This is the fourth and final edition of this MediaFile series. Every week the International section takes on the task of curating a list of five important world news stories that you may have missed this week because of news from the American election cycle.
This week in Moscow, the local Amnesty International office was locked by city officials citing that the human rights group had failed to pay rent. This comes after recent Russian government suppression of various human rights organizations. When workers arrived at the office they found the locks changed, the electricity turned off and an official seal barring them from entry.
Amnesty International locked out of Moscow office
Last week the President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, publically apologized for having her friend and cult leader write her speeches for her, thus letting her into her inside circle. Choi Soon-sil was involved with Park’s administration even with no legitimate role. She is being investigated by authorities for abuse of power, corruption, and fraud. These recent events have caused the president to remove two cabinet members and the Prime Minister.
South Korea President Replaces Prime Minister to Tackle Scandal
After two years of political gridlock, Michel Aoun is the new president of Lebanon. The 81-year-old is an ally of Hezbollah, a Shi’a Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon. The country borders war torn Syria and now with Aoun in power the country has officially aligned themselves with President Bashar al-Assad. In his first speech as president he called for refugees to go back to Syria and said, “stop turning refugee camps into security threats.”
The women and girls who survived Boko Haram in Nigeria have since sought refuge in government official camp facilities, only to be sexually abused by those government workers. These women were coerced into sexual favors by police, soldiers, camp workers and vigilante group members, and many who became pregnant were left behind. Human Rights Watch and the President of Nigeria have both taken to social media to react to these events. Boko Haram has caused Nigeria many humanitarian, economic and social problems in the African country.
Boko Haram survivors sexually abused at ‘safe’ camps
Iceland narrowly evaded a pirate-controlled government this week, after elections took place on Sunday. The anti-establishment party advocates for issues like direct democracy and government transparency. The party lost with only 14.5 percent of votes, but were able to elect ten members of parliament.
No, the Pirates didn’t win Iceland’s elections. Here’s what happened instead.
Icelanders voted in parliamentary elections on Saturday. Even before the results were in, it was clear that something unusual was going on. Just a couple of years ago, few would have predicted the near evisceration of the center-left Social Democratic Alliance, although it fits a pattern we are seeing throughout Europe.