RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/April 2018

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April 2018[edit]

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2United StatesThe House Intelligence Committee has formally cleared Trump of any charges of collusion with Russia.
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-5Dominican RepublicTaiwanChinaThe Dominican Republic has switched its recognition from the Republic of China to the PRC.
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22United StatesGuns will be banned for part of the National Rifle Convention.
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-1Afghanistan26 were killed, including nine journalists, in a terrorist attack in Kabul. A separate attack in Kandahar killed 11 children.
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0SyriaAssad's forces have taken two villages from the Kurds.
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17United StatesIn what definitely isn't monopolization, T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to a merger.
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21ThailandThe largest demonstration in Thailand since the 2014 coup took place against a government-funded luxury housing project on forested land.
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19Transdr, the world’s first trans-only dating app, has been harshly criticized for attracting chasers and using transphobic language in its marketing.
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-6Mali40 Tuaregs were killed by suspected Jihadists.
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-1MongoliaSingaporeUnited StatesNorth KoreaMongolia and Singapore are the final two sites under consideration for the upcoming United States-North Korea summit
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19United StatesThe House chaplain was fired, possibly for warning of the implications of tax reform.
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0ChinaNine killed and ten injured in a school stabbing in Shaanxi.
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21PeruThe 550-year old remains of possibly the largest child sacrifice ever have been discovered.
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18United KingdomTwo-thirds of Brits are concerned about abuse of transgender people.
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16United StatesTrump gives health workers means to discriminate against people who request abortions or gender-reassignment surgery (transgendered people), a.k.a. "religious liberty protections".
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15United StatesResearchers kept pig brains and organs alive for 36 hours after death.
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34North KoreaSouth KoreaThe Koreas have agreed to finally end their war this year and to pursue denuclearization.
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16United StatesTeacher protests have broken out in Arizona and Colorado.
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17United StatesRepresentative Patrick Meehan (R-PA) resigns after it was revealed he used $39000 in taxpayer money as a severance payment to a former aide who accused him of sexual harassment.
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0United StatesA militia leader pled guilty to attempting to bomb a federal cabin.
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-3United StatesMike Pompeo has been confirmed as the new Secretary of State.
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25North KoreaSouth KoreaNorth and South Korea are holding the first summit in over a decade on 27 April.
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-1United StatesFacebook posts record revenues for first quarter despite privacy scandal
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22United StatesEPA chairman Pruitt has made a proposal to limit the types of research they can use.
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4RwandaFour mass graves from the Rwandan genocide have been uncovered.
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18SpainMadrid regional premier Cristina Cifuentes quits after video of her shoplifting emerges
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15GermanyAll Bavarian government buildings must now display a Christian cross.
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23United StatesA federal judge has ruled to uphold DACA, calling the White House "arbitrary and capricious" in moving to end it.
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-3NigeriaSixteen were killed when armed herdsmen attacked a Nigerian church.
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27CanadaA man drives a van into a crowd of people in Toronto, killing 10. Facebook posts reveal that the driver, a military washout, was motivated by his "involuntary celibacy" and had praised Elliot Rodger.
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34United KingdomBritain went three days straight without coal power, beating the record they set just days ago.
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46IndiaA right-wing Indian politician has claimed that Indians invented satellites and the internet in ancient times and used them to receive live updates on the Kurukshetra War (traditionally dated to around 3000 BCE). Ridicule follows.
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17PhilippinesEvolution of the human race for specific niche roles is ongoing - Bajau peoples of Southeast Asia show adaptions suited to nomadic sea-borne lifestyle
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10GreeceFar-right protesters clash with a migrant demonstration in Lesbos.
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5Saudi ArabiaYemenAt least twenty were killed at a wedding in Yemen by Saudi-led air strikes.
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11ArmeniaArmenian PM Sargsyan resigns amidst massive protests accusing him of clinging to power.
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29United StatesHow Trump's trans military ban backfired. Spectacularly.
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0LibyaItalyThe bodies of eleven Libyans attempting to flee to Italy have been recovered by the Libyan coastguard.
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6AfghanistanAt least 57 were killed in a terrorist attack at a voter registration center in Kabul, and at least six more in a car bombing at another voting center in Baghlan.
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16ItalyItaly’s retrograde laws, pushed by the Catholic Church, force LGBT parents to lie about the way their children were conceived.
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2MadagascarOne killed in Madagascar as police crack down on protests against electoral laws designed to disqualify their candidate.
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16ChinaA meme app has been banned in China for "vulgar" content. The decision raises the issue of unnecessary censorship.
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16North KoreaNorth Korea announces a freeze on nuclear and missile tests starting April 21.
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29United States‘Imploding’: Financial troubles. Lawsuits. Trailer park brawls. Has the alt-right peaked?
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17United StatesOne wounded in yet another Florida school shooting.
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17United StatesPeptide-based biogenic dental product may cure cavities
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20United StatesThousands of students walk out across the US on the anniversary of Columbine demanding stricter gun control.
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1CanadaThe Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that provinces can put up non-tariff barriers like restrictions between inter-provincial trade. This ruling came about after a New Brunswick man went over his allowance of liquor that he imported from Québec.
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15United StatesA federal appeals court has ruled that sanctuary cities can't be denied public safety grants.
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24United KingdomThe UK just went for a record 55 hours without using coal.
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29United StatesIn West Virginia a police officer was fired for assessing the situation and trying to talk down a black suspect instead of just shooting him. He has won a six-figure settlement over his questionable firing.
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14CubaCuba has a non-Castro in charge for the first time since the revolution.
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27United States A former Texan 911 operator has been prosecuted for interfering with police procedure by hanging up a number of calls reporting robberies and murders because she wasn't interested in talking at the moment.
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6SwazilandOn the 50th anniversary of its independence, Swaziland officially renames itself to the Kingdom of eSwatini.
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25United StatesThe inventor and manufacturer of bump stocks has announced it is ceasing production.
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17United StatesSomaliaThree men were convicted of plotting to bomb an apartment complex housing Somali Muslim migrants.
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13AustriaAustrian researcher Herwig Czech exposes Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger's links to the Nazi euthanasia program in 1940s.
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11United StatesLiberty University's bread-and-butter business is running an online distance learning program that, if the accounts of current and former students are to be believed, is basically a diploma mill roughly on par with ITT Tech and other for-profit colleges.
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2ChinaTaiwanChina conducted live-fire drills on the southeast coast which may have been aimed at Taiwan.
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21United StatesBills to curtail LGBT rights are failing in US legislatures.
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2IsraelPalestinePalestinian with truck carrying explosives for 'Independence Day Terror Attack' arrested.
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3TurkeySyria Turkish-backed, racist and misogynistic terror groups in Afrin are accused of forced conversions and murder of Yazidis, taking a page from DAESH's book on inter-faith and inter-racial relations.
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16United NationsSyriaA UN security team was fired on in Syria while visiting suspected chemical sites.
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39United StatesAlex Jones is being sued for defamation by the parents of two Sandy Hook victims.
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15United StatesBarbara Bush has passed away at the age of 92.
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41North KoreaSouth KoreaThe Koreas are negotiating officially ending the Korean War after nearly seventy years.
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26RussiaSyriaA Russian journalist who reported on a secretive group of Russian mercenaries in Syria died after a mysterious fall.
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41JapanScientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles
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22United StatesUnited KingdomRussiaThe US and UK blame Russia for hacks on internet routers worldwide.
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41United StatesMichael Cohen's secret third client is revealed to be... Sean Hannity!!! CNN: "If I wrote a screenplay in which a lawyer/fixer had only three clients -- the President of the United States, a major GOP donor trying to cover up allegations of impregnating a Playmate and Sean Hannity -- roughly ZERO major or minor studios would buy that script, considering how improbable it all is. And rightly so! Yet here we are."
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11SpainHundreds of thousands protest in Barcelona over imprisoned Catalan leaders.
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4IsraelPalestineA massive tunnel between Israel and Gaza dug by militants has been destroyed.
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14PhilippinesThe Philippines barred entry to and deported an EU Socialist Party official who criticized Duterte's War on Drugs.
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12SlovakiaTens of thousands protest against corruption in Slovakia.
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18Fact-checking Mark Zuckerberg's testimony about Facebook privacy
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11AustraliaAn investigation finds that Australian state governments fail to keep basic records about school chaplains, including complaints. Both major political parties have also re-committed to continuing the religious programs in public schools
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12United StatesAnti-gun control protests broke out across the US as a reaction to March for Our Lives.
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11ChinaChina is implementing a mandatory social credit system.
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19United StatesExxon lost a last-ditch effort to avoid investigation on whether they knew about the link between fossil fuels and climate change.
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13HungaryProtests break out in Hungary against Orban's rule.
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11United StatesArt Bell, longtime host of paranormal themed radio show Coast to Coast AM, has died at age 72.
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12United StatesSyriaHaving apparently learned nothing from George W. Bush (despite all his criticism of the Iraq War on the campaign trail), Donald Trump literally tweets out "mission accomplished" after bombing Syria. All that's missing is an aircraft carrier and a flight suit.
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19United StatesTexas judge: LGBT workers should be protected from workplace discrimination
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12ChinaChinese Twitter Weibo will be removing gay content over the next few months.
UPDATE: They aren't doing it after massive backlash.
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18United StatesThe Oklahoma teacher strike has ended with millions in new education funding. Meanwhile, after threatening their own strike, Arizona teachers have gotten a 20% pay raise.
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15United StatesUnited KingdomFranceSyriaThe US, France and UK bombed the Syrian regime directly, ostensibly in response to the use of chemical weapons last week. Let's just hope WWIII doesn't start...
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5Turkey21 were sentenced to life in Turkey over the 1997 "postmodern" coup.Wikipedia
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13PhilippinesDuterte threatens to arrest an ICC prosecutor if she comes to investigate his War on Drugs.
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6SomaliaFive were killed by a bombing at a Somalian soccer match.
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21United StatesGenetics in loggerhead turtles have shown to be heavily related to the magnetic fields of their nesting places.
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20United StatesMexicoUS Border Patrol agents attempted to dump an injured man across the US-Mexico border because he "looked Mexican."
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19Global warming, Atlantic cooling: the Gulf Stream, which keeps Europe warm, is at its weakest in 1600 years.
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-2United StatesRussiaThe US and Russia are closer to military conflict than any time since the end of the Cold War.
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18United Kingdom In what might be the dawn of a new conspiracy theory, a town council in Britain is forced to issue a formal denial that its new tech is causing miscarriages and killing wildlife.
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8United StatesTrump promises strike on Syria and warns Russia against backing Assad.
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8United StatesDREAMers in Arizona have been barred from in-state tuition.
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13ArgentinaArgentine Congress has begun a debate on loosening the country's abortion restrictions.
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24United StatesPaul Ryan is retiring at the end of his term.
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25United StatesPulling valuable metals from e-waste makes financial sense
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5FranceA Jewish elementary school in Paris faces antisemitic graffiti.
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15United StatesChadChad has been taken off the travel ban.
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12Saudi ArabiaQatarSaudi Arabia is floating a plan to turn Qatar into an island.
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8United StatesRussiaUnited NationsSyriaThe US and Russia clash over Syria at the UN Security Council.
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24United StatesAustralia A 600,000 strong Black Lives Matter Facebook page has been shut down after Facebook revealed it was run by an Australian man profiting from $100,000 worth of donations.
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7IranIsraelThe top adviser to Ali Khamenei has threatened response to a Syrian air strike Iran blames on Israel.
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7AfghanistanAt least eight were killed by a bombing in Herat.
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16Canada Tensions mount as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pressures British Columbia to drop its opposition against the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which goes from Alberta to its coast. There is an on-going trade war between British Columbia and Alberta over this.
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25United StatesThe FBI raided the office of Trump's longtime personal lawyer.
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21Facebook has suspended another data analytics firm that was using tactics similar to Cambridge Analytica.
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20Saudi ArabiaAn 85,000 year old human finger bone found in Saudi Arabia suggests we left Africa earlier than we thought.
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25Nigeria149 women and children abducted by Boko Haram have been rescued.
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13SyriaRussiaIsraelRussia and Syria blame Israel for an airstrike on a Syrian air base whose culprit remains unknown.
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17United Kingdom A leaked Home Office report confirms that an increase in violent crime in the United Kingdom was influenced by the Office cutting police officers by 14% since 2012. The Home Secretary at the time? Theresa May.
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24North KoreaKim Jong-un said he is willing to discuss denuclearization.
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18ChinaNorth KoreaChina has banned the export of items with the potential to be used in a WMD to North Korea.
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3United StatesOnly two-thirds of American Millennials are sure the earth is round, and 2% are convinced it's flat.
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16Vatican CityA Vatican ex-diplomat was arrested for suspicion of having child pornography.
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31Portugal Last month, Portugal generated more electricity than it needed using only renewable energy.
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19United States The District of Columbia joins several American cities in taxing ride-hail companies, such as Uber and Lyft, in order to fund mass transit.
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23United StatesA federal judge has ruled that "military-style" rifles and high capacity magazines aren't protected by the Second Amendment.
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24JapanChinaJapan activated its first marine unit since the end of World War II due to fears of China's rising power.
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10SyriaAt least seventy were killed in what is suspected to be a chemical attack in Douma.
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18United StatesTexan congressman Blake Farenthold (R) resigns under allegations of sexual harassment and miscellaneous inappropriate behavior.
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21United StatesNorth KoreaSecret talks between the US and North Korea are underway, planning for a Trump-Kim summit.
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4GermanySeveral are dead from a van plowing into a crowd in Muenster.
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3United StatesMexicoArizona and Texas are sending a combined number of 400 personnel to the US-Mexico border.
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18IndonesiaFour were detained in the Indonesian province of Aceh, which is under sharia law, for allegations of having gay sex.
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12Saudi ArabiaYemenA Saudi oil tanker was attacked by the Houthis, though Saudi Arabia says this will not affect oil supplies.
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12Are your phone camera and microphone spying on you?
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20United States An analysis of various statistical surveys suggests that American political polarization is due to people having a sport-team mentality rather than because of genuine disagreements over the issues. This is best resolved by treating other people as "human beings", the researcher concludes.
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7United StatesRussiaThe US has imposed sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs and 17 senior government officials.
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8IsraelPalestineFour were killed and at least 200 injured in the Israeli response to resumed protests on the Gaza border.
UPDATE: Deaths include a well-known Palestinian journalist covering the demonstration.
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11United StatesThe Cambridge Analytica scandal affected almost double the amount of people it was previously thought to have.
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12United StatesChinaTrump threatens another $100 billion of sanctions on China, to which China says it will retaliate if implemented.
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8United KingdomA sugar tax on soft drinks is introduced today in the United Kingdom. The tax makes a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi go up from £1.50 (≈US$2.10) to £1.95 (≈US$2.73)
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18VietnamSix Vietnamese pro-democracy activists were sentenced to between seven and 15 years on baseless allegations of attempting to overthrow the government.
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12TurkeyA gunman shot four academics dead at Osmangazi University who he alleges were members of the Gülen movement.
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22AustraliaNaturopath jailed in New South Wales after almost killing an eight-month old baby with dangerous dietary advice. She has said, through lawyers, that she believes her arrest was "staged".
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10United StatesA study finds that consumer DNA tests are wrong 40% of the time.
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21Facebook announces that most of their users may have had their data skimmed by "malicious actors".
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13United KingdomUnited States Reality check: Has London surpassed New York City in murder rates?
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14MalaysiaA Malaysian university drew criticism for having a forum to "convert" LGBT students.
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7AfghanistanAt least 20 civilians were killed in an Afghan air raid against the Taliban.
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22United StatesA man was beaten, choked and tased by police after jaywalking.
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15United StatesMexicoTrump announces plans to militarize the US-Mexico border until the wall is built.
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20United StatesFour were wounded by a shooting at the YouTube HQ before the shooter took her own life. UPDATE: she reportedly hated the company for filtering her videos and demonetization.
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7United StatesA protestor was hit by a sheriff's deputy at a rally over an unarmed black man being killed by police.
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5MaliSix people found in a mass grave were allegedly arrested by the Mali military three days earlier, as violence by the government and jihadist groups alike increases ahead of the presidential election.
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14United StatesPink News highlights research showing that young trans people are 65% less likely to try to kill themselves if their names and pronouns are respected.
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13United StatesA bill to be introduced this week to the South Carolina state legislature would ban local governments from implementing stricter gun laws.
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5Saudi ArabiaIsraelIranSaudi dictator Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman recognized the existence of Israel, and called Iranian dictator Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei "worse than Hitler."
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7United States The EPA wants to roll back California's air pollution regulations, claiming that they are too stringent.
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21United StatesSinclair Broadcasting Company made reporters from local networks it owns recite the same script warning about fake news.
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18ChinaUnited StatesChina declares counter-tariffs on 128 US products.
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6South AfricaWinnie Madikizela-Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and widow to Nelson Mandela, died in her sleep at the age of 81.
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13IsraelIsrael has scrapped its internationally criticized deportation plan in favor of sending African migrants to other Western countries.
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18United StatesThe Oklahoma teacher walkout has begun.
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12United StatesTrump says the DACA deal is off, as well as threatening to kill NAFTA if Mexico doesn't tighten border security.
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10United StatesFor the first time in its history, the LDS has apostles who aren't white men.
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12TurkeyIsraelErdogan called Israeli PM Netanyahu a terrorist amidst the deaths on the Gaza border.
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23United StatesNew York has banned firearms from domestic abusers.
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23United States Georgetown, Texas, becomes the largest American city to be completely powered by renewable energy. The previous record holder was Burlington, Vermont.
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9United StatesThe US plans to collect the social media history of visa applicants.
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11IndiaViolence erupts in Indian Kashmir after a clash between police and militant separatists.