Tunisia's President Appoints a Women as Prime Minister for the First time in Arab Countries- Patrick Turner

Tunisia's president appoints woman as prime minister in first for the Arab world

By Mostafa Salem, CNN

Interpretation by Patrick Turner 

 Link To Article

    When reading about this article there is a lot of information that the reader has to pick up on. Yes, this is the first time that a female is in charge of the government in Tunisia. But from reading about the article it sounds like there is a bigger problem that is lying underneath what happened. The Government that they use is a democratic government but because the president of the country claims that the nation is under a national emergency that the people do not have to elect anyone in power that he could put any more in charge of the country that he, please. This seems very scary to me because it almost sounds like he is using the idea of a national emergency to get what he wants to do for his own political benefit not the countries benefit. What the president of Tunisia is saying is a national emergency is that the economy in Tunisia is struggling really bad right now and that they need to figure out a way to get their economy back on track so that they could eventually move on to more important matters. 

Indigenous man takes the Australian government to court

An Indigenous Australian man has taken the Australian government to court arguing that Indigenous people should have earlier access to their pensions. He has stated that the  Indigenous life expectancy is years shorter than Australians. Dennis Fisher is 64 years old and he said that he is doing this purely for the benefit of other Indigenous Australians. The case was filed in a Federal court in Melbourne. According to Fisher's lawyer, it will be argued that until the gap in life expectancy is closed, Indigenous people should have earlier access to their pensions. Indigenous women have a life expectancy of 75 years, and men 71 years. Australian men live an average of 8.6 years longer, and women 7.8 years. On top of that, Australia is raising its current age by 6 months in July 2023. In July 2019 the age was raised by a year. The case has yet to be closed. 

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indigenous-australian-early-pension-due-short-lives-80254907

Mateah Roehl

Jack Moran - Top generals contradict Biden, say they urged him not to withdraw from Afghanistan

Jack Moran

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/28/top-generals-afghanistan-withdrawal-congress-hearing-514491

Today on September 28, 2021, top generals McKenzie and Milley of the United States Military told lawmakers under oath that they had recommended to president Biden that the US keeps several thousand troops in Afghanistan, back in the fall of 2020. The generals also suspected that if there was a total pull out of Afghanistan that the Afghan government and long with its military would collapse soon after. General McKenzie later states that he was present when General Millety made these recommendations and is sure that the president heard and deeply considered these recommendations. President Biden later said in an interview that he did not recall those reccomendations. 

How voter suppression laws hurt white people.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/25/politics/voter-suppression-white-people-blake/index.html

 The GOP's voter suppression efforts are backfiring. It turns out republicans' effort to hinder minorities' ability to vote is actually suppressing their main base, white people. I think the best example of this is the 2020 Senate Runoffs when both Georgia Republican senators lost their seats to Democratic senators. The reason this happened was the misinformation being spread about election security, ultimately deterring white Republicans from voting. The same thing is happening, this time unintentionally, as Republicans ramp up voter suppression. Rural white voters will also be impacted by these laws, causing a major loss of support for the GOP. Now several GOP leaders realize this and are suddenly against the law now that they realize it will "harm" white people.  

Switzerland same-sex marriage

Chihiro Yoshihara

 Switzerland became one of the last countries in western Europe that legalize same-sex marriage. Almost two-thirds of Swiss voters agreed with same-sex marriage in a referendum. It makes Switzerland the 30th country in the world to adopt same-sex marriage. Over the last 20 years, most countries in western Europe have recognized same-sex marriage. However, some rights are restricted in Switzerland even though it has allowed same-sex couples to register partnerships since 2007. In Japan, same-sex marriage has not been allowed yet. Many people raise their voices to change this situation, but the Diet's move remains stagnant. I hope that everyone can get to have the right to marry. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58696604

Thousands Boko Haram members surrended.

Elie Imani

With Nigeria leading on the third spot among countries with the highest rate of terrorism, a miracle happened earlier this week. Over the past years, Boko Haram has brought tremendous catastrophic damages to Nigeria. A few days ago thousands of Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered and are interestingly being supported by the Nigerian government in a city that they terrorized multiple times. And the reason for this sudden surrender was the death of their leader Abubakar Shekau who blew himself up while he was about to get captured. I find this interesting since the government sees them as refugees, not criminals, and the amount of trust from the government upon them--Boko Haram did way more harm than good. Perhaps one would argue that most of the terrorists were brainwashed or abducted at a young age but that doesn’t excuse the human rights violations committed.

Link to the article. 

TaliBANNING Beards in Helmand Province

John Webb  

    The Taliban control in Afghanistan is only worsening as we all would imagine. Most recently in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, the Taliban is strictly banning barbers from shaving beards and playing music in their barbershops. This ban is in pursuit of strict Sharia law. Sharia in Arabic translates to "God's immutable divine law", or in other words, it is simply God's law in the Islamic faith. There is another word in Arabic that translates to the mortal interpretations of God's law, fiqh. Fiqh is what would be commonly followed and studied. Given the historic reputation of the Taliban, failure to comply will result in quite grim outcomes. You may be asking "why wouldn't they let you shave?", and that goes back to the strict following of Islam. In Islam, it is Hadith or religiously forbidden to shave your beard as a beard bears resemblance to Muhammad. It is, however, quite allowed to trim your beard. This exercise of Sharia law is quite concerning as it likely means things will return to how they were before US intervention if not worse.    

John Webb

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/26/world/taliban-afghanistan-beards-music-intl/index.html

Teenage pregnancies soar in Africa as schools shut for COVID by Stella Mapenzauswa

By Alexia Patino

The consequences of a virus that made people stay at home were unknown, not only for the U.S. but by the entire world.  In Africa one of the main outcome of Covid-19 has been the raise on teen pregnancies. Due to the fact that teens have to stay home the pregnancies are high on numbers. In south Africa, teen pregnancies have risen by 60%; and it is also being mentioned that going back to school would be hard for many vulnerable children. 

Between April 2020 and March 2021, more than 23,000 girls under 18 have given birth and about 1000 of them are under 14 years old. Just like in any country, schools are a form of protection and people feel save and spend most of their time there. During February and January of 2021, about 5000 girls became pregnant and 2000 entered early marriages. In countries like South Africa, girls as young as 10 years old have become pregnant over the past 18 months. According to the article most of these girls come form low-income households. 

Lastly, most of the African countries see abortion ad taboo and it is prohibited, despite the fact that many of these pregnancies are due to sexual abuse. 

https://news-decoder.com/teenage-pregnancies-soar-in-africa-as-schools-shut-for-covid/ 

Britain opens up visa rules as it wrestles with critical truck driver shortage (Devin Braden)

Britain opens up visa rules as it wrestles with critical truck driver shortage

The Washington Post -Karla Adams

Britain opens up visa rules as it wrestles with critical truck driver shortage (msn.com)

    This news story is about the labor shortage that is currently occuring in Britain, and how this move will hope to delay a possible string of shortages and supply chain crisis as Christmas approaches. This is an important move considering the move itself contradicts past moves. Accoring to the article, Prime Minister Boris Johnson reformed the immagration system in January 2020 to help cut the amount foreign labor was that was present in the British workforce. The idea was to create a workforce and economy that was primarily made up of British citizens. Fast foward to the current state of the workforce, they are allowing 10,000+ visas to help bolster the trucking and poultry industries. Chicken and fuel are among the shortages British citizens have been subject to in recent weeks. The timing of the move is based around Christmas approaching. The visas appear to be the short term solution to the labor shortage, but many  believe the influx of cheap labor will stop the advancement of British citizens' pay and workplace rights. A similar problem is happening in the United States due to people not wanting to work labor intensive jobs for little pay. Many industries are suffering when it comes to finding employees. It will be interesting to see how maybe we don't understand how important foreign labor is to keeping the economy moving. Foreign laborers are willing to work for a fraction of the pay of domestic laborers, and it creates little desire for domestic laborers to want these jobs. This reminds me of people in the United States saying foreigners are taking jobs from hard working Americans, but most times the jobs the foreigners take are the jobs an American would never want to do. Britain is finding why an all domestic workforce doesn't necessarily mean the economy will benefit. I would love to see how badly the United States economy would falter if cheap and foreign labor were removed from the country.

More than 8,500 children used as soldiers in 2020: U.N

Vanuatu seeking out international court of justices opinion on climate change- Patrick Turner

 Vanuatu will seek the International Court of Justice opinion on climate protection

By Radina Gigova, CNN

Interpretation by Patrick Turner 

    Vanuatu is a cluster of islands in the pacific that is getting impacted by climate change every day. The prime minister went to United Nations General Assembly on Sunday to ask for the people that are in charge to make global climate change at the forefront of their thoughts right now. Global climate change is wreaking havoc on the islands that they live on and in the article, you could see that the island is constantly under pressure from storms, and because of global climate change, it has been impacting them a lot more than usual. The group of islands has 250,000 people currently living on the islands. They say that the group of islands does not have as much of an impact as other countries right now and that the other countries should be able to really impact the other countries around the world. 

China: Tiananmen Square Protests

This article talking about the detail of the Tiananmen Square Protests. This was an incident in which the military used force against demonstrators, mainly students, who had gathered in Tiananmen Square in the People's Republic of China to demand democracy, resulting in a large number of casualties. 

I chose this article because I was talking with a Chinese friend about the history and she told me that she had never heard of the Tiananmen Square massacre before coming to America. I was very surprised to learn that even though it was their country's history, the information was restricted by the government. What do they have to gain by regulating and hiding the facts? China still has censors scouring the Internet and deleting any references to the Tiananmen Square incident. I feel that the decisions that were made then still rule the country, with the party in full control and not allowing its power to be shaken once again by a national movement.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48445934　

Matsuri Miyauchi

More than 25% of Walmart's corporate officers are people of color, new report shows

Sergio Zambrano 

This article talks about the increase that Walmart has had in the last month hiring people of color. The article explains that people of color represent more than 55% of Walmart's new hires between February and July. Also, they also represent more than 25% of retailer's officer positions. Walmart, in recent years, has worked hard to increase its diversity in higher-ranked positions. Jennifer R. Jackson, for example, a black woman, was hired in June as Walmart's newest senior vice president of enterprise strategy, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic partnership. As we talked in class in previous classes, this is a big effort by Walmart to increase diversity which can lead them to better success because of different approaches to new issues. 

  https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/25/business/walmart-diversity-report/index.html

China Bans Cryptocurrency Trading

 China Bans Cryptocurrency Trading 

China’s top regulators on the 24th released a blanket ban on all crypto currencies transactions and mining. Although this was a bold decision china has actually in the past issued some anti crypto currency legislation before. In May they banned payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions. The decision was partly based on a globalised effort to crackdown on cryptocurrency as governments around the world claim that highly volatile currencies could damage their control of financial systems. And according to The Peoples Bank of China they will “resolutely clamp down on virtual currency speculation ... to safeguard people's properties and maintain economic, financial and social order”. In addition to financial reasons, China is worried that “mining” will disturb their carbon neutrality goals. The reason why this might disturb their carbon neutrality goals is that “mining” is a very energy intensive process and for bitcoin and other tokens to be created it is a very demanding computing process. So in light of this, China will cut off financial support and electricity supply for mining. The effects of China, which is a large market for cryptocurrency, banning cryptocurrency can be seen by their stock value which dropped 9%. Yet there is hope even though the initial drop was significant analysts say that in the long term it won’t affect the cryptocurrencies as much because of companies investing in cryptocurrencies products and services. The biggest losers of the ban are not the biggest crypto companies like you’d expect; they are the crypto companies that originated in China and have a user base of mostly Chinese. In addition to this crypto currency was a big business tot the Chinese which accounted for more than half of the worlds crypto supply or as Christopher Bendiksen would put it “The losers in all of this are plainly the Chinese.They will now lose around $6 billion worth of annual mining revenue, all of which will flow to the remaining global mining regions.”

-Anthony Kindness

Source:https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-central-bank-vows-crackdown-cryptocurrency-trading-2021-09-24/

Turkmenistan Reports 0 Positive Covid Cases

 https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/24/asia/turkmenistan-covid-free-nations-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

It has been almost 2 years since the pandemic has begun, and throughout this time Turkemenisntan has not reported a single case of covid. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been vocal about his reports of no covid cases not being fake and that people should not assume they are lying because of his oppressive rule. He is expecting people to believe that while Iran, which borders Turkmenistan, is having one of the worst outbreaks in the world and Turkmenistan is staying 100% healthy. At what point do you have to stop worrying about your image as a politician and start to worry about your own people?

Matthew Falzone

Tech Boom Floods Israel's Silicon Valley With Cash, Exposing Divisions

"Tech Boom Floods Israel’S Silicon Valley With Cash, Exposing Divisions". WSJ, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-boom-floods-israels-silicon-valley-with-cash-exposing-divisions-11632562536?mod=hp_lead_pos11. Accessed 25 Sept 2021.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-boom-floods-israels-silicon-valley-with-cash-exposing-divisions-11632562536?mod=hp_lead_pos11

 

An emerging tech boom has surged in Tel Aviv, Israel where investments in entertainment and leisure are quickly changing the skyline of the city, with five new skyscrapers being constructed during this time. 

Nir Zohar, who started at Wix.com back in 2007, is now a chief operating officer in Tel Aviv and has become one of a generation of Israelis who have procured millions through the country's red-hot technology industry, transforming the region. He even went on to state that, "Even if you don't belong to tech, there's a very good chance that it'll be easier to make a living (here) because there's money to be spent." alluding to the fact that Tel-Aviv is becoming an economy to watch and take advantage of for its emerging opportunities for money. 

However, the boom has increased housing and living costs, as well as threatening the wealth gap which affects Israel's cultural, religious, and political fault lines. This could potentially push the Arab and ultraorthodox minorities further to the margins by forcing them out of their residential areas and create long-term issues for their prime minister, Naftali Bennet, and his new government. 

Many Arab citizens who choose to not serve in the army lose the opportunity to gain the skills and social network to thrive in the booming industry, which they believe is the state working against them, due to rising prices and cost of living. However, for those who choose not to partake in such an incredible opportunity, pass the opportunity along to those outside Israel, to the rest of Europe, and potentially the U.S. This has led to tables being booked at some of the best restaurants in Tel Aviv, a record number of mortgages, the record in sales of luxury vehicles, and the hottest topic: initial public-offering parties being hosted for technology companies. 

Much of the money that has created these 13, $1 billion valuated, private companies has come from U.S. Private firms who have contributed $15.1 billion just this year alone in comparison to last year which funded $10.7 billion (2020). From this, another dozen Israeli public tech companies are estimated with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more, and some 35,000 Israelis are sitting on stock equity of more than $14 billion ($400,000 a person) which could within the next two years.

Although this boom seems to have many benefits for the economy, the new wealth has disrupted the disparity, causing tension between the rich and poor in Tel Aviv. The salaries for roughly 338,000 employees within the tech sector are $95,000 which more than doubles the average in other industries; housing for a four-room apartment has even increased to an average of $960,000 which is 70% more expensive than the next 12 cities within Israel. Furthermore, it's becoming increasingly more expensive to hire staff in the country than in any other developing nation. 

Because the progression has escalated so quickly, a shortage of skilled laborers has occurred and more than 60% of companies said they were struggling to fill research and development positions in April. Recently, the government has been searching for new ways to tax windfalls from tech employees cashing in their stock options to level the playing field. In doing so, this becomes the most diverse ruling coalition and includes an independent Arab party, has pledged to invest in educational programs and vocational programs for the underrepresented Arabs and ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel. 

One of the newer policies has planned to cut tariffs on imports which has Israeli farmers furious. For years they have profited from preferential rules that kept prices high. In July, farmers even blocked road junctions with their tractors, tossing eggs into the streets which paused traffic. One farmer even went as far as to say, "If they want a war, they'll get a war.", during one of the ongoing protests.

Will Israel be able to keep up with this boom? Not only are companies opening their spaces out here, but there has been a 126% increase in immigration to Israel from mainly the U.K., The U.S., and France, and well as over 85 other countries. With the migrating crowd, it is hoped that many skilled workers will fill up the needed positions just as cultural diversity has expanded.

“Vaccine Apartheid”: Africans Tell UN They Need Vaccines (Sydney Dryier)

 “Vaccine Apartheid”: Africans Tell UN They Need Vaccines (Sydney Dryier) 

https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-united-nations-general-assembly-united-nations-africa-science--11425d2449903ba448a96b2b0f106a70

  Sadly, more than 2 years later the Covid-19 pandemic still rages through many parts of the world and while many developed nations (mostly the US let’s be honest here) have trouble making people get their vaccines there are many African nations with numbers as low as only 3% of adult citizens being vaccinated against Covid-19. There have been an estimated 5.8 billion vaccine doses made since 2021 but only 10 countries have enough to safely vaccinate their whole adult population, yet due to the western phenomenon of “anti vaxxers” and the popularity of pseudoscience has meant that the United States especially is sitting on millions of unused vaccines. Local communities have tried to use raffles and other incentives to try and increase vaccination rates but at the end of the day you can’t argue with willing ignorance and stupidity so the vaccination rate hasn’t increased much in the United States since May 2021, there have been some spikes but for the most part, anyone who is eligible and wants the vaccine in the US probably already has it, with that in mind African countries are pleading to the UN to make the United States and other developed countries to send over some unused stock they’re just sitting on. 

  Nothing has been done or said yet as to if anything will be done, the UN gave an answer of “we’re working on it”. The fact that so few vaccines have gone to underdeveloped nations is just disgusting. We act like white/western lives matter so much more than the lives of those overseas to the point that we sit on unused life saving vaccines for the sake of “people might want them later” which is just dumb. I understand wanting to keep some around and hoping some anti vaxxers will later come around, but let’s be honest. These people have made their choice and they need to be held responsible. What I think should happen is at least 80% of unused vaccines in the United States should be sent around the world to underdeveloped nations and to ease the load for healthcare workers in the United States I would simply not waste private and state resources taking care of willingly unvaccinated Covid patients. I understand Americans wanting to do all they can to protect fellow Americans, even if it means hoarding resources as death rates rise every day. But we can’t sacrifice the rest of the world, we can’t let the ignorant and the stupid be the thing that prevents others who need help from getting it. Also, America kills fellow Americans everyday, through wealth disparity, racism, infrastructure and climate change. All things that could be fixed if we really wanted to improve the lives of people, so when officials try to say we need these vaccines to save lives it’s just a lie. America never cared about people or lives, just money and hoarding of resources, despite us having all the resources we need. 

LGBTQ Individuals hunted down by Taliban

 CNN interviewed Balkhi, an afghan person who identifies as LGBTQ. Since the Taliban take over, Balkhi has feared for her life, and the life of of other LGBTQ citizens. She says, "The fear of arrest is apart of life now and I have so much stress I can't sleep." While no official statement has been made by the Taliban, One Taliban judge stated in July that the two punishments for homosexuality will be stoning or being crushed under a wall. CNN has been told in secret that LGBTQ citizens are hiding in basements and in single rooms, hoping for a way out. Balkhi stated that being a woman has already put a halt in her studies due to the Taliban takeover, but being a lesbian puts her in even greater danger. A gay man by the name of Hilal is looking for a way to escape. He says, "I want life and democracy." 

-Anna Jensen

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/17/middleeast/afghanistan-lgbtq-evacuation-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

Biden cools submarine tensions with France

 As we talked about in class, France was infuriated by the US submarine deal with Australia. Biden has made a huge step towards mending that divide with Macron by admitting to him that France should have been consulted on the sale of Nuclear sub tech to Australia. The agreement includes the French ambassador coming back to Washington and Joe Biden meeting with macron in Europe next month. This is a big step in keeping that relationship strong especially since it involves military power and a third country. Both leaders agreed that consultation on such matters is necessary to avoid these situations in the future.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/22/biden-macron-france-submarine-513605 

Sam Barton

Vaccination inequality.

Elie Imani  

 There is a huge global vaccination inequality going on! In Africa only 3% of the population is vaccinated; Covax, a global institution aimed at fairly distributing COVID-19 has proven to have unsurprisingly put less effort into delivering vaccines to the African continent. Wealthy countries have been very egocentric(us first)--according to Our World Data, only 0.4 of worldwide doses have been delivered among underdeveloped countries. I went back home(Rwanda) on last year’s Christmas, COVID-19 has been devastating everything on the worst level. However, Africa is starting to get a few improvements hoping that more and more people will get vaccinated soon. 

Link to the article.

 

Read more: 

Article #2: 

Article #3:

Canada federal election

Chihiro Yoshihara

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called this snap election in mid-August and will take place on September 20, 2021. Conservative leader Erin O'Toole criticized that now's not time for an election, because Canada was entering its fourth pandemic wave. This article describes some key issues that could shape the outcome of the election: Stretched household budgets, the environment and healthcare. All the party leaders have pitched various solutions to Canada's overhead real estate market. In terms of the environment, record-breaking deadly heat waves caused wildfires and drought across a large section of the prairies. Thus voters claim that the environment is an even more immediate concern than before. Lastly, due to the pandemic, healthcare has become more serious concern. The voters need better access to mental health services not just to the health system. Canada has weathered Covid-19 relatively well compared with places like the U.S., but it has effects on the economy, especially among lower income Canadians. Liberal needs to add at least 15 seats to clinch a majority government so far, yet a minority government is typically in Canada.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58426147

German election: 85,000 adults with disabilities can vote for the first time

Article Link 

In Germany’s upcoming election 85,000 adults are going to get the opportunity to vote for the first time. In 2019 Germany’s top court heard a case on disability voting rights after 8 disabled citizens sued the federal government. The court ruled in favor of the disabled citizens. Germany has a long history of putting laws in place that put disabled citizens at a disadvantage. Adults with guardians are assumed to be “unable to form their own opinions” which germany said could cause guardians to manipulate votes. However it was pointed out that blind and old citizens are at the same risk of having manipulated votes yet they are allowed to mail in ballots. I thought this article was interesting because this is a step not all states in America have taken. Some states still deem that anyone who is under guardianship is incompetent however that is untrue as most guardians handle minimal tasks. I wonder how this will influence Germany’s politics and if it will bring (much needed) change to disability laws.

Raygn Jordan

Cherán, Michoacán

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/documentary-tells-the-story-of-the-indigenous-uprising-in-cheran-michoacan/

Cherán,  Michoacán is about a two hour drive from my family's hometown in Mexico. The town is infamous for their brutal values and morals. They're mostly known as the town where residents would carry around machetes and taking things into their own hands. As of now, they've been recognized for the reasoning behind their strong morals. This documentary shows how a small, self-governing indigenous town is now one of the only towns that has a low crime rate in a state like Michoacán. They took things into their own hands and have succeed in keeping its small community safe. 

SpaceX Civilian Capsule Returns Safely

 

SpaceX Capsule returned safely after a 3 day trip in earth's orbit. And the craziest part is that the crew was internally civilian. Although the seats were paid for by a billionaire named Jared Isaacman this marks a new age for space exploration. Or as Todd Ericson would say “Welcome to the second space age”. You might be asking yourself how someone without the extensive knowledge of an astronaut could accomplish such a feat. Although the crew went through some basic safety procedures they were not fully trained as the whole mission was controlled by SpaceX including the launch and landing of the capsule. After the capsule had landed each of the four members was taken to receive medical analysis on the recovery ship. All four seats cost approximately 200 million according to time magazine which is far out of reach for most of us unfortunately. But fortunately the flight raised 160 million$ for St Jude which includes a 100$ donation by Jared Issacman. What is also amazing about the flight is how little went wrong. They only had 2 minor problems during the flight and they both were easily resolved. In addition to the minor problems the participants also had to deal with Space Adaptation Syndrome which is dealing with the vertigo and other stresses that the change in acceleration due to gravity produces. But overall the mission was a great success and a huge stepping stone for space tourism although for now only being accessible by the ultra wealthy. 

-Anthony Kindness

SOURCE:https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/spacex-capsule-with-worlds-first-all-civilian-orbital-crew-set-splashdown-2021-09-18/

"We want justice" says family of 10 civilians killed in US airstrike

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/19/asia/afghanistan-kabul-us-airstrike-family-intl-cmd/index.html

For weeks, the US insisted that the airstrike on August 29 in Kabul, Afghanistan killed at least one ISIS-K member, but has now released that it was a big mistake. The man thought to have been a facilitator in ISIS-K was an engineer at Nutrition and Education International. His brother, Emal Ahmadi spoke with CNN on the loss of his daughter, brother, nieces, and nephews. Although it is difficult for the US to reach people on the ground in Afghanistan, the Pentagon would like to provide monetary reparations to the family for this tragic mistake. CNN asked Ahmadi and is brother, whose three children died, what they'd want from the US, to which they said simply, "justice." The brothers would like for the drone operators to be tried in court for the murders of their children and other family members. 

El Salvador, the first country to legally introduce Bitcoin into the economy

 The article that I found talks about El Salvador and Bitcoin. El Salvador, a week ago, just became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. The article explains some benefits and disadvantage of this new law. Some of the benefits is to bring more Salvadorians who don't have a bank account into the formal economic. Also, Mr. Bukele (president) with this new las is planning to bring more investors to the country. On the other side, the introduction of Bitcoin to the economic has bring a lot of confusion and fear to the society. One of the main concern is the volatility of the cryptocurrency. People are worried that they can either lose all their investment / saving or lose it really fast. Another big disadvantage is, according to the The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/americas/el-salvador-bitcoin.html    

Israel's new plan is to 'shrink,' not solve, the Palestinian conflict. - Patrick Turner

Israel's new plan is to 'shrink,' not solve, the Palestinian conflict. Here's what that looks like

By Neri Zilber

Link To Article

Interpretation By Patrick Turner 

    When trying to understand this major conflict of what is going on between the Israelis and the Palestinians it is a quite complicated understanding of who should hold what part of Israel. When trying to look into this article they are trying to slow down the problem that they have with each other without causing major disputes between the two groups. The prime minister of the country had recently been kicked out of being in charge last summer and there is a new form of government that is currently in charge. When this happened it was really important for the person in charge of the country to understand where he can go in charge of his ideas. The new Prime Minister is trying to focus on a lot of ideas that lead without conflict between each other. This is important for us to read about because it helps the people understand where the country is heading towards the future. 

U.S. Asks United Nations to Extend Taliban's Travel-Ban Waiver

 The United States has been in communication with the United Nations Security Council in hopes of extending a UN waiver on a travel ban against the Taliban. By doing this, negotiations can most likely be made as part of the U.S. efforts to broaden diplomatic overture and encourage the Taliban to abide by human rights and anti-terror commitments. 

The waiver is set to expire next week but the UN Security Council is expecting to make a decision and hear the care on Tuesday so the Taliban and the U.S. can meet in Doha, or Qatar, where previous negotiations have been held. 

The current proposal is to allow a three-month waiver which in my opinion, seems justified because such an extremist group might not be so willing to make negotiations or partner with any Nation that has worked towards their downfall. I do not understand how negotiations work especially with the UNSC but I wonder what would be part of this bargain and how far they are willing to go to maintain peace? The Taliban has already made their own enforcements that are according to their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law which once had power. 

In the past decades, the Taliban has controlled Afghanistan and left a stain of brutal oppression most prominent in minorities and women, and then escalated to massacres such as 9/11, and human trafficking. Even now, women aren't allowed to attend secondary school but in a press conference, Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid promised amnesty for Afghans and that woman would receive their rights. It's evident that the Taliban cannot stay true to their word but what about when it comes to sharing power? The Taliban has not been shy about endangering innocent civilians or agitating their enemies. It seems as though the Taliban would be more interested in their own selves and prosperity and total global control sooner or later. It does make some sort of sense though because what Nation would want to work with the Taliban? They don't seem keen on compromises but would rather enforce their own laws based on morals.

In a statement during a press conference, Anas Haqqani, senior Taliban leader said, "The United States has made a commitment in this regard but has not fulfilled it yet...", yet the Taliban has also gone against commitments made from a peace deal back in February of 2020 during the Trump administration. The Taliban took advantage of the agreed U.S. pullout to seize control of the country, taking of Afghan's capital and government in mid-August, hindering asylum seekers from leaving Afghanistan.

It looks to be that both sides (Taliban and U.S.), are not afraid of being hostile but the Taliban holds more power especially after all U.S. troops were evacuated before the end of August announced by the Biden administration. During the brief exit, we left many weapons, and tanks that became a free-for-all for the Taliban and thus helped them build up their militia and thus elicit more fear in the people who cannot leave anymore. Of course, since this is an extremist group, there are legitimacy concerns and one of the forces the U.S. is considering is to cut off all aid in hopes that they will become desperate and negotiations will be more simple. 

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-asks-united-nations-to-extend-talibans-travel-ban-waiver-11631926792?mod=politics_lead_pos7

China and France upset with US deal with Australia

https://apple.news/AJ2-c9RfzSXu9OLVuGsz3LA 

In a recent deal that the United States made with Australia to help protect the South China sea from an overwhelming oppressive presence from China, it appeared that the U.S. also managed to piss off France, a long time ally of the United States. Not only is China upset because, well the US is involved in their region of the world, but France also believes that the move by the US undermines regional stability and their own interests in the indo-pacific region. (Sound familiar?) In response to the move, France has cancelled a galla in Washington D.C. that was supposed to be held to honor the 240th anniversary of the Battle of Capes which was a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. 

Tragic mistake: US kills innocent people in Kabul

 The crisis in Kabul has forced the US to take actions remotely but sadly, remote actions aren't as exact or accurate. An example of this just played out on August 29th in Kabul as the US carried out a remote air raid attack in hopes of killing Taliban soldiers in the afghan capital. The strike was targeted at vehicle in the airport to wipe out any imminent threat to forces there but the wrong vehicle had been scouted and it is assumed that no ISIS members were killed. The US called it a "horrible tragedy" and "Heart wrenching" due to the 7 children who passed. The new age of war has its benefits and downfalls and one downfall is that tragedies like this are bound to happen.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/17/tragic-mistake-us-drone-strike-512586 

Sam Barton

More than 10,000 migrants packed under Texas bridge, number still rising by Julia Ainsley

There is a rise on immigration from South American countries in to the U.S. Despite the well known immigration done by the Mexican cartels,  this time Haitians immigrants are the ones trying to explore a better future. The Biden Administration has granted Temporary Protected Status to Haitians that were living in the U.S. back in May due to the political unrest and natural disasters of Haiti. At the moment there are more that 10,000 migrants being packed under an overpass bridge in Texas. The ICE boarder patrols have started to deport Haitians back to Haiti.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/more-10-000-migrants-packed-under-texas-bridge-number-still-n1279423 

2, U.S. Military is a World Leader in Pollution and Wasteful Use of Fossil Fuels (Dryier)

 https://weaversway.coop/shuttle-online/2020/04/us-military-world-leader-pollution-and-wasteful-use-fossil-fuels

To start it’s just lovely how the United States military has literally lied about data and skewed things to make them seem like they were only the 47th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, but following a study in 2017 it’s confirmed that for decades it has in fact been the number one greenhouse gas emitter in the world. From toxic waste, jet fuel, large machinery and their famous garbage fires that have recently come under scrutiny due to a class action lawsuit. Point is, the United States Military pollutes a lot and what’s most insane about it is that this waste mostly comes from roughly 1200 military bases that house all of the wasteful production. Yet of these 1200 facilities around the world, it’s estimated that over 900 bases are abandoned and house nothing but chemical waste, old equipment and usually toxic fumes from said waste and previously mentioned ongoing garbage fires. Of course this is ridiculous that only one American institution is the number one producer of carbon emissions, not a giant manufacturing country like China, just the pure wastefulness of the United States military. From a purely environmental standpoint this is a major issue for the rest of the world as climate change becomes more intense and affects more areas of the world. Climate change affects everyone on the planet and it would therefore put it in the best interest of any world leader to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce as much waste as possible to limit the damage climate change can do and hopefully buy more time for our survival. Yet here’s the US military just pumping out carbon at an unparalleled rate. For the most part, for no reason! Most waste comes from a lack of proper waste disposal and the insane amount of stock of things like large machinery and oil, things very harmful to produce, that don’t even get used! The United States military has tons of abandoned equipment that never sees the light of day just because the United States is insanely militaristic and has an insane defense budget. It’s no surprise how wasteful the military is given their budget and how they benefit from just storing and wasting all their stuff. To conclude, the United States needs to drastically scale back it’s military and take an environmentally responsible solution to all decommissioned and abandoned military bases/machinery to hopefully make up for the damage done and reduce the United States’ carbon footprint ten fold. This is no longer about national security or some thinly veiled facist regime. This is about making sure our species and infrastructure survive to the next century.

Jack Moran. Dementia: Traffic noise may raise risk

 Jack Moran

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dementia-traffic-noise-may-raise-risk#Modifiable-risk-factors-for-dementia

Right now more than 55 million people worldwide have some form of dementia, the number is expected to rise past 150 million by 2050. Numerous studies have found a consistent link between nose pollutions to obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. The studies believe that this noise pollution is especially detrimental while people are sleeping, since "sleep is the critical period for mental and cognitive restoration". 

The study from Denmark included 2 million adults, ages 60 and older who lived in Denmark between 2004 and 2017. Subjects were rated based on their place of residents and placed on a scale for noise from most to least exposed. Studies on animals have shown that constant exposure to noise can potentially lead to the activation of key genes that potentially cause "neuropathological changes". basically, the "wiring" of your brain begins to get tangled. 

the main issue with the study is that it does not rack for lifestyle habits, which more often than not plays a huge role in one's health. As of right now, there is a correlation between living near loud roads or railroads but correlation doesn't prove causation. Only time will tell.

Sudan Flooding

 Seasonal rains in Sudan have become violent, destroying about 35,000 homes. Not only have the rains relocated many people, about 84 people have also been killed. The provinces in Sudan are taking those who have lost their homes into shelter. They are receiving aid from local organizations and it has been stated that about 100,000 people have been affected by these rains. On top of that, about 35,000 South Sudanese refugees have been affected by the flooding too. The response to the flooding has been slow, and many U.N. officials are complaining about the reactiveness to this issue. The U.N. has given $7.7 million to humanitarian causes in response to this. Relief supplies have also been brought to the areas in need, but are running out fast. The U.N. also allocated another $7 million to bring in new relief items. Lastly, Sudanese has also been declared an area of natural disaster after the large number of people affected by the heavy rains. 

 Mateah Roehl

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/official-sudan-floods-killed-80-july-79995153

Current Hong Kong

Chihiro Yoshihara

We have a bunch of international news every day and they are changing with the times, but I am worried about the present situation in Hong Kong because TV or media stopped reporting a lot. This article may help to know what is happening in Hong Kong now even though it is fragmentary. This article said that three members of a pro-democracy group in Hong Kong have been charged with subversion after the group was accused of working as a "foreign agent". Last year, China imposed the broadly-worded national security law in Hong Kong that criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. According to the article, the situation still has not changed since last year and China seems to state that this law will maintain stability. I am going to follow the subsequent circumstances.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58522326

Chihiro Yoshihara

Afghanistan: Women's rights

 I was born and raised in Japan, so Afghanistan is far away from Japan, and I was not very familiar with it. However, with the recent collapse of the government in Afghanistan and the Taliban taking control of the entire country and establishing a new government, we have been seeing more and more about Afghanistan in the news. After reading this article, I felt that it is important to find a way to solve the problem of Islamic law and gender issues. In the latter half of the 20th century, with the increase in awareness of women's rights and gender equality, the number of clauses disadvantageous to women has gradually decreased, but still needs improvement. The lines that define men and women and their ways of being are not determined by God, but by human beings. This is not just about Afghanistan, but about what is important to us and how to make our lives easier.

Matsuri Miyauchi

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58537081 

Article: Stop Backsliding on Use of Child Soldiers

 I have been interested in the problem of child soldiers since I was a high school student, so I researched about it even at the previous university. This article is very short, but Becker points out a very important point. At first, she says that it has been 20 years since the adoption of the United Nations treaty banning the use of child soldiers, and 170 countries have ratified the treaty. Perhaps, we should celebrate it, but a lot of problems are still remaining. One of them is the rehabilitation system of child soldiers. How the government deal with child soldiers is different depends on the country. Some take care of them very carefully while cooperating with NGOs and the UN, but the others imprisoned, tortured, and prosecuted child soldiers instead of rehabilitation. The government, politics, law, and educational system are different if the country is different, so it is difficult to regulate how the government should deal with child soldiers. Now, 170 countries have ratified the United Nation treaty, but it could be meaningless even if the country has ratified the treaty because some countries do not manage the family register precisely. It means that the country can use a child as a soldier very easily even though they have ratified the treaty. That’s why child soldiers are called invisible soldiers. We must solve these problems as soon as possible. To do so, I keep paying attention to the problem of child soldiers.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/25/stop-backsliding-use-child-soldiers

Ford Motor Company Ending Production in Indian- Patrick Turner

Ford is ending production in India and taking a $2 billion hit in the process

By Jordan Valinsky and Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

 Link To Article

Article Interpretation by Patrick Turner

    When reading about this article there was the main focus on the idea that Ford the company that moved a lot of their production to India ended up losing 2 billion dollars over the past 10 years while having the production spot in India. They said the main problem as to why they lost all of this money and closing this production spot down was because of how there was a high demand for the persistent industry which ended up causing a massive overcapacity and lack of expected growth in India's car market. This to me seemed like an idea from Mcdonald's theory in which the economy at the time has to be able to support these massive chains within the area so that they could end up being more focused on an economic standpoint of the world versus. what actually happened to ford production planet ended up causing a big loss to the company because the time they implemented their ideas was too early. 

The Taliban are hunting counter terrorism agents

 The Taliban have groups of trained "death squads" who specialize in hunting enemies off the terrorist group. Those death squads were busy this week hunting afghani counter terrorism agents. They killed some with brutal assaults at their homes where they were killed in front of their families and others were slowly tortured before being killed. The Taliban allegedly has gotten access to the security database and is using that information to effectively track and hunt down their opposition in Kabul. The Taliban have recently been reported carrying out a series of more violent and higher profile attacks as they tighten their grip on Kabul and the residents there.

Sam Barton

https://news.yahoo.com/taliban-tracked-down-killed-4-103450137.html 

Famine in Madagascar

Famine in Madagascar

According to the United Nations Madagascar is very near the world's first famine caused by climate change. Because of climate change a drought has destroyed some farming communities causing mass famine. The United Nations ranks food insecurity on a scale of rank1 to rank5 which rank5 is the worst. If this crisis continues the United Nations is worried if the already 30,000 rank 5 cases would increase. Currently some people are resorting to cactus leaves and insects to survive the drought. For example Tamaria, a mother of four has been eating insects and cactus leaves for eight months and her husband has even died from hunger. Hunger has even gotten so bad that people beg on the streets and some even have to sleep by their crops to protect them from desperate people trying to eat. All of these horrible conditions have people asking what will I do tomorrow? Some people might say that Madagascar frequently experiences droughts so this is nothing new but this Madagascar's worst drought in 4 decades and some experts believe that climate change can be directly linked to the current climate crises. And according to Dr Rondro Baromalala this can be seen as a powerful argument for people to change their ways.

-Anthony Kindness

Source:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58303792

Sources: China Weighing Occupation of Former U.S. Air Base at Bagram

Raygn Jordan

Bagram airfield up until a couple of weeks ago has been a symbol of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. For 20 years the U.S. held control of the airfield and now that it is up for grabs China has its eye on it. China put out a statement saying that they have no intention of taking over Bagram however they have sent teams to canvas the area and have a history of lying about their military deployments. China does not want to take over the airfield as much as they would like to make friends with the Taliban and send workers, soldiers, and supplies to Afghanistan.  

I think this is such a smart move on China’s part, they are our biggest threat, and they are taking over a base that after 20 years we could not maintain control of. It is a show of power and force and should scare the American government as China is doing something they could not.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2021-09-07/china-weighing-occupation-of-former-us-air-base-at-bagram-sources

Experts: Mexico’s 'milestone' abortion decriminalization is regional game changer by Luis Hernández Ojesto and Gabriela Martínez

 Mexico is a very Roman Catholic influenced country, abortion, sex, lgbtq and other controversial topics have been taboo for the longest periods of times. A Mexican judge used to be able to penalize a woman for terminating the life of a fetus, and the jail time could go from 15 days to six years. This new law is considered a MILESTONE in Mexican History. The country is considered a country full of  "femenicidios" -the act of killing women just because they are women. Experts compare Mexico and Texas; Texas just passed a law stating that women are prohibited to terminate a life after a six week period.  One of the best outcomes of passing this law is that, "The court’s decision will have immediate effects on women who are imprisoned for having performed an abortion, Avila-Guillén said. They can ask a judge for freedom under the new standard set by the court." This is a win for Mexican women. The topic of abortion is controversial because there is so many religious restrains within the country. 

link: 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/experts-mexicos-milestone-abortion-decriminalization-regional-game-cha-rcna1930 

Jack Moran: President Biden Announces New Vaccine Mandate that Should Cover 100 Million Americans

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/joe-biden-covid-speech/index.html

 

Jack Moran 

President Biden Announced that a new mandate should cover over 100 Million Americans to get vaccinated. President Biden begs the public to go and get the shot saying "what are you waiting for?" Even saying that many of the deceased Americans have said in their last moments "why didn't I get the vaccine?"

President Biden also acknowledges that he knows this will not be a quick fix, but a start to fixing our country's covid troubles. Biden also says "we are in a better spot than where we started when I took office, but we could have a tough stretch coming up here". The main part of Biden's new bill is the requirement for businesses with over 100 employees to be either vaccinated or tested every week. If companies do not comply they could face thousands of dollars in fines. Biden also signed a bill requiring all Government employees to be vaccinated with no option to opt-out. 

President Biden to Announce New COVID Requirements

Abby Granato

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/joe-biden-covid-speech/index.html

President Biden expected to announce that workers in America are required to be vaccinated and cannot opt out via surveillance testing. The president is expected to deliver this news as a part of the administration’s updated COVID-19 response. The news, while reassuring for those of us concerned, will most likely spark outrage for those who are opposed to getting vaccinated and following  protocol. It is also reported that President Biden will be prioritizing students safely being able to attend school, which is something that should please all degrees of the vast spectrum of COVID arguments. Being immunocompromised and vaccinated, I’m still very concerned that my loved ones or I will contract the virus. With that being said, it comforts me that there is a plan in place and that COVID is not being handled as a political issue, but a human one. I hope that everyone is compliant with this plan.

1, George W. Bush Made the Bigger Mistake in Afghanistan

 1, George W. Bush Made the Bigger Mistake in Afghanistan 

  So, this Afghanistan thing has been a total mess and while I’m glad we’re out of that stupid war, there is so much I continue to be disappointed by. So here is an article that gives many reasons as to why we really need to blame Bush for starting this mess instead of Biden for pulling out (though we can still criticize Biden (refusing to take more refugees and how he basically prepared no evacuation plan) it’s Bush, colonialism and xenophobia that fueled this senseless and wasteful conflict. Famously, Bush invaded afghanistan after 9/11 and declaring the famous “war on terror” and later invading Iraq and other nations with the thin veil of they were “making weapons” or that we just wanted to “spread democracy” Though it is very clearly known that all the Bush administration wanted was to colonize the middle east so they could exploit the land and their people for oil and other resources. So of course I’m blaming Bush for the conflict as he essentially invaded a middle eastern nation and just ruined them. He ruined their culture, their infrastructure and the political climate. The image of the middle east being a war zone is our fault. We demonized these people and led a racist and xenophobic crusade that is being felt well into today, stripped them of their resources and stripped their homes of any stability. The war in Afghanistan was founded on racist and colonialist beliefs held by Bush and it’s cost was basically an entire culture. It’s despicable and we need to start blaming the right people. -Sydney Dryier

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/robertrobb/2021/08/22/bush-and-biden-made-big-mistakes-afghanistan/8198391002/

Pineapple Express

 The Pineapple Express is unique group as far as military operations go. They are a group of highly trained, some special forces soldiers, veterans who have taken it upon themselves to get back into Afghanistan and save the men who they trained and fought with.

This is significant because it shows the power of private citizens who believe in a cause. The US government left Afghanistan and afghani soldiers who fought alongside US forces were left behind during the evacuation of US troops. The Pineapple Express is an example of veterans standing against the government for what they believe in.

Sam Barton

Siberian Wildfires

 If you're anything like me, the last place you'd expect to hear about wildfires is in russia. For me when I think about Russia I think about a cold snowy climate with open fields. But that's not the extreme heat waves and drought which are most likely as a result of climate change have caused devastating wildfires. These massive wildfires can affect nearly 1.5 million hectares and have already burned 62,000 square miles in one of the coldest places on earth, Yakutia. This town ~3000miles away from Moscow has had such large wildfires that its smoke has reached as far as Alaska and North pole. Other than smoke drifting thousands of miles the region is not new to droughts but never anything like this scale. Unfortunately for the people of Yakutia they are under equipped in terms of manpower and equipment. Since they only have a fraction of the resources they need Yakutian Branch of Federal Aerial Forest Protection Service Senior Pilot-Observer to send small teams to keep the large fires away from the local villages. The Senior Pilot-Observer Kolesov said “There are too many fires and pretty much all of them are major.”.It's gotten so bad that Yakutia has declared a state of emergency. Since 2017 the area surrounding Yakutia has had some unusually dry summers. For example in a normal year the people of Yakutia could expect to see around 2 major fires a year this year they received 30 to 40 major fires. Another scary fact is that according to Russia's emergency services they are fighting nearly 200 fires across Russia. And what's worse is these fires are not just impacting Russia according to the EU Copernicus satellite 505 megatons of co2 have been released because of the fires. 

Article link:https://abcnews.go.com/International/siberian-wildfires-now-bigger-fires-world-combined/story?id=79422602

-Anthony Kindness

China's New Stock Exchange by Patrick Turner

 

China will create a stock exchange in Beijing

By Laura He, CNN Business

looking into the article Patrick Turner 

Link To Article 

This article that I have found is talking about how China is now adding its third stock exchange within the country. Within the article, they mostly talk about how this is very important to China to create this third stock exchange because of what has been happening within other countries. They are mostly trying to get more people into their country to continue treading towards them. The reason why they are adding the third stock exchange is because of the restrictions the United States is putting on these new tech companies that are based out of China. This to me shows that the United States and China are not cooperating that much anymore and that it seems to me that they are trying to limit each other's powers by either putting restrictions on these companies or by creating new stock exchanges within their own country. This should have a world impact no matter what way you look at this because of how companies put many different restrictions on each and if you end up creating something new because of a restriction it is really going to have a massive impact on the country itself and other countries around the world

Japan's Prime Minister to Step Down

  After marking just one year in office, Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga announced Friday that he would not be running in the elections that will be held later this month. 

The 72-year-old Prime Minister's public approval has drastically declined to under 30%, due to his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and for hosting the 2020 Olympics this summer against hesitations from health experts and the wide public. Suga's successor as Liberal Democratic Parties President is expected to take over as Prime Minister in the next elections is generally favored, but if opposition parties win the majority, an opposition leader would become prime minister. 

Prime Minister Suga faced scrutiny although he gave frequent news conferences, didn't take vacations, worked on weekends, and by informing the public around the variant crisis. Favor for Mr. Suga began to decline when numbers in cases started to rise and vaccines weren't enforced at the speed they should have been. It's when he began to miss lines in his August 6th commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, that his gaffes began to multiply. Many ruling-party members even criticized the cabinet's delays in decision-making and its inadequate explanations.

In July, Suga's party failed to win the majority in one local election that was seen as a key indicator of voter attitudes. Not only that, he lost the mayoral election in Yokohama last month. 

The main concern is not that the next leader will change basic policies such as its alliance with the U.S., but that being the World's third-largest economy would create another period resembling the 1990's and 3006-2012, when Prime Ministers would change nearly every year and the country's profile on the international stage would wither. 

One of the potential candidates who is looking to succeed Suga is former Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida. Along with former government minister Sanae Takaichi, and Minister in charge of vaccinations Taro Kono, has been weighing a run as a means of accelerating the country's vaccine deployment, and proposing big economic-stimulus programs.

Something to consider is how Suga's decision to step down will lead to a period of political uncertainty in Japan especially at a time when the Biden administration is seeking to restore alliances that were exhausted during the Trump administration. South Korea is also set to have its presidential election next spring which creates even more tension on two of the U.S.'s most critical allies which could affect U.S. policy on issues regarding North Korea's nuclear threat and strategic competition with China.