RationalWiki:What is going on in the world?/February 2024

February 2024[edit]

24

A British man has been arrested and put in a Qatari jail after being caught in a police sting operation against LGBT individuals using Grindr. His brother also reports that the authorities are refusing to give the necessary antiretroviral drugs he needs as he is HIV+.

13

Israeli soldiers opened fire on Gazans gathered around food aid trucks. At least dozens were killed, and hundreds injured. The aid trucks attempted to flee which caused more injuries. Hamas warned that the incident could endanger recent negotiations for a ceasefire. Update: There are some contradictory accounts about the exact events. Joe Biden's optimism about an upcoming ceasefire agreement appears to have withered in response to the incident.

14

Ghana’s parliament passed a bill that would put those identifying as LGBTQ+ in prison.

24

Apple has killed off its electric car project, saying there is a lack of profit in pursuing such an idea.

23

Active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force Aaron Bushnell self-immolated outside of the Israeli embassy in the U.S. as a form of protest. He died of his injuries. This is the second self-immolation in protest of the Israel-Hamas war.

15

South Korea defence chief reports that the DPRK has shipped approximately 6700 containers of munitions to Russia. Much of the exports were traded for food and he also reports that North Korea is prioritising exports over domestic arms manufacturing.

26

Police were called to a warehouse in Glasgow after a scammer created and charged £35 per head for a badly made Willy Wonka experience. The scammer used AI created text and pictures on its promotional website.

39

There were neo-Nazis openly identifying themselves as Nazis at CPAC, NBC reports. The report states they mingled with mainstream conservatives at the event, "discussed 'race science' and antisemitic conspiracy theories", and used racial slurs. A senior CPAC fellow condemned the attendees.

16

Joe Biden states he's hopeful for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas by March 4, after Hamas reportedly softened its demands. Biden said: "My national security adviser tells me that we're close … it's not done yet." An anonymous Israeli official told CNN that Israel was "surprised" by Biden's optimism.

15

Somebody mailed Donald Trump Jr. "white powder" in an envelope alongside a death threat. Trump Jr. states this was the second such letter he received. According to authorities, they believed the powder substance was not deadly, but tests were "inconclusive".

24

Sunak has been told to tone down the new Criminal Justice bill over plans to criminalise homelessness, including arresting for smelliness and camping in doorways.

44

Sweden will officially become part of NATO. Hungary has approved their accession to the military alliance after some feet-dragging.

44

Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, could run completely out of water within months. Residents are already facing severe water shortages, with many taps running entirely dry for most of any given day.

11

New law in Tennessee allows state officials to refuse to approve gay marriages.

21

Clarence Thomas hires Crystal Clanton as a law clerk, who has previously been accused of sending explicitly racist text messages including one that said "I hate black people".

28

Jury finds three longtime NRA executives, including its hardline former leader Wayne LaPierre, liable in a civil trial in which they were accused of misspending millions in donated money to fund lavish lifestyles.

3

A trans-exclusionary lesbian bar is opening up in London. Considering lesbians are more accepting of trans women than any other sexual orientation group, this looks like it'd turn into a TERF bar, full of straight women, rather than a lesbian bar.

21

Jack Posobiec, an actual crypto-Nazi who has put triple parentheses and "1488" in his tweets before, was a guest at CPAC. He used his speaking time at a panel hosted by Steve Bannon to call for the end of democracy. Elsewhere, he gave a speech on stage attacking immigrants and homeless people, adding "the West will rise again."

30

Vice News has evidently folded.

15

Far-right newspaper, Israel Hayom leaked the lyrics for Israel's Eurovision 2024 song "October Rain", which caused a lot of controversy, since it has references to the 7 October attacks from Hamas. Israeli broadcaster Kan confirmed to Reuters the translated text to be accurate. Kan also mentioned that they will withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest if the EBU disqualifies it.

32

German Bundestag votes on cannabis legalization, one of the ruling coalition's key election campaign promises. Update: The law was passed 407 - 226 (and four abstentions), legalizing controlled recreative use of cannabis by April this year. Bundestag English Source

31

Biden impeachment inquiry appears to be falling apart. According to the head of the inquiry himself, the "math keeps getting worse".

28

A trove of documents linked to China's surveillance state has leaked. Per AP: "They reveal, in detail, methods used by Chinese authorities [to] surveil dissidents overseas, hack other nations and promote pro-Beijing narratives on social media."

17

Some red states seek Medicaid cuts for low-income adults (usually with some exceptions, e.g. disabled or elderly people; nonetheless could impact hundreds of thousands of people) by implementing work requirements to receive assistance. It's hoped that a second Trump administration would be more favorable to this policy, as the Biden administration hasn't approved work requirement expansions the way that Trump's administration did in his first term.

24

A private company has successfully landed the first American spacecraft on the Moon since 1972.

16

DeSantis appears to backtrack some on Florida's law establishing a book-banning process, which he signed.

41

Virtually all of Alex Jones’ bankruptcy creditors, including those from Sandy Hook, have agreed to a plan to liquidate all of Jones' assets leaving him with virtually nothing.

41

A non-binary student was beaten to death in a school bathroom after being forced to use the girls'. The school suspended the student for the incident and didn't call for medical attention. They died in hospital the next day. The district was previously targeted by Libs of TikTok.

31

Russian police shut down a My Little Pony fan convention to investigate claims that there was "LGBT propaganda" as well as "horror and darkness". For whatever reason, the police were ultimately unable to find evidence of LGBT propaganda or horror/darkness.

-14

The Biden administration won't hold Israel to account for planned Rafah offensive that doesn't protect civilians.

20

Xitter decided to suspend Alexey Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya's newly launched account after only one day of launch. After an outcry, it was restored 45 minutes later.

18

Martine Moïse, wife of former Haiti President Jovenel Moïse who was assasinated 3 years ago, has been indicted for his murder.

13

The UN appalled by reports of sexual violence committed against Palestinian women by the IDF

-20

Israel grants gas exploration license in areas considered to be within Palestine's maritime boundary

26

Alabama Supreme Court rules that frozen embryos are 'children' after fertility clinic patient accidently drops embryos on the floor. The fertility clinic is being sued for "wrongful death" .

33

Ukrainian forces withdrew from Avdiivka after a months-long Russian assault due to dwindling ammunition supplies, making this Russia's first major battlefield victory in months. President Biden blamed the stalling of US material aid due to Congressional inaction for Ukraine's defeat.

32

Georgia Republican senator Carden Summers knelt down to tell an 8-year-old girl he'd protect her. Then, after learning she was trans, backed away.

17

Another day, another mass shooting: this time at a Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, Missouri.

27

A transphobic woman has had her discrimination case against the National Women's Council of Ireland thrown out by a works tribunal after the organisation refused her entry to one of their meetings.

33

Trump fined $355 million and ordered to cease business in New York state for three years.

25

Piece of shit promotes AIDS denialism from delusional conman to an audience of millions.

41

Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in Russian prison. Reports claim he went for a walk, felt unwell and suddenly collapsed.

32

FBI informant who alleged the Bidens had taken money from Ukrainian energy company charged with lying to the FBI - "Smirnov, 43, was charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record."

3

After promising to make public healthcare data more accessible, Biden seems to be turning back on that promise. The newly proposed "reforms" will increase fees and decrease accessibility to "data used to support major healthcare reforms."

40