Compiled by Nathan Whiteman
BRAZIL: The Center for Disease Control is warning pregnant women not to travel to Brazil for the upcoming Olympics due to the spread of the Zima virus borne by mosquitos. The virus is linked to an epidemic of thousands of babies being born with undersized heads and brains.
SAUDI ARABIA: According to The Guardian, the United Nations has prepared a report describing human rights violations committed recently by Saudi Arabia. The report claims that the Saudi government has committed “widespread and systematic” strikes on civilians in Yemen.
CHINA: Neuroscientist Zilong Qiu of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences claims that his team has generated the ‘genetic error’ responsible for autism in more than 12 monkeys who display symptoms such as reduced sociability and increased stress responses. His team now hopes to discover a way to reverse the condition.
EUROPE: Dutch commissioner Frans Timmermans claims that 60 percent of Middle Eastern arrivals to Europe are not refugees but economic migrants. Timmerman says that the high number of migrants leaving for economic, rather than safety, reasons could influence the tenor of the current immigration debate taking place throughout Europe.
JAPAN: Heavy snowfall in western Japan has caused heavy casualties over the last few days. Fifty to 60 centimeters of snowfall melting on mountainsides has caused landslides that are currently believed to have killed eight and injured 610 civilians.