Every week, GPII Interns and Fellows scour the global news to write about what is happening in a specific issue area or region. Each post includes multiple sources and gives a brief recount of a timely event. Check back regularly to see what GPII Interns and Fellows have written.
Sweden’s COVID-19 death toll rose to 887 as of Sunday. The Scandinavian country’s approach to combating the virus has been an anomaly due to its relatively relaxed method in comparison to the rest of Europe (BBC). Stores, primary schools, restaurants, and bars have remained opened through-out March and April despite rising numbers of cases (AP). […]
Posted April 22, 2020
Naason Joaquin Garcia, the self-proclaimed apostle of the Guadalajara-based evangelical church, La Luz del Mundo, was arrested last June for 26 felony crimes in Southern California (REUTERS). On Tuesday, a California appeals court ordered the dismissal of the criminal case and charges of child rape and human trafficking against Garcia on procedural grounds (AP). The […]
Posted April 12, 2020
In light of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Republic of Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar re-registered as a medical practitioner. Last Sunday Varadkar announced he will work one shift a week (Reuters). He offered his services to the Ireland Health Service Executive (HSE) after registering in March (Reuters). Varadkar previously worked as a doctor for seven […]
Posted April 12, 2020
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced it will implement a two-week ceasefire in support of the UN’s efforts to end the five-year war (Reuters). In addition, the ceasefire aimed to alleviate the threat of coronavirus in impoverished Yemen (Reuters). Although there have been no reported cases, Yemen’s “barely functioning” health system would leave millions vulnerable […]
Posted April 12, 2020
The Chinese government has reopened the city of Wuhan – where it’s believed the novel coronavirus originated – after more than two months of complete lockdown (The Hill). As of just after midnight Wednesday, the city’s 11 million residents are now permitted to leave without special authorization (Washington Post). More non-essential businesses will open their […]
Posted April 12, 2020
Five rockets struck Bagram airfield in Afghanistan on Thursday with no casualties reported, according to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan (Reuters). ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes weeks after a deal between the Taliban and the United States (Al Jazeera). The Afghan affiliate of ISIS, the Islamic State Khorasan, was not included […]
Posted April 12, 2020
A climate summit that had been due to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak (Reuters). The decision was taken by UN officials, including UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa and UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma, who is president-designate of the meeting (BBC). Officials decided to push […]
Posted April 12, 2020
The Coronaviru s which is currently infecting hundreds of thousands of humans may to be able to target other animals as well such as one of our closest relatives’ gorillas (Washington Post). While there is currently no evidence that states other great apes can be infected they can be susceptible to other human respiratory diseases […]
Posted April 2, 2020
On March 24, 2020Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered India’s 1.3 billion people to stay inside of their homes for 21 days (NY Times 1). Prime Minister Modi stated, “To save India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on venturing out” (AP). This is the largest and most severe action taken […]
Posted March 31, 2020
On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department announced a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuela’s contested president, Nicholas Maduro (La Patilla). The U.S. accused him and several members of his government of supporting drug trafficking to the U.S. or narcoterrorism (Reuters). This indictment adds to U.S. grievances against Maduro who maintains […]
Posted March 31, 2020