Jan. 7 Syria: Air strikes continue in Eastern Ghouta
At least 17 civilians—including four children—were killed in a series of airstrikes carried out by Syrian government forces in the Eastern Ghouta region. These attacks came in the wake of a previous series of raids that killed at least 23 people on Jan. 3 and are believed to be part of the Syrian government’s strategy to retake rebel-held regions of the country.
Jan.7 Sudan: Student killed, opposition leader arrested as protests continue
One high school student has been killed and six others injured during widespread protests over rising bread prices. Authorities also arrested Omar Al-Dageir, president of one of Sudan’s largest opposition parties. The protests, which broke out in the capital city of Khartoum and later spread across southern Sudan, followed a similar protest on Jan. 6 in response to government decisions to remove subsidies as part of a series of economic reforms in line with International Monetary Fund recommendations.
Jan. 8 Iran: Revolutionary Guard declares end to anti-government protests
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the branch of Iranian military tasked with protecting the Islamic republic system, has reported an end to anti-government protests that broke out last month following a jarring rise in food prices. The protests, which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei blames on “enemies of Iran,” have resulted in the deaths of at least 21 people and the detainment of hundreds more.
Jan. 10 Myanmar: Journalists covering Rohingya face 14 years in prison
A Myanmar court has charged reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been covering the crisis of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, with violating a colonial-era national security law known as the Official Secrets Act. If convicted, the journalists will face up to 14 years in prison.
Jan. 12 Washington, D.C.: Trump faces international condemnation over ‘shithole’ remark
U.S. President Donald Trump has been harshly criticized at home and abroad after reportedly having used the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and African countries at a White House meeting on Jan. 11. Trump has since denied using the word in question but has stood by his disapproval of a Senate immigration plan that he says would bring immigrants from countries that “are doing badly.”
Jan. 13 Poland: Hundreds protest proposed abortion restrictions
Demonstrators took to the streets in front of the parliament building in Warsaw to protest a proposed bill that would ban abortion in the case of irreversible fetal damage. A 2016 bill, also sponsored by the ruling Law and Justice Party, aimed for a near-total ban on abortions but was rejected following mass protests. Poland’s current abortion laws, among the strictest in Europe, allow the procedure only when a pregnancy poses a threat to the life or health of the mother or is a result of rape or incest.
