RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/March 2019

March 2019
Trump administration awards $1.7 million family planning grant to anti-abortion group called the Obria Group, which considers itself an anti-abortion version of Planned Parenthood. A report by the Council of Europe paints an alarming worry about processes in the criminal justice system in Malta, especially with corruption and senior officials. Protests against gay relationship lessons at primary school in Birmingham. Singapore introduced legislation to combat fake news. "If we do not protect ourselves, hostile parties will find it a simple matter to turn different groups against one another and cause disorder in our society," said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. President Donald Trump overrides his Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and restores funding for the Special Olympics. While public transits in cities worldwide are making losses, Hong Kong's MTR system is making a surplus. In a debate about conversion therapy in the Seanad, conservative independent Senator suggested that individuals should have the option, unless proved to be harmful. Brunei introduces death by stoning as punishment for gay sex and adultery. More Brexit confusion as Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement is rejected…. again Churchill's policies contributed to 1943 Bengal famine One of Poland's biggest domestic banks, mBank, has announced it's blacklisting mining or energy companies that are involved in coal. It's doing it in the effort to improve the bank's environmental record and supporting green energy. Solar and wind costs have fallen enough in the United States that roughly ¾ of of coal capacity is at risk from renewable competition, and by 2025 this is expected to rise to 6/7. Furthermore, while the US acquired nearly half of its electricity from coal just a decade ago, in just another year it's expected to be just a quarter. Wind is also expected to produce more energy than hydro in the US in just a short time as well. Trump doubles down on opposition to emergency relief aid for Puerto Rico, drawing criticism Theresa May to resign before next phase of Brexit New York county declares state of emergency over measles outbreak, bars unvaccinated children from public spaces. Facebook announces new ban on white separatist and white nationalist content to go along current white supremacist ban, and starts directing searches for certain keywords to resources for leaving hate groups. India shoots down satellite, becoming the fourth country to have done so behind the United States, Russia, and China. Riding on their success, India declares itself a space power. Lithuania jails Soviet defense minister for 1991 crackdown Betsy DeVos defends Special Olympics budget cuts: 'We had to make some difficult decisions.' An investigation by a journalist from al-Jazeera, found two One Nation activists trying to solicit political donations from the NRA, in return for supporting loosening Australia’s strict gun control laws. Pentagon reallocates one billion dollars to Trump's border wall European Parliament passes a sweeping law reforming copyright that's opposed by both corporations and human rights activists Trump recognizes the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, angering Syria. US budget deficit hit $234 billion in February, a new monthly record Mueller report finds no collusion, not enough evidence of obstruction Eyebrows were raised across Ireland, after remarks made during a visit by Northern Irish DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson to the Fine Gael's annual conference after he had suggested that [the Republic of] Ireland should join the Commonwealth. Health Minister Simon Harris has called for anti-vaxxers be called out, and stop the hypocrisy of the HPV vaccine. According to the organisers, around over a million people have marched from Park Lane to Westminster in Central London demanding a revocation of Article 50 and having a “People’s Vote”. This is one of the biggest protests that have even happened in the UK, just behind the Iraq War protest in 2003. Islamic State in Syria defeated, 'caliphate' eliminated Special Counsel for the Trump-Russia investigation Robert S. Mueller III submitted his final report to Attorney General William Barr. UKIP is reportedly considering standing Sargon of Akkad (Carl Benjamin) as a candidate despite his history of racism and misogyny. A U.S. jury unanimously ruled that glyphosate, a commonly used weedkiller, is a cancer factor. While the World Health Organization concluded in 2015 that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority disagree. E.U. members voted in 2017 to renew the license for this chemical. Researchers at the University of Bath are growing artificial meat in the lab. However, getting people to purchase artificial meat once it becomes commercially available could be difficult due to the naturalistic fallacy. New Zealand bans semi-automatic assault riflesAnd it only took 6 days. Devin Nunes, perhaps best known for pushing a conspiracy theory about Trump being persecuted by the FBI in a memo, is suing a fictional cow over a parody Twitter account, with inevitable Streisand effect consequences. (Alternative link to a Guardian report which mentions a goat who is not being sued.) Bitcoin is not going so well for US neo-Nazis. US judge temporarily halts oil drilling nationwide in landmark climate change ruling [https://www.dw.com/en/bosnian-serb-radovan-karadzic-loses-war-crimes-genocide-appeal/a-47987278 Former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadžić has lost his appeal in the charge of war crimes at the International Tribunal in the Hague. The judge has also increased his sentence from 40 years to life.] There is anger at Alaska Governor Dunleavy's planned tour of statewide town hall meetings promoting his budget plan which includes cuts to Medicare and education after it was revealed that Americans for Prosperity were sponsoring and managing the events. Russia has passed two laws that block websites and hand out punishment for "fake news" and material deemed insulting to the president, state or the public. Citing 17th century procedure on resubmitting failed bills, Parliament cannot vote on the Brexit deal again unless the terms are changed. A 50-year old man in Surrey is being held for suspected terrorism offences after a rampage of car-smashing and racist chanting concluded with the stabbing of a teenager of Southern European heritage. Three people have died and five have been injured in a shooting on a tram that has happened in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Police are saying they are treating the incident as act of terrorism and that officers are wishing to speak to 37-year-old Turkish-born Dutchman Gökman T., who is the possible suspect of the incident. Update: Police have arrested the man in question. Update: According to Dutch television, the man has psychological problems and has domestic issues which could be the cause. Native Americans on the are expressing doubts and worries about Christian-backed charities on the reservation, fearing that these Christians will attempt to proselytize in an attempt to stamp out the tribal religion of the reservation. A bill to legalise mixed-sex civil partnerships has passed the lower chamber of the House of Commons. Currently only same-sex civil partnerships are legal in the UK. Students in more than 100 countries skip school to protest against inaction on climate change. The "Tragedy of the Commons" was written by a white supremacist based on false history and eugenics. US House votes to make Mueller Report public 420-0. An Australian senator is facing international backlash over comments shifting blame to the New Zealand government for the Christchurch attack for allowing Muslim immigration. The far-left Red–Green Alliance has changed its long-held demand for a Danish referendum on European Union, in favour of reforming it for its 2019 Euro-election manifesto. Party spokesperson Pernille Skipper saying ''“It was a mistake. Brexit has been an eye-opener for us as a party."'' A mass shooting takes place at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Death toll has reached 40, with perhaps 27 injured. Update: 23:37 NZT - 49 Dead, 48 in hospitals as of 9pm. Death toll now 50 as additional body found inside mosque.  Senate passes resolution to overturn Trump's national emergency declaration  British Parliament has voted 412 to 202 to seek a delay on leaving the EU.  Polish newspaper runs front page list on "how to spot a Jew". Southern Poverty Law Center is filing a lawsuit against a decision by Betsy DeVos to divert federal finance from the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant which is used to make schools healthy and safe, to purchase firearms for teachers. Jacob Wohl Faked Death Threats Against Himself California governor signs executive order stopping state's death penalty for now Democrats reintroduce Equality Act to ban LGBTQ discrimination After the crash of one of them in Ethiopia several days ago, the European Union grounds Boeing 737 Max 8 jets as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it sees "no basis" to do so joining several other countries that have done the same. Update: Boeing decided to ground all of its 737 Max 8 jets after the FAA found new evidence at the crash site "out of an abundance of caution." U.S. pilots have complained that the aircraft is difficult to control after takeoff. For a second time, the UK Parliament has voted against Theresa May's Brexit plan by 391 votes to 242. A bill banning discrimination on the grounds of gender identity such as intersex and transgender, has passed both chambers of the Dutch parliament. All the parties voted for it, apart from the fundamentalist Reformed Political Party and the anti-immigrant Party for Freedom. Now it just needs signing by King Willem-Alexander. Algerian president Bouteflika announces he will not seek a fifth term amid massive protests against his reelection bid. Dozens have been charged in a multimillion-dollar college admission bribery scandal. Italy bans sending unvaccinated children to school. Netanyahu draws criticism for saying that Israel is "the national state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people." Member states approve EU-wide protections for whistleblowers who expose crimes Chinese lawmakers urge scrapping family planning laws as birth rates plunge A massage parlor has been selling political access to Donald Trump at Mar a Lago to Chinese business executives. Indonesian woman accused of murdering Kim Jong-nam, the estranged brother of North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un, has been acquitted of any wrong doing. The Canadian government will stop funding homeopaths to go to Honduras. On International Women's Day, a group of German academics are proposing that the German language scrap the grammatical gender and make all nouns neuter. 157 people have died after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed. A Ugandan-born woman becomes the first person in the UK to be found guilty of the crime of female genital mutilation for harm she did to her 3-year-old-daughter and is sentenced to 11 years in jail. Malaysian jailed for more than 10 years for insulting Islam. The Trump administration is considering asking U.S. allies hosting U.S. military bases to pay more for them, though Trump has not decided on any burden-sharing option. South Korea recently agreed to pay more. Trump and previous presidents have been pushing for NATO allies to pay more for their own defense while critics say overseas bases are costly. Massive power outage affects most of Venezuela. Trump inauguration took money from foreign shell companies new report reveals Paul Manafort has been sentenced to 47 months for fraud, while federal guidelines recommend 19 to 24 years. The U.S. State Department has rescinded an award for female journalism to Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro, due to the journalist's personal criticism of Trump. French cardinal convicted of child sex abuse cover-up. Saudi Arabia criticized by 36 countries over human rights. US officials made a list of 59 mostly American reporters, lawyers and activists to question at the border. Russia passes law to jail people for 15 days for "disrespecting" government. Cynthia Newman, a dean of Rider University in New Jersey, resigns because a campus ban on homophobic restaurant chain Chick-fil-A was "an affront to my Christian values", insisting "Chick-fil-A’s corporate purpose statement is to glorify God, to be faithful stewards of all that’s entrusted to them and have a positive influence on everyone who comes into contact with them." Briton Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson) livestreams himself doorstepping journalist Mike Stuchbery's home, not once, but twice in one night. He also threatened to dox other reporters during the livestream. The Conservative Party has suspended 14 members in response to a growing problem of members posting racist material and comments on social media. Counterterrorism police are investigating letter bombs sent to two airports and a major railway station in London. Pompeo announces tightening of Cuba embargo. The current leader of the German CDU party Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer came under fire after joking in a televised carnival show, about Berliner cafés having “third-sexed bathrooms". Saying, "It's for the men who can't decide if they want to sit or stand when they pee.", which were seen as being anti-LGBT+.

A £1.6 billion government fund has been launched to boost less well-off towns in England after Brexit, which some see as a bribe to get MPs to vote for May's Brexit deal. US coal plants are contaminating groundwater with toxins, new analysis finds The US has closed its consulate to Palestine, merging it into the embassy to Israel. Officers who shot man eight times will not be charged The US ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, has come under fire in an interview by suggesting that the UK open up its market to American farmers post-Brexit. An influential group of MPs are proposing that the smoking age should be raised from the current age of 18 to 21. The University of California system has canceled its $10 million annual subscription to Elsevier's scientific journals. This comes amidst a growing movement of scientists fed up with the business model of academic publishing, and calling for the expansion of open access publication. The final report on chemical weapons use in Douma, Syria finds [https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/news/2019/03/opcw-issues-fact-finding-mission-report-chemical-weapons-use-allegation reasonable grounds for the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon, likely molecular chlorine. The OPCW's mandate did not include identifying who is responsible.] The joint investigative mechanism between the UN and OPCW was responsible for apportioning blame but was disbanded after Russia vetoed an extension of its mandate.