Singapore
On Tuesday, Oct. 24, the Singapore Land Transit Authority announced that, starting February, it will not allow any increase in the number of private cars in an effort to eliminate traffic congestion. Singapore, being less than half the size of the city of Houston, but having double the population, has been plagued with the problem of not enough space and horrendous traffic jams for years. Currently, Singapore is one of the most expensive places in the world to own a car. Drivers must first buy a $37,000 USD certificate and then the actual car. The car itself is also subject to price mark ups due to various import and domestic taxes. This means that even an economy car, such as the Toyota Corolla, would cost about $81,400 USD.
Japan
On Monday, Oct. 23, Typhoon Lan blasted Japan’s east coast, killing seven and injuring almost 100. Although Tokyo was about 120 miles southwest from the eye of the store, the city was still slammed with 75 mile per hour winds. Shingu, which is 180 miles further southwest than Tokyo was flooded with 35 inches of rain. Rivers banks burst, flooding many of Eastern Japan’s streets. Collapsed roads and homes swept away by massive mudslides also tormented the country. The storm also disrupted the vote counting for the previous day’s general election. The storm was so massive that its area is larger than the country of Japan. This is the country’s twenty-first typhoon this season.
Egypt
At least 16 Egyptian police officers were killed and 13 were injured in a shootout with militants on Friday, Oct. 20. The shootout lasted several hours and occurred in Egypt’s Western Desert when the police attempted to raid a terrorist hideout. The raid was planned after Egypt’s national security forces received information that terrorists were in the Western Desert to train and carry out terrorist operations. As a result of the shootout, fifteen of the supposed terrorists were killed or injured.
Germany
In Munich, a man armed with knife attacked eight people on Saturday, Oct. 21. The suspected perpetrator, who is a local German and has been criminally charged before for theft, bodily harm, and drug offenses, fled the scene only to be arrested hours later. Police stated that the attack was not motivated by religious or political reasons, but rather they suspect the attacker to have psychological issues. The man assaulted six people, including a 12 year old child. None of the injuries were life threatening.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has compiled a registry of 367 of their citizens who are suspected to be gay. This was announced by journal published by Tajikistan’s Prosecutor General’s office. The journal did not state the methods used to the find the people put on the registry or the actual purpose of the operations. The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims the purpose of this list is to force these people to test for sexually transmitted diseases. While Tajikistan decriminalized homosexuality in 1998, according to the Human Rights Watch organization, the country has a “severe human rights record,” and is “deeply homophobic.” Several social justice groups believe that the government is using public health as an excuse to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.
Compiled by Stephanie Meyer
