Africa
Nigerian senator accused of breaking modern slavery laws – Ike Ekweremadu, a Nigerian senator, is on trial with his wife and daughter for allegedly exploiting a 21 year old to come to London and donate a kidney. He is accused of paying a street trader to travel to the UK for a donation to help his daughter who suffers from a kidney disease. Modern slavery legislation in the UK makes it a crime to arrange or facilitate travel of a person to the country for exploitation.
UN mission’s human rights chief expelled in Mali – Mali has expelled the head of the UN peacekeeping mission’s human rights division, alleging he committed “subversive actions” when selecting witnesses to testify at UN Security Council briefings on Mali. Recently, a Malian civil society activist gave evidence at a UN meeting accusing the government’s Russia military partners of human rights violations.
Asia
Japan’s Prime Minister sacks aid over anti LGBT remarks – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida fired a government aide who said he would not want to live next, or look at people in same-sex relationships. The aide, Masayoshi Arai, also said permitting gay marriage in Japan would lead to people abandoning the country. Kishida called the remarks outrageous and incompatible. Japan still does not recognize same-sex marriage.
Pakistan blocks Wikipedia – Officials in Pakistan blocked Wikipedia after asking the website to remove some of its material. The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, said the ban would deny Pakistanis to “the largest free knowledge repository.” Pakistan said it blocked Wikipedia for hosting “blasphemous content.” Other platforms like Tinder, Facebook, and YouTube have previ- ously been blocked in the country.
Europe
Thousands die in earthquake – Officials in Turkey and northern Syria are searching for survivors from an earthquake that killed more than 2,300 people. The quake was one of the strongest to hit the area in more than 100 years and measured at 7.5 magnitude. The region of Syria impacted by the earthquake is home to 4.1 million people who rely on humanitarian assistance.
Pope/Protestant leaders denounce anti-gay legislation – Pope Francis and lead- ers of Protestant churches in England and Scotland denounced crimes based on homosexuality. The Pope said anti-gay laws are a sin and injustice, adding that gay people are children of God and should be welcomed by churches. He said that the Catholic Church cannot permit sacramental marriage of same-sex couples but supported a civil union legislation.
Latin America
Argentina introduces new currency Argentina introduced a new 2,000 peso banknote that will be issued because of high inflation rates. Consumer prices in the country jumped by nearly 95 percent last year. The country’s central bank said the new banknote would commemorate the development of science and medicine in Argentina. In December, the International Monetary Fund approved $6 billion of bailout money for Argentina.
Bolsonaro accused of being at election plot meeting – Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was accused of being at a meeting about a plot to keep him in power. Bolsonaro’s son admitted the meeting took place but denied a crime was committed. Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters recently stormed Brazil’s Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace calling for a military coup.
North America
Man arrested for theft of monkeys at Dallas Zoo – Davion Irvin was arrested in connection to a few strange incidents that recently occurred at the Dallas Zoo. He is accused of stealing two emperor tamarin monkeys, and he is also linked to sabotaging the enclosures of a snow leopard and langur monkeys. The death of an endangered vulture at the zoo is also being investigated. The tamarin monkeys were found in a closet at an abandoned home and returned to the zoo.
Jobs growth rises in the United States – The United States announced that employers added 517,000 jobs last month, which was far more than expected. The unemployment rate is at 3.4 percent, the lowest it has been since 1979. Experts warned that the odds of a recession this year are unusually high, because of data like a recent pullback in consumer spending, declines in manufacturing, and a slowdown in home sales. Places like bars and restaurants added more jobs while car manufacturing and tech industry jobs reported job losses.
