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Staying informed on current events can be overwhelming. To ease your burden, we’ve compiled the most noteworthy, remarkable, or simply astonishing stories from this week.
This week witnessed a political thriller as Ohio’s 12th Congressional district special election came down to the last vote, with just a sliver of difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates. Experts eagerly analyzed the potential implications for the upcoming November midterms, while around the world, natural disasters and international conflicts brought a wide array of newsworthy stories.
10. Ohio’s Special Election Came Right Down to the Wire
Phew, that was a close one. On Tuesday, amidst several other high-stakes races, Ohio’s 12th Congressional district special election came down to the wire. Held after Republican Pat Tiberi resigned from Congress, it saw GOP candidate Troy Balderson face off against Democrat Danny O’Connor for a seat in the US House of Representatives. The outcome was, to say the least, captivating.
Balderson narrowly triumphed with 50.2 percent of the votes against O’Connor’s 49.3. (The remaining 0.5 percent went to the Green Party candidate.) While most news outlets had called the race by the time of writing, it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, as several thousand absentee and provisional ballots are still to be counted. Although it’s unlikely that O’Connor will pull ahead, it was an incredibly tight race in a district that President Trump had won by 11 points.
That wasn’t the only nail-biting race of the evening. In Kansas, the GOP gubernatorial primary between establishment-backed Jeff Colyer and Trump loyalist Kris Kobach left both candidates practically tied. A controversial recount is expected before a final winner is declared.
9. Chicago Was Rocked By A Surge of Shootings
From Friday afternoon to Monday morning, Chicago endured an alarming surge in violence reminiscent of a scene from a post-apocalyptic film. A staggering 74 people were shot in a violent spree that resulted in 13 fatalities and overwhelmed hospital emergency rooms. While most of the violence was tied to gang activity, at least four incidents involved gunmen randomly opening fire.
Chicago has been grappling with an escalating wave of violence over the past few years, with police seemingly unable to curb the tide. While everyone has their own theories (and, as is often the case on the Internet, these theories tend to boil down to ‘we need more or fewer guns!’), the truth is that no single cause can be pinpointed. The violence in America’s third-largest city has become so entrenched that addressing it would require a monumental, collective effort.
One of the few positive aspects of this tragic situation is the heroic work of Chicago’s emergency responders. Saving 61 out of the 74 gunshot victims is nothing short of a miracle, and they deserve recognition for their bravery and dedication.
8. Argentina Voted Against Legalizing Abortion
No matter how it turned out, the historic vote in Argentina’s Senate was bound to disappoint millions. On Wednesday, a bill to legalize abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy was put to the test, as both pro-abortion and anti-abortion activists gathered outside. After a grueling 15-hour debate, senators cast their votes, ultimately rejecting the bill by 38 to 31. For pro-choice advocates, it marked a crushing defeat to a passionate campaign that had swept across the nation.
Currently, Argentina only permits abortion in cases of rape or if the mother’s life is at risk. As a result, there were around 45 deaths attributed to botched illegal abortions last year. The unexpected passage of the abortion bill in the House by just four votes in June sparked a nationwide movement as people rallied for the outcome they desired.
Although Wednesday’s rejection was a setback for the pro-choice side, there’s a growing sense that legalization is inevitable in the future. Recent polls show that 60 percent of Argentines are in favor of a 14-week limit on abortion.
7. Canada and Saudi Arabia Found Themselves In the Ultimate Diplomatic Clash
Despite the constant spotlight on President Trump’s tweets, it was a tweet from Canada’s foreign policy account that likely triggered the largest diplomatic uproar of the year. Last Friday, Canada issued a tweet urging Saudi Arabia to release its political prisoners. It was a routine tweet, similar to ones sent daily by various liberal Western governments, but with one key difference: someone in Riyadh took notice—and they were furious.
In an unexpected move, Saudi Arabia responded to the tweet by launching a diplomatic counterattack. The Canadian ambassador was expelled, and all trade between the two countries was frozen. Around 16,000 Saudi students were ordered to leave Canada and pursue their education elsewhere. Saudi investment managers abroad were compelled to sell off all their Canadian assets at a loss. Even Saudi citizens receiving medical treatment in Canada were relocated to other countries.
As of now, Saudi Arabia is threatening additional actions, including potentially canceling an arms deal signed with the Trudeau government in 2016. Some analysts believe this extreme reaction may be Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s way of asserting his nation’s strength on the global stage.
6. South Sudan Agreed To End Its Civil War
In the summer of 2011, South Sudan officially became the world’s newest nation after breaking away from Sudan. After decades of oppression by the Muslim-majority north, the predominantly Christian south was expected to begin a new era of freedom and security.
That hope lasted less than two years. In December 2013, a disagreement between the ambitious leaders of the new country's rival factions erupted into civil war. For the past five years, armed groups have carried out brutal acts of violence, leaving tens of thousands dead and an already struggling nation in ruins.
This week, President Salva Kiir finally signed an agreement with rebel leader Riek Machar and other opposition groups to cease hostilities and form a power-sharing government. If all parties honor their commitments, it will mark the end of one of Africa’s most devastating civil wars.
Unfortunately, that’s a big “if.” A similar deal in 2015 collapsed amid violent riots that resulted in hundreds of deaths and forced Machar to flee the country. Let’s hope history does not repeat itself.
5. New Mexico Police Uncovered A Depraved Training Camp For School Shooters
Last Friday, law enforcement conducting a search for a missing child executed a warrant at a compound in New Mexico owned by Siraj Wahhaj. What they anticipated to find likely fell short of the horrors that awaited them. Wahhaj, alongside his accomplice Lucas Morton, was holding 11 children in conditions so deplorable they resembled a third-world refugee camp. In addition, they had three women who appeared brainwashed, and a large stockpile of weapons.
However, the truly disturbing twist came a few days later. It was revealed that Wahhaj wasn’t merely holding the children captive; he was training them to carry out school shootings.
Wahhaj appeared to be motivated by radical Islamic ideologies, instructing the malnourished children to perform mass shootings. Alarmingly, local authorities had been aware of the compound and Wahhaj’s extremist views for some time but failed to act sooner. Tragically, by the time they intervened, it was too late for at least one victim. The body of the missing four-year-old Abdul-Ghani was discovered buried on the site.
4. Traffic Protests Brought Bangladesh To A Standstill
On July 29, a speeding bus tragically struck and killed two schoolchildren in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. While such incidents are unfortunately all too common in the country, where 4,000 pedestrians lost their lives to vehicles in 2017 alone, this particular case sparked an unprecedented outcry. Led by students, thousands of protesters flooded Dhaka, bringing the bustling city of 18 million to a complete halt.
Last Saturday, the authorities responded forcefully, using tear gas and rubber bullets against the teenagers blocking the streets, resulting in numerous injuries. The crackdown quickly escalated, with foreign journalists also becoming targets in the widening violence.
As of now, the protests continue, but there’s a growing concern about the excessive force used by the police. In an effort to quell the unrest, the government has promised the death penalty for anyone responsible for deliberate road deaths.
3. A Devastating Earthquake Hammered Indonesia
On Sunday, a massive earthquake struck Indonesia’s Lombok island, leveling buildings and wreaking havoc. In the immediate aftermath, over 90 people were confirmed dead—a tragic toll by any standard. However, it wasn’t until later in the week that the true scale of the disaster became clear. By Thursday, authorities had sharply revised the death toll, which now stands at 319.
The Lombok quake was a nightmare. A popular tourist destination, the island was bustling with people when disaster struck. The buildings that survived the initial tremors were further weakened by 335 aftershocks. When another massive aftershock hit on Thursday, more buildings crumbled, sending panicked crowds into the streets. The full extent of the damage and casualties from this latest aftershock remains unclear.
The situation continues to worsen. Around 1,400 people were severely injured in the quake, and 165,000 have been forced to flee their homes. Approximately 20,000 people remain stranded, cut off from supplies and without access to clean water. With a humanitarian disaster unfolding and the death toll expected to climb, the Lombok quake is on track to become Indonesia’s deadliest of the decade, possibly surpassing the 2010 Mentawai disaster.
2. Congressman Chris Collins Was Arrested For Insider Trading
Early on Wednesday, the FBI executed a raid on the home of Republican Congressman Chris Collins. Along with Collins, his son and his son’s fiancée’s father were arrested. While FBI raids involving political figures often make headlines with the word “Russia” attached, this case was quite different. The federal government charged Collins with violating insider trading laws to prevent losses nearing $800,000.
The charges stem from Collins’s role as the second-largest shareholder in an Australian biotech company. Authorities claim that Collins learned that the firm’s lab trials were not yielding expected results and warned his son to sell his shares before the information became public. His son, in turn, informed his fiancée’s father, and together they sold their stock before it plummeted, losing 92 percent of its value.
If found guilty, Collins and his co-conspirators could face up to 20 years behind bars. However, Collins insists that this is a politically motivated attack and has vowed to remain on the ballot for the upcoming November midterm elections.
1. Kosovo And Serbia Floated The Idea Of A Land Swap
At the conclusion of the Kosovo War in 1999, the cease-fire lines presented a couple of discrepancies. The predominantly Albanian Presevo Valley remained under Serbia’s control, while northern Kosovo, home to 50,000 ethnic Serbs, was placed under the jurisdiction of Pristina.
Since then, these two regions have remained a constant point of contention between Pristina and Belgrade, with the latter refusing to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence. Recently, officials from both governments proposed a highly controversial solution to break the diplomatic deadlock: a territorial exchange. Under this plan, Kosovo would acquire the Presevo Valley, while Serbia would take control of northern Kosovo, north of the Ibar River.
The idea was first introduced by Kosovo’s president and later endorsed by Serbia’s foreign ministry. While it is encouraging to see the two adversarial neighbors inching toward some form of compromise, many fear that further ethnic fragmentation in the Balkans could trigger a chain reaction, potentially leading to violence.
