World News

Compiled from various mainstream news outlets.

Sri Lanka 

Curfew restrictions across the nation of Sri Lanka have now been in effect for a second night in the wake of massive anti-Muslim riots. The riots broke out Monday night in response to the massive shooting conducted by Islamic terrorist groups on Easter Sunday. However, the riots, organized by a far-right Buddhist group have seen an elderly Muslim man stabbed to death and massive property damage to Muslim-owned shops and mosques. The Sri Lankan Muslim community, which constitutes about 10% of the island nation’s population is now living in fear as the riots continue to rage. The United Nations has called for peace, but it is unsure when that will happen. (BBC)

Mexico 

Mexico City has been engulfed in its fourth day of dangerous levels of pollution thanks to massive forest fires raging near the capital. 23 fires are currently raging with over 700 having been reported throughout the entire year. The nation has experienced 77 days of above average temperatures and the fires have become so bad that authorities are encouraging residents to stay indoors and avoid contributing to the particulates in the air by not cooking with coal or wood and to not smoke. The smoke from these fires is also spreading and could have wide-ranging consequences from Central America to the United States. (NBC)

Argentina 

An Argentinian lawmaker by the name of Héctor Olivares died on Monday after being shot several times on Thursday, May 9, outside of the congress building in Buenos Aires. Police do not currently think that the attack was politically motivated but rather that Olivares’ friend, Miguel Marcelo Yadón, was the target. Yadon, shot five times, was killed on the spot. Six people have so far been arrested, all of whom are connected to a local gang. (BBC)

Iraq 

The small but growing atheist community in Iraq is facing increased persecution in the wake of the country expelling the last remnants of ISIS. Atheism has seen a small uptick in the nation after the U.S. invasion in 2003, but now many in the Islamic scholarly community and in the government see it as a dangerous growing trend that could endanger future generations. Recent actions taken involve the raid of a bookstore and its atheist owner for selling works that encourage the rejection of Islam. (NBC)

Pakistan 

The polio virus has been almost eradicated across the world, with only a few holdouts, including Pakistan. However, much effort has been put into ending it, with polio cases going from 300 in 2014 to just 15 last year. However, recent anti-vaccination efforts in the country have been reversing much recent progress. In fact, it has become so bad that a health facility was burned down and a health care worker was killed. Cases of vaccine refusal have gone from fewer than 250, to over 80,000, with people claiming that the vaccine has left their children sick. This new challenge is being met by many health organizations working with the Pakistani government and community members to try to get people to willingly take the vaccines. (Al Jazeera)