A Blink, a Slap

Germany’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) secured a decisive victory in regional elections over the weekend, foreshadowing a possible return for the center-right opposition following last year’s defeat in the country’s general elections, Politico reported. The CDU won 43 percent of the vote in the northern state...

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Appeasement, Failed

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned Monday amid ongoing mass protests that have gripped the country over the worst economic crisis seen since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, BBC reported. Rajapaksa handed in his resignation to his president – and brother – Gotabaya, saying...

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Another Epidemic

Italy’s capital imposed a ban on picnics and fenced off large areas of northern Rome this week as health authorities try to control the population of wild boars after detecting African swine fever, the Guardian reported. Last week, officials discovered the first case of African swine...

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Promises, Promises

The Taliban ordered Afghan women to cover themselves from head to toe, backtracking on previous pledges to support women’s rights after the militant group took over Afghanistan in August following the withdrawal of foreign troops, Axios reported. Officials issued a decree over the weekend, saying “wearing...

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Oops

Facebook intentionally took down a number of Australian government pages last year in an attempt to influence the passage of a law that would make tech giants pay to host news articles,  the Wall Street Journal reported. In February 2021, the social media giant blocked access...

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No Winners

Armenian authorities arrested dozens of protesters this week amid daily protests of thousands against a planned peace agreement with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Radio Free Europe reported Thursday. Anti-government protests have been taking place since last month after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian...

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A New Chapter

Bolivian inmates can reduce their prison terms by reading books in a new initiative aimed at spreading literacy and hope in a country that offers very few second chances, Reuters reported this week. The state program called “Books Behind Bars” offers detainees shorter sentences of days...

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A Fickle Welcome

Turkey is preparing to return one million Syrian refugees to northern Syria amid increasing economic woes and criticism from the opposition ahead of the presidential elections next year, the Middle East Eye reported. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this week that the government is building 100,000...

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Too Many Eyes

Brazil’s electoral body withdrew its invitation for the European Union to send election observers for the upcoming presidential polls, a request that had been made initially because of concerns over President Jair Bolsonaro's criticism of the electoral process, Reuters reported. The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) had...

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Reversing Cock-ups

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte banned online cockfighting amid an outcry over the industry following the disappearance of dozens of workers and concerns over the social impact of the betting sport, CNN Philippines reported Tuesday. Duterte said during an address that “e-sabong will end tonight” – referring...

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Divorce, Finalized

Mali ended its military ties with France this week, a decision that underscores the deterioration in relations between the two countries following a series of disputes in recent months, Bloomberg reported. The country’s military junta accused France of violating its airspace and condemned the presence of...

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The Rejects

Tunisian President Kais Saied launched a “national dialogue” this week to resolve the country’s political crisis following his controversial power grab last year even as he has excluded the opposition groups from participating, Agence France-Presse reported. The president said a commission will oversee “the national dialogue,”...

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Whodunit?

Spanish authorities found that the phones of the country’s prime minister and defense minister were both infected with the Pegasus spyware less than a month after a previous investigation found that the Israeli software was used to snoop on Catalan separatist leaders, the Guardian reported...

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Pointing Fingers

Pakistani authorities charged former Prime Minister Imran Khan and 150 other individuals with blasphemy this week, a move that critics called an effort by the new government of using religion “as a tool” to intimidate political rivals, Voice of America reported. Officials said that the charges...

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Not Playing Fair

European Union regulators accused Apple of breaking the bloc’s competition laws Monday after preliminary findings showed that the tech giant misused its dominant position in mobile payments to deny competitors access to contactless technology, the Financial Times reported. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said the company...

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