While New Zealand’s parliamentary election was originally scheduled for September 19, as a result of a spike in COVID-19 cases there, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced in August that it would be delayed until October 17. With the previous election in 2017 requiring a coalition government to form, Ardern now seeks to achieve a majority in this year’s election.
Whistleblower accuses Irwin County Detention Center of Forced Hysterectomies
On September 14th, 2020 a nurse, Dawn Wooten, working in the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) alleged rising rates of unnecessary hysterectomies among immigrant women. While media coverage primary focused on the hysterectomies, Project South, Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide released a supplemental report condemning a variety longstanding ICDC medical practices, ranging from medical neglect to rotten food.
The Growing Challenge of Foreign Investment and Trade Dominance
In 2013, China introduced its Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) project with the aim of expanding trade networks. China is not the only nation with ambitious plans for investment abroad, with several other nations developing similar programs to capitalize on opportunity or combat Chinese influence. Many of these international foreign investment plans will take time to reveal long-term effects and ultimate success. However, if developed nations seize assets and take advantage of debt-distressed nations, neo-imperialist sentiments could grow again
A Legacy: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Only the second woman to ever be nominated to the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her career fighting for gender equality, in her own life and for millions of women throughout the United States and world. Ginsburg’s lasting legacy will be the perseverance that she exhibited in her life and career while facing towering discrimination against women as well as the independence and equality that her work has guaranteed millions of people.
Belarusian Protests and the Kremlin’s Ties
Amidst recent global protests, one could easily dismiss the events in Belarus as just another example of civil society in action. But in order to understand the significance of these protests, it is first important to understand the history of Belarusian civic engagement, the Lukashenka regime, and Russian involvement in Belarus’ affairs.
Quarantine is not an Option: 8.3 Million West African Migrants Unanchored
When the Coronavirus hit Africa, migrants, refugees, and Internally Displaced People (IDPs) were confronted by a crippled healthcare system with insufficient preventative measures against the spread of COVID-19, causing many migrants to risk their lives, and the lives of others, to escape the African Continent by any means necessary.
COVID-19 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The difficulties Palestine is facing today are threefold: a rapidly spreading virus (COVID-19), an ongoing political conflict (Israeli occupation), and a systematic inability to legislate (physical and ideological Palestinian division). With approximately 37.7% of Palestinian refugees living in camps inside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank— comprising about 50% of the population of those areas—over-crowdedness and inadequate basic infrastructure impede the prospect of meeting any health standards such as social distancing and proper sanitation.
The Arab Spring: Democracy in a Day, Capitalism in a Decade
Beginning in 2010, the entire Arab world was rocked by unprecedented popular protests and uprisings that upended the region’s political equilibrium. Even though the rest of the Arab world has remained largely politically stagnant in the decade since the original uprisings, the Arab Spring protests still represent a turning point for democratic ideals in the Middle East.
Tibetan Sinicization: Dissolution of Tibetan Communities through Displacement
Through forced displacement, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is slowly dissolving Tibetan communities. Local protests against these discriminatory policies resulted in violent clashes with police, while internationally, human rights groups have called it cultural genocide.
COVID-19 is Far From Green: the Environmental Impact of the Coronavirus
Due to the pandemic, air pollution rates have dropped in places where infection rates have been highest. But is this only the calm before the storm? Are these lowered rates sustainable, or will air pollution just return to previous levels or worse once society adapts to the new normal?