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Weekly Summaries

15th of November – 22nd of November

Tensions at the Poland-Belarus border

Thousands of migrants were trapped at the border between Belarus and Poland for weeks. Poland, a member of the European Union, refused to open the border. Now, an increasing number of migrants have decided to seek asylum in Belarus instead. This could cause many problems for Belarus, a country that has few jobs and other opportunities. Towards the end of the week, Belarusian authorities then cleared the camps at the border and moved the migrants to a warehouse instead. The question of what will happen to the migrants now remains unanswered.

Other News

  • Sudan’s prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, was reinstated on Sunday after being in house arrest for four weeks
  • A new Portuguese law is considered revolutionary in its efforts to regulate remote work conditions. The law effectively prevents employers from contacting their employees outside of working hours and from monitoring their work.
  • President Biden of the U.S. and President Xi of China met virtually in a three-hour long summit to keep “communication lines open”
  • Germany “suspended approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,” according to the New York Times. The move cause gas prices in Europe to rapidly increase
  • An explosion in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, killed at least three civilians. The explosion was later described as an “extremist attack” with three suicide bombers also dying. 
  • A self-portrait of Frida Kahlo sold for $34.9 million last week, setting a new record for the most expensive artwork by a Latin American artist at the auction Sotheby’s
Categories
Weekly Summaries

25th of January – 31st of January

Elections in Portugal

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was re-elected this past week. He received 61% of the votes, a number that may come as a bit of a surprise because Portugal introduced a new lockdown just two weeks ago over concerns of overwhelmed hospitals. This may also explain the low turnout, which was only 39% of the population. 

President Rebelo de Sousa will begin his second 5-year term with a strong foothold: the candidate with the second highest number of votes — the Socialist candidate Ana Gomes — received only 13% of the votes. In Portugal, the role of President is second to that of the Prime Minister who is in charge of the day-to-day affairs. As President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa can, however, dissolve Parliament and veto some legislations and is also involved in foreign policy and national security.

Italy’s Prime Minister Resigns

The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned this past Tuesday after weeks of political conflicts. At the moment there is still hope that Italian politicians may come up with a solution but otherwise early elections may be the only solution. Especially opposition parties are very keen on early elections with polls suggesting that the Nationalist Party may win. 

Other News

  • The House of Representatives sent an article of impeachment against Donald Trump on Monday.
  • This past Tuesday, President Biden and President Putin agreed to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia.
  • Thousands of farmers entered New Delhi, India, on Tuesday with their tractors to protest against new farming laws.
  • A new law went into effect in Poland on Wednesday which bans abortions in almost all instances (in cases of rape, incest, and threat to the life of the mother abortions are still allowed). Thousands went to the streets to protest, vowing to keep fighting.