Categories
Weekly Summaries

29th of March – 4th of April

The Ever Given is Freed

The giant container ship, which got stuck in the Suez Canal on March 23rd, has finally been freed. Completely blocking one of the most important trade routes for a period of six days, some argue that the blockage held up to $10 billion in trade each day as hundreds of cargo ships had to wait to pass through the Suez Canal. The economic impact is not the only consequence of the blockage, however. As global trade increased, ship sizes have increased as well. In fact, the Ever Given is longer than the Empire State Building in New York City is tall. The blockage has now shown that bigger is not always better, perhaps impacting how cargo ships will be built in the future.

Other News

  • The trial over the death of George Floyd began.
  • An ambush in a port town called Palma in Mozambique last week has left dozens of people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee. The Islamic State has since claimed responsibility.
  • Widespread famine is threatening to come up in Yemen. In the previous years, foreign aid helped cope with the famines, but with the current situation resulting in more countries focusing on their internal matters, the famine could prove to be disastrous in what is already the Arab world’s poorest country. 
  • Myanmar’s security forces have started attacking the media, arresting 56 reporters last week.
Categories
Weekly Summaries

28th of December 2020- 3rd of January 2021

Brexit Deal

More than four years after British citizens first voted to leave the EU, Brexit is really happening: something that many people did not believe until the last minute. The UK’s transition period ended with a “Christmas Eve trade agreement.” This means that Britain is now no longer a part of the EU’s customs union and common market. However, the trade agreement means that British financial firms will lose their biggest benefit of being an EU member: the advantage of offering services across the EU from a UK base. Although at the moment it looks like the Conservatives are for the agreement, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson may still face opposition from hard-liners and businesses. This past Wednesday, the deal was easily approved by Parliament. 

Earthquake in Croatia

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck in Croatia on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least six people, wounding dozens more, and leaving several towns in ruins. Tens of thousands of people were left homeless.

Other news:

  • President Trump signed a $900 billion pandemic relief deal
  • Argentina voted to legalize abortion
  • At least 16 people were killed and 60 more wounded at an airport attack in Aden, Yemen. The attack happened at the same time as an airplane with members of the newly-formed government onboard came in.