June 23 Istanbul, Turkey: Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party won the mayoral election in Istanbul for the second time this year. After Imamoglu initially defeated the…
Russia releases captive whales
After releasing the first of nearly 100 killer whales and belugas captured by four privately owned companies back into their natural habitat on June 27, activists are now criticizing Russia…
Guatemalans recount election results after allegations of voter fraud
After allegations of voter fraud caused by a computer malfunction in the recent presidential and legislative elections, the Guatemalan Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced on June 20 the country will…
This Week Around the World – June 16–23:
June 16 Argentina; Uruguay; Paraguay: All of Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Paraguay experienced a massive power outage, leaving some 50 million people without power. According to TeleSUR, the blackout…
Hong Kong protests extradition bill
Protests have erupted in Hong Kong after the Chinese territory’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed a new extradition bill that would allegedly assist in the closing of a year-old murder…
A ‘revolutionary escalation’ in Sudanese protests
After months of calling for a civilian-led government, Sudan’s protest leaders called for nighttime demonstrations in Khartoum amid the standoff with the ruling military council on June 17. Thousands of…
Citizens elect 751 European Parliament members
Citizens from the 28 European Union member states voted to elect 751 European Parliament members from May 23–26 in the world’s second largest democratic exercise in history. The European Parliament…
Wikipedia takes Turkey to court
Wikipedia filed a lawsuit against Turkey with the European Court of Human Rights regarding the ban on the website that has been in place since April 29, 2017. The current…
Human-elephant conflict
Botswana, home to almost one third of the world’s African elephant population, recently lifted a ban on elephant hunting. Approximately 130,000 wild African Elephants reside in the country, some of…
216 people rescued from Mediterranean
Approximately 216 migrants and refugees were rescued from two dinghies in the Mediterranean Sea and taken to Malta by an armed forces patrol boat on May 25. At least four…
Taiwan first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 17, which went into effect on May 24. Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples had the…