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

August 2018
Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders cancels plans for a Mohammad cartoon contest over safety concerns.

Alexander Zakharchenko, Prime Minister of the disputed Donetsk People's Republic, has been killed in an explosion at a cafe. Self-styled "Paedophile Hunter" Stevie Trap has been found guilty of malicious communications after Facebook followers vandalised an accused groomer's house, then deleted the allegations to avoid association. Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman is to be jailed for life over his plot to assassinate Theresa May. The European Commission proposes to abolish daylight savings time throughout the union, after a survey. The FDA expands a recall of homeopathic producer King Bio's water-based products, as it turns out that the water used in their brand of snake oil is filled with all kinds of microbes, including one which causes bacterial meningitis. Immigration New Zealand has allowed Chelsea Manning entry into the country, as part of her book tour. Although Australia has refused her entry, based not passing "the character test". One New Zealand town has announced that no more cats will be allowed to live there anymore. A NPR investigative report revealed that an annual Department of Education study of school shootings was highly flawed, with 116 of 240 shootings reported during the 2015-2016 school year found to be unverifiable. The Swiss government has recommended a “no” vote in an initiative to make political financing more transparent, by requiring all donations over CHF 10 000 (US$10 300) to be made open. They say that it is unnecessary and “hardly compatible with the Swiss system”. Payday money-lender Wonga, has gone into administration after compensations over excessive usury caused irreparable damage. Legal action against an alleged New Mexico terror training camp has collapsed when the state initially failed to file credible charges, then failed to attend a preliminary hearing. The five individuals in the case are now under house arrest. Labour MP Frank Field is to resign from the Labour Party in the continuing deterioration between the party and Jewish groups. White House ethics lawyer Stefan Passantino is to resign. Cuomo collected $25,000 from Weinstein's attorney's firm six days before suspension of probe Anti-Islam politican Geert Wilders has effectly asked for a re-run of the Muhammed drawing competition. Following the announcement, a Pakistani cricketer has put a bounty of $24 000 on his head. Reports from the Swedish Defence Research Agency, states that the number of active automated Twitter political accounts has more than doubled in the last few weeks from 500 to 1200. A large majority of them, aiming at immigration and crime and are affiliated to far-right parties, the Sweden Democrats and Alternative for Sweden. President Trump has accused Google; Facebook and Twitter of only showing news stories critical of him, with adviser Larry Kudlow suggesting the federal government should regulate social media to give a pro-Trump bias make news more fair. Don McGahn is to resign from his position as a White House lawyer, after it emerged he cooperated with the Mueller investigation. Goats 'drawn to happy human faces' California will become the first US state to abolish monetary bail. Violence has erupted in the German city of Chemnitz between leftist and far-right protesters. 81% of economists predict recession in 2020-2021. Decay of the Higgs boson into two bottom quarks finally observed. New study into the replicability of social science experiments finds that the original result could be reproduced in only 13 out of 21 cases. Experiments which they failed to reproduce include one that showed that looking at a statue of Rodin's The Thinker reduced religious belief. The leader of the Afghan branch of DAESH was killed in an airstrike. Mass shooting at video game tournament in Jacksonville leaves multiple dead. Iranian parliament votes to sack the finance minister. Despite the events of the past week, Trump's approval rating remains virtually unchanged, though 56% of voters say he has been dishonest about the Mueller probe. Carlo Maria Viganò the Vatican's ambassador to the US between 2011 and 2016, claims Popes Benedict and Francis knew about sexual abuse allegations against Cardinal McCarrick and calls on Francis to resign. Under 130,000 people attend Papal Mass in Phoenix Park, Dublin. 500,000 tickets were available, only around a quarter have showed up. US Senator John McCain has died at 81, just 1 day after announcing he was stopping his cancer treatment. California Republican Duncan Hunter has been indicted for using $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use. A federal judge struck down most of Trump's executive orders limiting the power of federal employee unions. Over 15,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh protest against their genocide. Polling shows that 70% of Americans support single-payer healthcare, including a slim majority of Republicans. DOJ announces a whopping 19 arrests of non-citizen voters. The US is cutting over $200 million in aid to the Palestinians. Senator John McCain discontinuing cancer treatment. National Enquirer hid damaging Trump stories in a safe. As a side-effect of the recent sexual abuse scandal in Pennsylvania, an Indiana priest has been assaulted in a revenge attack in his own chapel. Former First Minister of Scotland has denied allegations of sexual harassment Two have been sentenced for maliciously wounding a black man during the Charlottesville rally. Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on an IDP camp killed at least 26 people. Reality Winner has been found guilty of breaking the Espionage Act, for leaking an NSA report on a Russian military intelligence cyberattack on the 2016 US presidential election. She was sentenced to more than five years in prison. The liberal VVD parliamentary chairman Klaas Dijkhoff has slammed anti-vaxxers and has suggested making vaccinations against childhood diseases compulsory now that the Netherlands has fallen under the 95% level set for measles by the World Health Organisation. In the face of a Liberal Party leadership crisis, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has resigned to be replaced by Scott Morrison. This is likely far from the end. It wasn't just politics that Russian troll farms were engaged in; they also attempted to sow discord over vaccines. Indonesian Buddhist woman jailed on blasphemy charges for complaining about the volume of her nearby mosque's call for prayers. Indonesian civil society, including two Muslim advocacy groups are working to fight this. The US and China announce tariffs on $16 billion of each others' imports. Betsy DeVos is reportedly considering a plan to let states use federal funds to purchase guns for schools. A Welsh man has been sentenced to six years in prison after burning down two buildings; vandalising a town with swastika graffiti and putting up recruitment posters for an offshoot of the terrorist organisation, National Action, dubbed "System Resistance Network". Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime lawyer and personal fixer, pleaded guilty to eight charges of bank fraud, tax fraud, and illegal campaign contributions, implicating the President in the process. Paul Manafort has been found guilty on eight counts of fraud, while a mistrial has been declared on the other ten counts. The EPA unveils its new climate proposal, a weaker replacement (not to mention a coal bailout) of Obama's previous Clean Power Plan, which is estimated to lead to upwards of 1400 additional premature deaths a year due to air pollution. The next plastic straws? Sweden's third largest grocery store chain Axfood, has annouced they are going stop selling single-use disposable barbecues due to being a fire risk and difficult to recycle. Microsoft says it has uncovered new Russian hacking attempts targeting US political groups. South African white farmers' land to be seized in a controversial land redistribution claim. A no-deal Brexit could endanger the NHS. European measles cases hit record high Venezuela devalues its currency by 95% and pegs it to a state-run cryptocurrency. Families divided by the Korean War reunite at a tourist resort in North Korea. The Taliban celebrates the below ceasefire by kidnapping some 150 people. The Afghan government declares a three-month ceasefire with the Taliban. A tax on plastic wastes receives broad popular support in the U.K. Dark energy might pose a challenge to string theory. Austria rejects Afghan's asylum bid because he 'did not act or dress gay' President Trump talked to veterans about Apocalypse Now and it was super awkward Corey Stewart, a clown running for the United States Senate in Virginia against Senator Tim Kaine needs to stay away from Photoshop. Kaine's spokesman called Stewart “a chronic, serial liar who will say or do anything just to get attention. He thinks Virginians and all of us are stupid.” Photos surface of 22 female Colombia National Police officers wearing their uniforms found aboard the Sea-Org ship Freewinds. Ohio state officials probe the advocate of Jilly Juice. To give credit where it's due, Candida: Weaponized Fungus Mainstreaming Mutancy may be the best book title since The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. More than 300 US newspapers are running editorials promoting press freedom as a result of Trump's attacks on the media. UPDATE: The Senate has unanimously passed a resolution rebuking Trump's statement that news media is "the enemy of the people".

Illinois is suing the Chicago Trump Tower for breaking a number of environmental regulations in its use of river water for cooling. The Trump Organisation responded by declaring the suit to be politically-motivated. Condemnation to the Fraser Anning's "final solution" speech by all major party leaders in Australia, even his former leader Pauline Hanson "stopped clock" by comparing it to Goebbels! Power has been restored to Puerto Rico for the first time in almost 11 months. Hey, remember when people used to think measles would be gone for good? Measles outbreaks in 21 US states. A grand jury report says the Pennsylvanian Catholic Church protected over 300 "predator priests". Nebraska carried out its first execution in 21 years, as well as the first one in the US using fentanyl. A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament. Update: The suspect has been identified as Salih Khater, a British-Sudanese man from Birmingham. Raids have also taken place. An Australian senator, formerly from One Nation use his maiden speech to call for 'final solution to immigration problem'. Update: The next day on talk radio, he stated that he stands by his speech and has said that Muslims migration was like poisonous jellybeans. American-made specialist computer case manufacturer CaseLabs has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidation, due in part to the current American-Chinese trade war tariffs, says the company. Concern in Europe after Trump propses to rejig the Serb-Kosovan border in a deal between Serbia and Kosovo. FBI special agent Peter Strzok has been fired. Alex Jones uploads over 50 new videos to Vimeo...and is banned within a few days. The Unite the Right 2 rally was a pathetic failure. Attendance was less than forty people, far less than the few hundred that organizer Jason Kessler predicted, and they were outnumbered by nearly a thousand counterprotesters. A Florida GOP candidate is revealed to have faked her college degree. If there was a second Brexit vote now, both a majority of voters and constituencies would vote to remain. On top of that, the most change has happened in the traditional Labour voting heartlands of the regions of North-East England and Wales. Following the Bayer-Monsanto glyphosate trial, both of Britain's major home improvement chains Homebase and B&Q are reviewing the sale of the weedkiller. Parker Solar Probe: NASA launches mission to 'touch the Sun'. Renewable energy saves fresh water and creates plenty of jobs, statistics show. Monsanto ordered to pay $289m damages in Roundup cancer trial. Italian deputy PM Salvini orders the wording on identity card application forms for children be changed to exclude same-sex couples. A New York woman phoned the police on a state senator because his primary campaign criticised President Trump. The UN is claiming it has credible evidence that China is holding about 1 million Uyghurs in internment camps

Organic solar power is closer to reality. Using plastic instead of silicon, organic solar cells are much lighter, cheaper to produce, require fewer resources, and can be used in a number of places traditional solar panels can not. Historically, the issue has been that they are less efficient, but now have efficiency comparable to silicon based solar panels for only a fraction of the price.

Tokyo medical school 'changed test scores to keep women out' An airstrike by the Saudi-UAE coalition in Yemen on a school bus killed dozens, including at least 29 children. The leadership of the fifth largest megachurch in the United States resigns over a sexual misconduct scandal. The Argentine Senate votes against legalizing abortion. Saudi Arabia attempts to criticize Canada's human rights record (Not a Poe.) while at the same time continuing to use one the most barbaric methods of execution known to humankind, Crucifixion. Though there is no far-right rally scheduled there, Charlottesville has declared a state of emergency for the one-year anniversary just in case.

Boris Johnson faces growing opposition within the Conservative Party after a joke in the Telegraph about women wearing Burqas look like criminals or walking letter-boxes was criticised by party leaders as purposely offensive; misogynistic and preventing serious discussion. A police search at a New Mexico ranch uncovers evidence of a terror training camp preparing children to take part in school shootings. In a bid to make trophy hunting unpopular, PETA has called on the NRA to remove Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump in exchange for $100,000. A side-effect of the US-China trade war is the prospect of a South Carolina television factory losing its workforce. Musicians only got 12% of the $43 billion the music industry generated in 2017, and it mostly came from touring

Federal court rules that US Border Patrol agent is not immune from a lawsuit over killing a Mexican teenager GOP congressman Chris Collins has been indicted on charges of insider trading. Italian families are no longer obliged to have children vaccinated against measles and other infectious diseases after Italy’s upper chamber voted through legislation to remove the vaccination law. EPA is now re-allowing asbestos manufacturing. According to Mother Jones, ex-Trump campaign aides are lobbying for pro-Russian Bosnian-Sprska leaders in Washington. This included arranging meetings between the prime minister and the Tresuary-sanctioned president with Steve Bannon, Corey Lewandowski, and Dana Rohrabacher.

Former Trump aide Rick Gates testifies that he and Manafort committed crimes together. Saudi Arabia freezes all new trade and investment transactions with Canada along with ordering the Canadian ambassador to leave after Canada demands activists be freed. While Egypt and Russia voiced their support for Saudi Arabia, no nations have done the same for Canada, as they have nothing to gain from getting involved. The first round of US nuclear sanctions on Iran go back into effect. Donald Trump admits his son Trump Jr. met with a Russian for information on an opponent. However, he insists it was completely legal and there was no collusion. Facebook bans four pages run by Alex Jones as Apple bans most of his podcasts, YouTube deletes his account, and Spotify takes down The Alex Jones Show. A "Make Britain Great Again" has taken place in London in protest in response to Facebook's suspension of Alex Jones' personal account, resulting in an attack on a Socialist book store alongside racist chanting. Venezuelan president Maduro survives an assassination attempt.

The head of the local police department in Kyiv Andriy Kryshchenko, has suggested decriminalizing people who have small possessions of drugs. However this is opposed by the head of the national police force. Republican Michigan Supreme Court justices face political retaliation from their own party for voting in favor of allowing Michigan voters to have a say on amendments to the state constitution to end gerrymandering in Michigan.

An accountant for Paul Manafort has testified in court under immunity she altered financial records to claim the transfer of Manafort's Ukrainian money to his accounts was a loan. Facing accusations the Labour party is institutionally racist, the Jewish Museum has chosen to turn down Jeremy Corbyn's visit. His speech has instead been published in the Guardian. A Russian woman hired by the Secret Service at the American embassy in Moscow may have sold state secrets to FSB over a decade. After reading 1800 documents sent to PACEI, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap declares that the Trump Administration had no credibility in its claims of mass vote rigging.

A federal judge orders the full restart of DACA. The NRA is in deep financial trouble and is facing an existential crisis Dozens of goats wander throughout a neighborhood in Boise Idaho Modified mosquitoes eliminate dengue fever in Australian town for first time in recent history The Catholic Church now considers the death penalty wrong under any circumstances. The EPA moves to repeal Obama-era fuel efficiency standards and bar California from implementing stricter ones. An Illinois state representative has resigned following allegations he used photos of his ex-girlfriend to "catfish other men". A retired Colombian national police general gives David Miscavage an award while dressed in his uniform. The police say he wasn't authorized to do that. $cientology says otherwise. Apparently, Trump has never been to a grocery store in his life. He claims you need a photo ID to go grocery shopping. Maybe his idea of a balanced diet involves booze and cigarettes? A Pennsylvanian Catholic diocese releases a list of over 70 of its clergy going back decades accused of child sex abuse. Protest in Denmark as the ban on full face veils comes into effect. A US appeals court rules Trump's executive order barring sanctuary cities from federal funding is unconstitutional. An entire Massachusetts town's police department has retired in protest of severe cutbacks endemic to small-town America.

British far-right activist Tommy Robinson has had his conviction for contempt of court quashed and is out on bail pending a retrial. As yet his bail conditions (and likelihood of breaking them) are unclear.