Compiled from various mainstream news outlets.
Australia
Fraser Anning, the Australian lawmaker who made offensive comments about Muslims and the Islamic faith in general in the wake of the New Zealand shooting has been voted out of office. Anning blamed Muslims and immigration for the bloodshed in March, not the self-proclaimed racist that killed 51 people. Preliminary elections show that he has failed to gather enough support to keep his seat in parliament. His comments drew much backlash and he even had a teenager thrown an egg at him. The prime minister even ended up supporting the so-called “Egg Boy.” The senator is the head of the far-right, anti-immigration party and has even used the term “final solution” in talking about banning Muslims in the region, a direct evocation of Nazi-Germany. (USA Today)
North Korea
A new report by the London-based Korea Future Initiative (KFI) shows that thousands of North Korean women have been sold into sex slavery in China. Tens of thousands, perhaps up to 200,000 North Koreans have fled into China, and one estimate states that as many as 60% of the women became involved in the sex trade against their will. This new report indicated that girls as young as 12 have been raped and forced into cybersex. Other reports show girls and women being forced into prostitution and sold to Chinese men as wives due to China’s unbalanced sex ration following their now relaxed one child policy laws. (CNN)
Nepal
The Sherpa guide Kami Rita has scaled Mt. Everest for the 24th time, extending his own record and bringing him closer to his goal of touching the peak 25 times before retiring. He is 49 years old, and has been climbing since the 90s, continuing the tradition of his father before him. The weather has been good this May, the best time of year for making an ascent. It was so good, in fact, that Rita’s 23rd summit was also this week. (NBC)
Austria
The Austrian far-right party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) has seen a string of resignations in the wake of a video scandal. The video shows FPO officials talking with the niece of a Russian oligarch about buying stake in an Austrian newspaper in order to switch its bias in favor the FPO, and in exchange, the government would give contracts to the Russians. So far, all the FPO ministers in cabinet positions have resigned. This comes at a time when the European Union is hosting elections for the European parliament and as far right parties were expected to gain as much as 20% of the parliament in the upcoming elections, there is no telling how this scandal might damage or reverse the gains they were expecting. (BBC)