Iran Declines to Take Part in Hajj Over Dispute With Saudis

Iran tentatively decided that it would not partake in the hajj to Mina this year. Last year 2,426 people were killed in a crush and stampede during the hajj with 464 pilgrims from Iran. Also, “Sunni-led Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric on Jan. 2.” Shiite-led Iran views itself as a protector of Shiites around the world. Violent protests erupted outside Saudi diplomatic posts in Tehran. Riyadh cut diplomatic relations with Tehran. There have been many deadly disasters during the history of the hajj. “Iran called for an independent body to take over planning and administering the five-day hajj, but the kingdom’s ruling Al Saud family is unlikely to give up its role in administering the holy sites.” Oil wealth is a major influencer in the Muslim world.

Rebecca Goeders

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/12/world/middleeast/ap-ml-iran-saudi-hajj.html?ref=world&_r=0

Speaking of Globalization...Yellow Fever Outbreak

Globalization allows for the spread of technology, ideas, people, and disease. Living in a world that is highly globalized leaves us susceptible to the ills of globalization, one of those being the potential for the quick spread of disease. There has been and outbreak of Yellow Fever in Angola. Although Yellow Fever is not as pressing as malaria or as scary as Ebola, it is deadly. Since December there have been 300 reported deaths in Angola due to Yellow Fever. This incurable disease takes 80,000 African lives a year. Although 300 deaths may not seem like a large number in comparison to the 80,000 yearly, there are likely many thousands of cases and deaths that are going unreported. The disease can cause extreme abdominal pain and in the worst case internal bleeding and then external bleeding from the eyes and mouth, and ultimately death. Although some cases are not so severe, the potential severity of the disease is frightening. Due to Angola's fragmented government and inability to contain the disease, there is fear of spread to Asian and Latin American countries. 11 cases have already been reported in China and linked to the Angola outbreak. Health experts fear for a larger outbreak because the vaccines against Yellow Fever are low in supply. A global outbreak would be disastrous. When living in a globalized world, disease can spread through international travel very quickly and easily. Officials are working to contain the disease, but with the coming of summer and a surge in mosquitoes (carry the disease) the potential for the spread of Yellow Fever is frightening.

Ashley Clayton
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21698597-unwelcome-resurgence-outbreak-yellow-fever-angola-could-go-global

Venezuela extends two-day workweek for state employees to save energy

Due to an ongoing drought, Venezuela's hydroelectric power generation has been slowed. Their main hydroelectric plant, which normally supplies two thirds of Venezuela's power, is at near-critical levels due to the lack of rain. This has led to an energy shortage.

President Nicolas Maduro has been implementing changes in order to conserve energy. Starting in April, all government employees were given Fridays off. In late April, they were also given Wednesdays and Thursdays off - leaving a two day work week. He also cancelled school on Fridays. Maduro expects to keep these measures in place at least until the end of the months. The opposing party is planning to remove Maduro from office next year.

Critics claim that this will halt economic production and worsen Venezuela's recession, without actually solving the energy problem. They blame the government's inefficiency and corruption, and believe that the government should have diversified the energy sources used.

http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN0Y1000?irpc=932

--Melissa Widel

A Syrian man comes to his senses

Recently, a former Syrian law student that was a member of Isis has decided to leave the group. He said that the only reason he joined it was to bring justice to the former Syrian government. Once he started to notice that Isis wasn't as good as they advertised he decided to leave and flee to Turkey. He finally decided that they weren't a good group when they started to kill some of his childhood friends in front of him. This article really stuck out to me because it shows how good the group advertises people to join, but also how bad it can get. At least this man is trying to get out now!

Pat Gallagher

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria/2016-05-01/quitting-isis

North Korea Expells BBC Reporter

There seems to be nothing new going on in North Korea when it comes to Freedom of the Press. Recently a BBC journalists was expelled from the country. Apparently the nation saw a large influx of foreign reporters as their party congress ruling approached. According to reports the journalist was just leaving the country when he was detained and questioned for eight hours. The journalist in question was under fire from the government for having on his person distorted facts and other information about the regime. They also complained that he was planning to speak poorly of the country and the way things were being conducted. It is interesting to see how one country considers that to be a horrible thing and most western countries hail men who expose things like this as heroes not villains.

-McKenzie Parlatore
BBC correspondent expelled from North Korea over reporting - Reuters
https://apple.news/ADWNIIDnNSH2acaExAGotzw

Trump-like Mayor to Possibly be Next President of Philippines

Rodrigo Duterte, a 71 year-old ex-prosecutor has been spiking the interest of many in the Philippines. As he runs for President, he has littered his campaign with foul language and crude jokes. Current president Benigno Aquino III calls Duterte a "threat to democracy" as he has already threatened to shut down congress if they try to limit his power. He has promised his country to kill criminals and end corruption within the first six months of his presidency and even threatens to kill those using drugs. Luckily there are four other candidates running for presidency this election and tension runs high as there has already been 15 election-related deaths. Amanda Pringle http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/05/09/world/asia/ap-as-philippines-elections.html?ref=world&_r=0

British Journalist Expelled from North Korea

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes is a BBC journalist who was banished from North Korea on Monday. He was stopped and detained at the airport Friday before getting on his plane to go home. He was detained for "speaking ill" of the government. Wingfield-Hayes wrote an apology for the act and was sent home Monday with the inability to ever return to the country. He had been in North Korea to cover North Korea's first party congress in over 36 years along with 100 other foreign reporters. Amanda Pringle http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/north-korea-expels-bbc-journalist-complains-coverage-38974914

Bolivian President Worried About Chile

Bolivia's President, Evo Morales, has taken Chile's creation of a military base 10 miles form the Bolivian boarder as an "act of aggression against Bolivia." Chile has pointed out the presence of a Bolivian base on the boarder as well, claiming that they should have to answer to parliament if they are to challenge their presence there.

Furthermore, there have long been land disputes between the two South American countries, and with this concern arose concerns surrounding their access to the water from the Siala River that "rises in Bolivia but flows down the andes into Chile."

-Livia Gazzolo

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36244387

Kim Jong Un Says North Korea Won't Use Nukes Unless Threatened: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has claimed that North Korea will use its arsenal of nukes against any country unless North Korea's sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes. This is an attempt by Kim Jong Un to try to normal relations with more countries around the world that respect North Korea and wants to be friendly with them. Also, this plays into the goal of denuclearization that Kim Jong Un stated he supports. Kim Jong Un also wants to improve the relationship between North and South Korea, yet he has said things like this before that resulted in no changes.

Jacob Razo

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/kim-jong-un-says-north-korea-won-t-use-nukes-n569981

ISIS Attack Leaves 8 Police Dead in Egypt

An Egyptian Islamic State affiliate has taken responsibility for an early morning attack on the Egyptian Police. Reports indicate that eight members of the police force, including one officer, were driving through Cairo on a routine security check when four gunmen in a pickup truck opened fire, spraying the minibus with automatic fire. All inside were killed.

The assailants, which the IS statement referred to as “soldiers of the caliphate, were not injured in the attack and left with several Egyptian Police firearms. Egyptian security forces have sealed off a hilly area as they conduct searches for the gunmen. \

The attack apparently came in response to “the improvement of pure women in Egyptian jails.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/world/middleeast/cairo-egypt-policemen-killed.html?_r=0

Adam Poklop

UK’s former spy chiefs say Britain more secure inside EU

England has undergone a very divisive process of deciding whether or not to leave the European Union.  The former spy chiefs of Briton have encouraged the British citizens to vote to keep Briton in the European Union.  They believe England will be more secure in European Union.  These chiefs also realize that if England leaves the E.U. the whole system could become disable.

Peter Olache

http://globalnews.ca/news/2688167/uks-former-spy-chiefs-say-britain-more-secure-inside-eu/

Obama Weighs Visiting Hiroshima or Nagasaki

No American president during office has visited Hiroshima or Nagasaki since the atomic bombing. There are concerns that a visit would suggest an apology for the attacks. Obama believes that Japan doesn’t deserve a formal government apology, but has made an effort during his presidency to lower the threat and stockpiles of nuclear weapons. “Some historians say the bombings were unnecessary and even criminal, while others argue that they saved American lives and those of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians who would have perished in an American invasion.” Obama plans to make changes in foreign policy with Japan. It’s interesting that the only nation that has ever used nuclear weapons is emphasizing nonproliferation.  

Rebecca Goeders

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/world/asia/obama-weighs-visiting-hiroshima-or-nagasaki.html?ref=world&_r=0

Kim Jong Un Unveils Five-Year Plan

On Sunday, Kim Jong Un gave a three-hour speech that was broadcasted through all of North Korea. In his speech, Kim Jong Un made a statement about his five-year plan to help his countries struggling economy. Kim's plan does not seem to have much detail, but he said he wanted a greater focus on industries of factory automation, increase in coal output, mechanizing agriculture. Most of this three-hour speech focused mainly on the struggle that North Korea has been through and how far they had come. During this speech, Kim mentioned that North Korea would not use their nuclear weapons unless they were provoked.

- Kyla Singleton

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/08/asia/north-korea-kim-jong-un-economic-speech/index.html

Syrian Family in Sweden Feels the Tug of an Ailing Sibling Left Behind

While the title of the article conjures feelings of pity and sadness, at the end of it you feel conflicted yet happy. The article's author, Anemano Hartocollis, writes of an extended Syrian family that made its way to the safety of Sweden. The article focuses in on 10 year old Widad Wajid and her brother 9 year old brother Nabih Wajid who's currently being treated for leukemia in Turkey. Widad doesn't currently have asylum which is an issue because she may be the only donor able to give bone marrow to her younger brother. Without legal residency she wouldn't be able to come back to Sweden if she went to try and save her brother. However, her asylum hearing was expedited and she was able to obtain a residency permit. Along with that good news, Widad and her extended family are enjoying the amenities of Sweden. The children go to school and are so eager to learn they ask for more homework. When they first made it to Sweden most of them had lost 10-15 lbs, but now they are about 5 lbs heavier. While a sense of community is not yet established they're adjusting to Sweden and have plans to start a business. Even though Widad is separated from her brother and her parents, who chose to stay with Nabih, there is an ounce of happiness in this story of wayward refugees.

-by Tyler Linthakhanh

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/world/europe/syrian-family-in-sweden-feels-tug-of-ailing-sibling-left-behind.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

"Honduras: 5 charged with murder over killing of activist Berta Cáceres"

Recently, the Honduran police charged five suspects for the murder of Berta Caceres, an activist for the indigenous and environmental causes who was shot dead in her home last March.

The activist of 45 years of age was recently known for her campaign against Agua Zarca, which is one of the nation's largest hydropower projects. Agua Zarca, a dam that was set to be put in place, would be stunted the flow of the Gualcarque River, which is sacred and used for vital life for a Honduran Indigenous group, the Lenca people.

These suspects have been linked to the organization, DESA, which is heading the Agua Zarca dam project. Although the company has publicly stated that their organization had nothing to do with the murder of Berta Caceres, many foreign investors (including European) have withdrawn from the investment stunting the continuation of the hydropower project.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/08/americas/berta-caceres-suspects-arrested/
By:
Katie Cotter

The Dalai Lama Creates a Website to Help Others Attain Inner Peace

The Atlas of Emotions, the new website that the Dalai Lama created, will help individuals who are seeking to find an inner peace. He teamed up with Paul Ekman, a good friend and psychologist who worked on Pixar's "Inside Out". Ekman designed a template where there will be 5 basic emotions that the user chooses from for their current mood.

The Dalai Lama wants to keep religion out of this project, as he says that it will limit the scope and outreach of the project. He wants the Atlas to reach as many people as he can, and he believes that if it reaches a lot of people, it can help eliminate bad and replace it with good in the world. He says that ultimately emotion is the root of our troubles, and if we can understand the nature of our emotion, we will be able to defeat bad.

Kevin Oyakawa

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/world/dalai-lama-website-atlas-of-emotions.html?src=me&_r=0

"Three Spanish Journalists Are Released From Captivity in Syria"

Spanish journalists Antonio Pampliega, Jose Manuel Lopez and Angel Sastre were released from Syria after the trio went missing on July 12 of 2015. They each have reported in Syria before and were in the country again to cover the war. Turkey, along with Qatar and others, helped to free the men. Whether ransom needed to be paid for their release is currently unknown; they are safe and that's all that matters for now. Unfortunately, they are not the only journalists that have been captured by Syrian extremists; 3 other Spanish journalists were released back home in March of this year.  

Meredith Teuscher

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/three-spanish-journalists-are-released-captivity-syria-n570076

North Korea Plans for the Future

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced a five year plan designed to grow his country's economy, At a congress of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim also announced that North Korea would refrain from using nuclear weapons unless their sovereignty was threatened. Analysts say the Kim is ruling more like his grandfather (Kim Il Sung) than his father (Kim Jong Un) with this emphasis on growing the economy and speaking publicly of his plans for its growth. The one downside to this line of thinking is that Kim could be held responsible if these plans do not succeed.

-William Dawes

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/north-korea-announces-economic-plan-after-unprecedentedly-grim-struggle/2016/05/08/c84088e2-1214-11e6-a9b5-bf703a5a7191_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_nkorea-1230am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

US Military Team Deploys to Yemen to Help Rout al-Qaeda Militants

The Pentagon revealed on Friday that the US has deployed troops to Yemen to assist in keeping a key port city from falling to al-Qaeda. The troops were deployed specifically to help plan defense and attacks, provide intelligence, logistics aid, such as refueling, and naval interdiction. The Pentagon will not reveal how many troops were deployed, calling the force a "small number". A US naval force is also stationed near Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. Yemen's US backed government fell to rebels last year, and has been in a civil war since then. The war has developed into a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia with Iran backing the Houthi rebels and the Saudis backing the government forces. Al-Qaeda saw the chaos develop and decided to take advantage of it and took large amounts of territory for themselves. Currently Saudi Arabia and the US are conducting airstrikes against al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Luke Blocker

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/05/06/united-states-military-team-yemen/84032856/

Sufi Spiritual Leader Hacked to Death

Mohammad Shahidullah was the latest victim of a series of hacking murders in Bangladesh. Shahidullah was known by his disciples as a "pir" or, a spiritual guide. Authorities do not know if there is any connection between this hacking and others in the region. In 2013, ISIS claimed responsibility for the hacking death of an English teacher, claiming he was, "... calling to Atheism."
The government of Bangladesh is accusing their two opposition parties: the BMP and Jammat-e-Islami, for the majority of these murder incidents

Andrew Winter

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/07/asia/bangladesh-hacking/index.html

London Elects Its First Muslim Mayor

Sadiq Khan has been elected as London's mayor, becoming the city's first Muslim mayor, and a major Muslim politician in the west. He has worked as a human rights lawyer, and is now a leader of the Labour Party, beating out Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith. Khan was born in South London after his parents had immigrated from Pakistan. In his acceptance speech, he recognizes that the election "was not without controversy", but is "proud that London has today chosen hope over fear and unity over division". With Europe struggling with the rise of Islamophobia, particularly after the Paris attacks in November, Khan's election is indeed being seen by some as a huge step by the people of London away from fear.

-Sarah Beck
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/world/europe/britain-election-results.html?ref=world

Saudi prince: Getting nukes an option if Iran breaks deal

In a recent talk between ex- Israeli and Saudi officials, the idea of nuclear proliferation was discussed. Saudi Arabia is more likely to move towards acquiring nuclear weapons if Iran does so says Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief. The talk was largely focused on how the production of nuclear weapons in Iran would destabalize the region and pose great threats to Israel and Saudi Arabia. Both countries oppose the deal between the United States and Iran.

 The two ex-officials also spoke to what they believe is causing the Middle Eastern conflict in the first place. The two agree that it is  the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Saudi Arabia blames Israel and Israel blames the Arab nations for not being willing to cooperate with them. All in  all they believe that the United States needs to remain in the region and that nuclear proliferation poses a threat in the Middle East.

Blake Mitchell

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/06/politics/saudi-israel-officials-talk-nuclear-u-s-/index.html

Fort McMurray Fire

Earlier in the week there was a massive wildfire in the city of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. On Thursday hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the city and from surrounding areas due to the fire torching 320 square miles. Many officials have said that it can not be determined as of yet when these families will be able to return because of the extensive damage the fire caused. As of now, the cause of the fire is unknown. However, the mixing of extreme temperatures and dry conditions they had this week probably didn't help the matter. Data from yesterday (Friday) morning suggests that around 1,600 structures were destroyed; 88,000 people have been evacuated; and luckily no fatalities yet. Unfortunately for these citizens and for Alberta, at least 49 other wildfires have currently been burning there. This causes a tremendous problem since all of these people are without homes and other daily necessities; therefore, the city of Alberta has been surviving mostly on generous help from other Canadian cities and Americans.

Hailey Brzoska

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/05/americas/fort-mcmurray-fire-canada/index.html

EU-Turkey visa deal on brink as Erdoğan refuses to change terror laws

The  recent deal to  handling the migrant crisis  between  the European union Turkey has been
  jeopardized.  The deal  which includes the deportation of migrants from the European Union countries like Germany, Sweden and Greece  to Turkey, in exchange for the European Union granting more visas to Turkey, has been put into serious  jeopardy.  This comes after a dispute where  Turkish President   Erodgan refuses  to change Turkish anti terror laws, which  some analysts considered an abuse of power ,considering the majority of terrorist suspects are journalists  who are critical of Erodgran polices and face server punishments including long term prison sentences. This has causes a rift between Turkey and the European, and has just happen after Turkish President  Erodgan fired former prime minister  Ahmet Davutoglu,  who helped brooked the deal with the European. Some analysts predict that Erodgan  son in law  Berat Albayrak , and energy minister  would replace Ahment Davutoglu, which would further consolidate Erodgrans power in the Turkish parliament.


Thomas Baggot
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/06/erdogan-turkey-not-alter-anti-terror-laws-visa-free-travel-eu

North Korean leader looks to consolidate power at historic congress

Today, a worldwide historic event occurred - the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party in North Korea. While this seems like an every day event in the U.S., the last time this Congress has met was 1980. Unfortunately, this may not be a democratic event we hope for - in fact, the agenda includes electing Kim Jong Un to a higher position (which he already almost has total power) and placing more Kim Jong Un sympathizers in office. With this shift in power, Kim Jong Un is able to focus more of his attention on military activities such as nuclear capabilities. This nuclear development and testing has struck the attention of the U.N. and in turn they have enforced sanctions on North Korea. However, citizens are not weary of these events, since Kim has promised to improve living for the citizens. Those opposing goals seem unfathomable. North Korea may also face trouble ahead, since their economy is falling apart due to the sanctions from the U.N. However, with this clear focus on military, Kim Jong Un may be able to cut back funds for maintaining a traditional military. Either way, this is an interesting event and the Congress' decisions will have many long-term affects to North Korea and possibly the world. 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/05/asia/north-korea-congress/index.html

Haley Kuck 

China rising to the top

In the article I read today it spoke of how well China is doing and that one day they will surpass the U.S. economy. They are rising in more than one way. With their booming economy they have made more allies and lost a few enemies, on top of that they are also modernizing their military. Although this is true, the one thing in the article that stuck out to me most is that they said that China is lagging behind us technologically. I always thought of them having very good technology because it seems like the majority of our products come from there. Overall I thought that it was a very interesting article and it taught me a lot about China's strengths and weaknesses.


https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-04-13/once-and-future-superpower

Pat Gallagher

President Erdogan's Shaky Behaviors Continue - Fires His Own Prime Minister

On Thursday, May 5, it was announced that Turkey's President Erdogan fires his own Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu.

Prime Minister Davutoglu has for long been well aligned with President Erdogan, and not had a strong supporter group of his own. Recently though, he has made moves to seemingly strengthen his own position, and most of those have contradicted with the ideas of Erdogan.

Among these moves was to schedule a meeting with Obama, whom Erdogan has "frosty relations" with. Other moves include resistances to Erdogan's domestic policies of changing Turkey to a presidential state, where the prime minister's powers would be clearly confined.

Davutoglu's resistance on these matters was too much for Erdogan. Erdogan has not announced this himself. Instead, he has installed an extra government convention this year, in which Davutoglu announced that he will not run in.

Victor Krueeger
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/05/brutal-erdogan-fires-disloyal-turkish-prime-minister.html

Panama Papers- Panama's Defense

"Defending Their Nation’s Honor on Social Media: #PanamaIsMoreThanPapers"

The Panama Papers caused major issues for some officials around the world, but it also had a major impact on the Panamanian people. The papers have given Panama a bad name, the country is now associated with a major global scandal, Panamanian citizens were not pleased. In an attempt to "take back" the national image, a message was sent via cell phones urging citizens to defend Panama: “O.K., people! The only way to combat those who are smearing the name of our country is to create positive, informed and educated content" . This message urged citizens to spread positive messages about Panama. #PanamaParadise, #PanamaismorethanPapers and #Wearenotpapers became trending hashtags on Twitter. Panamanians were worried that the scandal would damage the world image of the country and detract from tourism. They felt that the country was being held responsible for the papers when in reality the specific firms that made violations should be held responsible. The social media campaign was an attempt to salvage the world image of Panama and show that they are more than the papers.

Ashley Clayton 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/05/world/americas/panama-papers-twitter-defending-honor.html?_r=0

Kenyan authorities claim to have foiled potential bio-terror attack

Kenya's police chief claims that an attack by an ISIS-linked group has been foiled. The group (which has not been named) was said to have been planning a large-scale bio-terrorist attack using anthrax. ISIS has been attempting to gain power in Kenya, and a bio-terrorist attack would have given them a large amount of power in the region. Although not yet independently verified, police claim to have arrested three people, one of whom is a medical student. Police are still looking for two other medical interns that they believe are involved.

Anthrax is a bacteria which can infect people in multiple different ways. Inhalation anthrax, the most deadly type, has a mortality rate of about 50% even when properly and quickly treated. When untreated, the mortality rate is much higher. It leads to respiratory collapse and organ failure (Anthrax Bioterrorism and Current Vaccines, S. Chen, Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense).

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/africa/kenya-foiled-terror-attack/

--Melissa Widel