Amnesty's Yemen researcher, said that, "Despite the slew of evidence that the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition has time and again committed serious violations of international law, including possible war crimes, the USA and other arms-supplying countries such as the UK and France remain unmoved by the pain and chaos their arms are wreaking on the civilian population." The closest possible military target was a Houthi rebel operations room roughly one kilometer away. This place has not been used by the Houthi rebels in many years due to air raids there in 2017 and 2018. Mohamed continues with a harsh call to the war-supplying states saying that they need to be held accountable for their materials being used in what some call in Yemen, the worst humanitarian crisis currently in the world. Tens of thousands have been killed since Saudi Arabia intervened on Yemen's government's behalf when they were overthrown by the Houthi rebels in 2014.

Michael Pollack

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/bomb-deadly-saudi-led-air-strike-yemen-190925160601125.html

Hundreds of People Still Missing In Bahamas Weeks After Hurricane Dorian.

After Hurricane Dorian made onto land in the Bahamas on September 1, 2019, it destroyed almost everything in its path. Dorian ultimately dispersed thousands of citizens in the Bahamas, and officials say more than 600 people are unaccounted for. The official death toll for the hurricane stands at 56.


https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/27/americas/bahamas-hurricane-dorian-missing/index.html

Zach Fortier

Bodyguard to Saudi King shot Dead by his Friend

The prominent Bodyguard to Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Maj Gen Abdulaziz al-Fagham was shot and killed during a personal dispute in Jeddah. The Saudi Arabian state-run press came out and reported that the shooter was apparently a friend of Fagham and that he shot and killed Faghman as well as shot and wounded a Filipino worker. The shooting then led to a gunfight between security forces and the gunman which left the gunman dead and 5 members of security forces wounded. State Officials in Saudi Arabia have made no comments on the shooting yet.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/29/bodyguard-saudi-king-reportedly-shot-dead-friend-abdulaziz-al-fagham
Weston Valkner

Saudi Arabia suffers massive loss to Houthi rebels

Houthi rebels today released video from a large ambush against Saudi and Yemeni forces that led to thousands of casualties. While the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia has yet to respond to the event, the video shows dozens of destroyed and captured vehicles, numerous dead fighters, and hundreds of prisoners. The Saudis continue to struggle in Yemen, with many saying their fighters are incompetent and unmotivated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/houthis-say-they-killed-or-wounded-500-saudi-led-coalition-fighters-and-captured-2000-showing-footage-of-soldiers-corpses/2019/09/29/7c9497c2-e2d5-11e9-b0a6-3d03721b85ef_story.html

Street Fires in Hong Kong

Some of the worst battles have arisen in the streets of Hong Kong as police officers and protesters disagree upon government issues. The protests are projected to increase as October 1st is around the corner, and on this day will be the 70th Anniversary of the People's Republic. This battle has been happening since July, where police officers were attacking protesters with tear gas and protesters turned around and fired back. People of Hong Kong were outraged when government officials were going to allow for criminals to be extradited, meaning released back to their mainland China. The people are mad about China taking part in the politics of Hong Kong, which are two separate systems. This caused for a pro-democratic uproar amongst the protestors. Understanding what it means to be apart of a democracy, I can understand how these individuals would like a say in the decisions that their government makes, and they don't want China to think they have overriding power over Hong Kong. "I think Hong Kong is somehow at this moment the front line between Western democracy and the dictatorship in China ... Hong Kong looks more and more like a police state.” This being said, protesters have said that they have tolerated enough. The battles in the streets have caused distress and dysfunction in other civilians' daily routines, such as shops closing ahead of time to avoid any forms of violence or confrontation. It will be interesting to see how this dispute will hopefully be resolved in the future.







LINK:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-09-28/hong-kong-protesters-to-rally-after-another-night-of-violence
Blog by: Nicole Bellino

Nigerian 'tourture house'

Almost 500 men and boys were rescued from a building in Kaduna. It was being used for an Islamic school as well as a correctional facility. These men were found in chains and were victims to slavery and sexual abuse. A survivor, Isa Ibrahim, shared his horrors of being sent to this institution to correct his behavior. His hands were tied and was left hanging from the ceiling.  He stated that even when you were asleep, they would “use a cane to wake you up”. Even from studying or praying they would be beat.  

Children as young as five were rescued from this torture house.  

Kaduna’s government has stated that they will be carrying out checks on all Islamic schools in the area. If they find any trace of abuse within those schools, the abusers will be prosecuted.  

 

 Link:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49869804?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world&link_location=live-reporting-story 

-Dominika Szczepaniak

Mosque, Church, and Synagogue to Share a Home In Abu Dhabi

In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, there are plans to build an interfaith complex that consists of a mosque, a Christian church and a synagogue. This complex, known as The Abrahamic Family, since all three religions descend from the Abrahamic God, was commissioned by the UAE's Higher Committee for Human Fraternity in a goal to create religious harmony between the three religions in the country. The Abrahamic Family House will serve as a place of individual worship as well as a place for inter-religious dialogue. The complex was inspired by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb's signing of a joint declaration promoting human fraternity. The goal is to foster peace between the three religions in a time when the difference between the three seems to persist.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/26/middleeast/uae-abu-dhabi-the-abrahamic-family-house-ctw-intl/index.html

-Alex Kitzmann

U.S. Special Envoy to the Ukraine Resigns

Several days after the announcement from Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the U.S. House of Representatives will begin a formal impeachment investigation against the President, and the release of the transcripts from his call with the President of Ukraine, Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has resigned. Volker turned in his resignation to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just as the Democratic chairmen of the House committees conducting the impeachment investigation called Volker to testify before Congress sometime next week. According to the official whistleblower complaint that was submitted accusing Donald Trump and other high-ranking officials for conspiring with a foreign power for political gain. According to the complaint, Volker along with fmr. NYC Mayor and Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani initiated conversation about dirt on Joe Biden and family the day after Trump's phone call.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/kurt-volker-trumps-special-envoy-to-ukraine-resigns/2019/09/28/b663cd92-e17c-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html

Michael Gutierrez

Kurt Volker, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, resigns

As the title states, Kurt Volker, Trump's special envoy to the Ukraine, has resigned. According to the whistleblower's complaint, was in contact with the Ukrainian government to help them meet Trump's demands for dirt on Joe Biden.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/kurt-volker-trumps-special-envoy-to-ukraine-resigns/2019/09/28/b663cd92-e17c-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html

Griff Inskeep

World postal rates overhauled after US quit threat

There has been an agreement to readjust international shipping rates after a two day conference in Geneva. The Universal Postal Union's (UPU) emergency talk lasted only two days. The US threatened to withdraw from the international union because of China's cheaper export shipping rates. Apparently, it can be cheaper to order and ship from China than to order and ship within the continental US. The UPU has been around for nearly 150 years, setting the rates for international shipping. "Its 193 members are categorised into different postal rates based on their economic and postal development."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49833914

jackson frank

China is harvesting thousands of human organs from its Uighur Muslim minority, UN human-rights body hears- Alex Eberhardt

China is harvesting thousands of human organs from its Uighur Muslim minority, UN human-rights body hears

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-harvesting-organs-of-uighur-muslims-china-tribunal-tells-un-2019-9

This article notifies us of a discussion that was held at the most recent UN convention. A group called the China Tribunal brought up allegations against China that the Chinese government was harvesting the organs of Muslim minority ethnic groups in China. 

There has been a lot of controversy over the treatment of ethnic groups like the Uighurs in China over the past year. It has been discovered that there are camps the Uighurs are sent to, in western China, as part of an extremist ideology rehabilitation clinic. The Chinese governments claims the Uighurs in these camps are not prisoners and are there by choice. They say that the camps only exist to rid supposed high risk ideological extremists of their extreme views. They have shown the camps to the media as overall happy places that aren't abusive. Where the Uighurs dance and sing and paint. However many here in the west seem to think that this is not actually the case. People who have been released from the camps have claimed experiences of being chained, beaten, and electrocuted. People are claiming these camps to be comparable with what happened to the Jews in the holocaust. 

Although it is really hard to know for sure what the truth is today, it seems like their is strong evidence that these Uighurs are being treated terribly. As someone who has lived in both China and Kyrgyzstan (within a few hours drive of the province in which these camps are located), it saddens me to see this. I like the Eastern and Western Chinese people. They are two very different cultures but both very deep and intricate ones. It's important that this situation is not forgotten about, so more investigation and action can take place. 

by Alex Eberhardt

Hundred of Captives Rescued in Nigeria

In the city of Kaduna, in northern Nigeria, hundreds of captives were freed from a Muslim boarding school. There was 300 individuals freed, a lot were children aged five to their late teens. some were chained to big hubcaps and others had marks indicating torture. The government of Nigeria plans on banning these types of school, after long history of reports of abuse in these institutions.

by Jared Weaver
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/27/hundreds-of-captives-many-boys-in-chains-rescued-in-nigeria

Saudi Arabia to open up to foreign tourists with new visas

Griffin Curran

In an attempt to decrease their dependence on Oil Saudi Arabia has opened its country to international tourists. Until now Visas have been restricted to pilgrims, business workers, and expatriate workers. With its' five Unesco world heritage sites Saudi Arabia hopes to have tourism increase to 10% of its' GDP by 2030. This move by Saudi Arabia to open itself to the world not only demonstrates potential future pushes for globalization, but also that the world may be starting to move further away from its' reliance on fossil fuels.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49848068

Abortion decriminalized in Sydney after Australian lawmakers overturn 119-year-old law

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/26/asia/abortion-australia-decriminalized-intl-hnk/index.html
Nelle Scranton

In New South Wales which is in Sydney Australia, a new bill was passes to decriminalize abortion and makes terminations available to those who are less than 22 weeks pregnant without proving that their mental or physical health is will be jeopardized if she continued pregnancy. After those 22 weeks, they will need a doctors note to sign off that the pregnancy is harmful to the mother or baby. Some are worried that this will become an issue because of the possibility that some mothers may abort their child to select their gender. It has been 119 years since this bill of criminalizing abortion started.

Much talk, and a little action, at the UN climate summit

"Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old activist, led protests in New York imploring politicians to act now to limit rising temperatures and warned leaders at the summit: 'The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us I say we will never forgive you.'". On Monday, leaders from around the world, as well as many concerned global citizens and activists, attended the United Nations Climate Action Summit. The summit ended with 66 countries and 93 companies announced their commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Other announcements were just promises for future announcements. Even if the pledges are acted on there is still a gap between what was promised and what needs to be done in order to get the world out of the "chasm" it is in. Many activists left unsatisfied. The protests like the ones seen on September 20th, will not be the last. 

Chloe Hart

https://www.economist.com/international/2019/09/24/much-talk-and-a-little-action-at-the-un-climate-summit

Indonesia erupts into protests and riots over pre-marital sex law

Thousands of protesters, mainly students, have poured out onto the streets today in Indonesia to protest a bill that would ban sex before marriage as well as making it illegal to insult the president and ban almost all abortions. The bill would criminalize pre-marital sex with a 1 year sentence, and would make it illegal to live together if a couple is not married. The protesters clashed with riot police who fired tear gas into the crowd.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49810741

Spain has been called to vote, again

Last April 28th Spain voted for the first time after that June, 2018 the leader socialist Pedro Sánchez won a vote of no confidence for the first time in the Spanish democracy.

The result of these last elections was a large victory of the socialist Sánchez. After that moment, all he had to do was merely make a deal with the other force of “the left side”, that is, the party “Podemos” headed by Pablo Iglesias.

Last July, every single deputy went to the Parliament in order to invest or not do so, to the socialist candidate. After uncountable and mutual reproofs, the two parties were not able to make a deal and as a consequence new elections will have place in Spain this November 10^th.

José Luis Villarreal

Cubans Forced to wait Hours in Gas Lines as Fuel Shortage bites

Tom Pancione

There are massive Fuel Shortages within Cuba right now, as the country reportedly relied primarily on Venezuela for heavily subsidized oil; there is a growing power shortage, and farmers are having to use Oxen to plow their fields instead of tractors. Apparently this has lead to huge gas lines. These gas lines are immensely frustrating to the cuban people. On top of this the power shortages mean there is little power in the grid, and what power is generated is reportedly being used for hospitals and hotels for tourism. Reason being is that tourism is a major source of hard currency for the cuban government. The Cuban government predicts the problem will get better in October.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/cubans-wait-gas-lines-fuel-shortage

Europe migrant crisis

French and Italian leaders are hoping to send migrants across the European Union because more migrants are arriving and there is no good system currently in place. Greece and Italy are being affected most by the migrant situation as they are located on the Mediterranean Sea. Many of the migrants are fleeing civil war in Syria and coming through Turkey to Europe. President Macron of France and Prime Minister Conte of Italy are steering the EU towards adopting a system that will better distribute migrants in need. Hopefully, the system is put in place soon as there are no signs that the migrants will stop arriving.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49752380

Allison Gammons

Global Climate Strikes

Thousands of people gathered around the world to strike against climate change. Many schools around the United States excused students from school so they could protest, including New York who had over 250,000 protestors. It may have been the largest global climate strike in history.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/21/global-climate-strike-estimates-crowd-size-millions-worldwide/2401672001/
Katherine Staniszewski

Trump meets Modi in Texas

Donald Trump and Narendra Modi met today in Houston, Texas. The leaders shared a 90-minute long show in a packed stadium to loud bouts of applause and chanting. The rally is being hailed as a massive PR success for both leaders, who share devoted and loyal fan-bases. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49788492

South Korea's young men are fighting against feminism

There is a growing feminism problem in South Korea among young men. After a recent rally in Seoul, this issue is gaining attention. These men are complaining that their society no longer needs feminism, and it is only hurting the male population. They believe that young women are equal to young men. They acknowledge that there were problems, but they are gone now. Their biggest grievance is that men are required to serve in the military for two years while women are not. And in a society where women are beginning to get hired just as much as men, this makes women able to get these jobs sooner. South Korea's job market is very competitive as well, meaning that once a job is gone, it could be gone for years. The problem with the men's argument is that women are still making less in South Korea. The feminist movement is still needed in South Korea, but, as crazy as it sounds, there is a little bit of truth in the anti-feminist argument.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/21/asia/korea-angry-young-men-intl-hnk/index.html

-Michael Gargano

Hong Kong Police and Demonstrators Clash as Tensions Escalate

Tensions quickly escalated during a protest in Hong Kong at the New Town Plaza mall, in Sha Tin. The peaceful protest quickly escalated and turned violent, when protestors punched and kicked a man they accused of being a spy from mainland China. The shift from peaceful protest to violence led to confrontation with law enforcement who began to fire teargas, pepper spray, and bean bags into the crowds, while protestors hurled bricks at the police. This conflict taking place days before the October 1st celebrations of the Peoples Republic's 70th anniversary. Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam, commented, "that the government would spare no effort in stopping the violence." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/22/hong-kong-pro-democracy-protests-turn-violent-again
Weston Valkner

Iran to lay out Gulf security proposal at UN general assembly

The article discusses that Iran President, Hassan Rouhani will present a plan on how to better secure and defend the Gulf to the United Nations. This plan is being created after the recent attacks on the Saudi Oil supply. According to the article, Iran says that the United States will not be a part of the defense plan of the Gulf, and says having them there could create more problems than help. Other countries in the region disagree with this stance, but Trump is reported saying he will listen to the plan and he's "Always open".

by Jared Weaver

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/22/iran-warns-presence-of-foreign-powers-in-gulf-raises-insecurity

The Continuation of Hong Kong's Protests

Even with the withdraw of the extradition bill, the people of Hong Kong are still not satisfied. How long will these protest last and will Hong Kong eventually gain the liberty they desire? Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests have been going on for four months now and have been lately reverting to more violent actions. On Saturday the 21st , police forces have been using tear gas and rubber rounds against protestors setting fires in the streets. Then on September 22nd authorities closed two train stations that lead to Hong Kong’s airport to protect against further disruption to transportation. Authorities have also halted several airport bus routes. These actions from the riot police were in result of protestors destroying surveillance cameras and ticket machines with hammers. More controversially, protestors have been burning Chinese flags and stomping on them.  

These ongoing protests are continuing to embarrass the Chinese Communist party.  

Link:  

https://www.apnews.com/8e4277554bae4aaba1ccf5f94aa5f4b0  

Dominika Szczepaniak