The Taliban have heightened restrictions limiting women’s access to freedom and public society, prohibiting girls from returning to secondary school and women from traveling by airplane without a male companion, Reuters reports.
Read MoreUkrainians have mounted a “stiffer-than-expected” military and civil resistance since Russian troops invaded the country in late February, the New York Times reports.
The Ukrainian military, one of Europe’s largest with over 370,000 active and reserve troops, has spent billions training its soldiers to counter Russian offenses in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Thus far, it appears that their efforts have paid off – Russia, despite its military and economic advantages, has managed to capture only one major city in 10 days, the southern city of Kherson.
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Concerns regarding the impact on Afghanistan’s opium trade have been largely elusive from global conversations since the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan last August, despite its prominence as a multi-billion dollar industry. Reuters reports the United States government has spent more than $8 billion in an unsuccessful effort to eradicate it.
Read MoreThe Biden administration ‘reluctantly’ reactivated the controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy on December 6, despite efforts taken by United States President Joe Biden to permanently end it on his first day in office, NPR reports. The policy, which was initially implemented under the Trump administration in 2019, targets single men, women, and family units, but will not affect unaccompanied minors.
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Nicolás Maduro, the simultaneously reviled and celebrated socialist President of Venezuela, is facing another contested vote in November’s upcoming regional elections, according to CNN. The rise and fall of Maduro’s political legitimacy parallel that of other populist leaders in Latin America, but recent events indicate that Maduro may finally achieve the legitimacy he desires.
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The 20th anniversary of 9/11 and simultaneous failed withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has renewed American discussion on the War on Terror. Public consensus seems to be that this conflict has ended, as few troops remain stationed in the Middle East, and the Biden administration has pivoted its foreign policy focus to Asia.
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Xinhua News Agency, the media arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), announced further restrictions on youth gaming last week, according to tech magazine Wired. The New York Times reports that the punitive new regulations limit gaming for people under 18 to between 8 and 9 p.m., with access only allowed on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays.
Read MoreOn April 22, the UK Parliament unanimously declared that China has been committing genocide and crimes against humanity in the Xinjiang region, CNN reports. Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, and other minorities.
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A crowd of diplomats gathered outside a court in the northern Chinese city of Dandong to protest the trials of two Canadian citizens accused of espionage by the Chinese government.
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In 2020, 26 journalists were imprisoned by the Egyptian government, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. This past November, a prominent women’s rights activist was executed in broad-daylight in Benghazi, Libya, one of many targeted that year, Human Rights Watch adds. Just this month, a protestor was killed after Tunisian police, who were cracking down on protesters demanding social justice, fired tear gas.
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