On February 28, 47 pro-democracy protesters were arrested in Hong Kong on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion, The Associated Press reports. The news comes as yet another chapter in China’s quest to exert legal control over the former British colony.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on February 18 that starting this June, all New Zealand schools will provide free sanitary products to tackle period poverty across the country, reports Reuters. “Period poverty” refers to the poor accessibility to pads or tampons that can negatively impact education, health, and employment, according to The New York Times.
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Hundreds of Nigerian girls have been released after they were kidnapped from a boarding school in the northwestern region of the country, according to The Washington Post. The girls, dressed in light blue hijabs and barefoot, appear unharmed, but doctors will administer a a medical checkup before the children are returned to their parents. CNN reports that the girls were in “good condition,” but some of them had to be treated for open sores on their feet.
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The U.S. resumed its counterterrorism efforts under President Joe Biden, who ordered a targeted airstrike in Syria against Iranian-backed militia groups on February 25. CNBC reports that the controversial action was solely directed by the President without conferring with Congress While congressional leadership was briefed by the Pentagon a day before the airstrikes were launched, they did not pass an authorization for the use of force in Syria.
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On February 19, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated his promise that the United States will work closely with its European partners to meet the range of shared challenges they all face, reports CNBC news.
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Haitian citizens have taken to the streets to protest, demanding the removal of President Jovenel Moïse, whose term some claim was supposed to end on February 7, 2021. Other opposition parties have accused Moïse of dictatorial actions, citing the dissolution of the parliament in 2020 and the recent removal of three Supreme Court Justices.
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On Saturday, February 20, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s demand to be released from prison was rejected by a Moscow appeals court. According to Politico, Navalny has been jailed in Moscow since returning to Russia in January based on the supposition that he violated his parole agreement related to a previous conviction of embezzlement.
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On Monday, February 15, Iran announced it will block the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) access to its nuclear sites unless all U.S. sanctions were lifted, The Hill reports. Iran gave the United States one week to reverse all 1,600 sanctions before granting the IAEA continued inspection rights.
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In a shift away from former President Trump’s isolationist policies, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States was recommitted to international multilateral engagement, including the Paris Climate Accords, during the virtual Munich Security Conference with the G7. According to CNN, just hours after he was sworn in on January 20, Biden signed an executive order that would begin the month-long process to re-enter the Paris agreement.
Read MoreAfrica’s COVID-19 death toll has exceeded 100,000 as a second wave of cases continues to sweep over the continent, reports Reuters. Additionally, Guinea reported a sudden growth in the number of cases of the Ebola virus on February 14, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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