Indonesia
Andalas State University has on its application that students must declare that they are not LGBTQ+. In Indonesia, this is considered a mental illness. The student council of Andalas University says, “LGBTQ+ is a disease, worse than prostitution, rape, and even murder.” The university’s administrators are conforming to the government’s conservative views, which uses LGBTQ+ issues to cover the real issues of the country. The basic rights of this group of people are being violated.
South Africa
New discoveries of the Homo Naledi, which were first found in 2013 in the Rising Star cave system, show that these creatures were alive at the same time as early humans in Africa, closer to our species—Homo Sapiens’—evolutionary characteristics. The Naledi were more primitive, closer to the Homo floresiensis found in Indonesia. It seems that the Naledi lived in isolation from these other variations; in or near the caves that their remains were found in.
UK
Immigration is falling since the Brexit vote, leading to companies not having workers who are skilled enough for jobs. This has led to an increase in vacancies with none to fill them. Migrant worker numbers have also dropped at the fastest rate they ever have, which has also caused an increase in vacancies. The economy in the U.K. is going downhill while the conservatives look to heavily reduce immigration to the tens of thousands.
North Korea
Kim Jong Un is detaining American citizens as human shields to protect himself rather than as something to negotiate with the US. Kim Jong Un is using the detaining to stop the US from using military force against North Korea or to remove him from power. The dictator has also been increasing nuclear missile testing. He’s going to continue detaining Americans and is playing the US president, who says he would be “honored” to meet Kim Jong Un.
Compiled by Britt Beermann
