In the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has formally requested to have his country’s application for NATO membership fast-tracked, reports Politico. After months of consideration by Ukraine and its western allies, it seems that the war-torn country has finally decided where it wants to be in the future.
Read More
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announced on October 5 that they will cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day beginning in November, reports the Associated Press.
Read More
Another reason for the Venezuela swap urgency is because the recent international sanctioning on Russia heavily influences global energy prices. Venezuela is one of Russia’s most important allies in Latin America and this agreement may impact how that relationship unfolds.
Read More
Both Lebanon and Israel were on track to accept the terms of a U.S.-brokered maritime deal, until a new development on Thursday, October 6 when Israel rejected some amendments proposed by Lebanon. Al Jazeera reports that Lebanon made specific amendments to the terms of the deal to avoid any “misunderstandings.”
Read More
With the latest effort to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, U.S. allies have stated that they have “serious doubts” that Iran and the U.S. will strike a deal, reports Reuters. President Biden promised to restore the nuclear agreement during his 2020 presidential campaign, yet negotiations appear to be delayed ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Read MoreOn March 8, Florida’s legislature passed a bill banning the discussion of sexual orientation and gender expression in elementary school classrooms. According to The Associated Press, Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law. If he does so, the legislation will go into effect on July 1, per ABC News. While the bill is officially titled “The Parental Rights in Education” bill, LGBT activists are calling it the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, as, according to ABC News, they fear “it could act as a complete ban on the lessons on LGBTQ oppression, history and discussions about LGBTQ identities.”
Read MoreAs the 2022 Winter Olympics come to a close, scandals continue to dominate many of the stories from Beijing. The games were shrouded in scandal from the start, beginning with the sudden disappearance of the famous Chinese tennis player, Peng Shuai, several months before the games, after she publicly stated she was assaulted by a high-ranking member of the Chinese government, reports The Washington Post. Then, there were the concerns about the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur people, for which the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, Kosovo, and New Zealand diplomatically boycotted the Olympics.
Read MoreOn January 20, prosecutors from the United States charged four Belarusian officials with aircraft piracy after diverting a flight to the Belarussian capital Minsk to arrest opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich, according to Reuters.
Read MoreWhen adults in the United States are arrested and charged with a crime, they have the right to be released on bail. The 8th amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, or cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” It is a right given to every adult offender no matter the age or nature of the offense.
Read More
On April 2, the United States lifted the sanctions and a travel ban on Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to The Guardian.
Read More