July 1 Mexico: Presidential elections held on Sunday saw the victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who ran with the left-wing Movimiento Regeneración Nacional Party. Of the 93.5 percent of votes counted, Bloomberg reported Obrador won with 53 percent, while his closest rival Ricardo Anaya carried 22 percent. José Antonio Meade finished third with between 15 and 16 percent of the vote, and Jaime Rodriguez came in last with five percent. The new president-elect will assume office December 1 of this year.
July 1-7 Afghanistan: Nineteen people are dead and 20 have been wounded in a July 1 suicide attack in the city of Jalalabad, a majority of whom were members of the country’s Sikh and Hindu minorities. According to the BBC, the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Additionally, NATO announced July 7 it opened an investigation into an apparent insider attack by Afghan forces which left one U.S. soldier dead and two wounded. The surviving soldiers are in stable condition; however, they have not released any other details regarding the attack.
July 2 Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho: The three-year-old victim of a June 30 stabbing attack died in Salt Lake City after succumbing to her injuries. Ruya Kadir, daughter of an Ethiopian refugee, was celebrating her birthday in Boise when the accused, Timmy Earl Kinner, attacked her and eight other members of the party, all of whom were refugees from Iraq, Syria and Somalia, and five of whom were children. Kinner was arraigned at the Ada County Courthouse and is being charged with first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated battery and use of deadly force, and six counts of injury to a child. As of July 6, four of the original nine victims, aged two, six, 23 and 37, are still hospitalized with a family member reporting their conditions have changed little. One of the victims was stabbed in the neck and remains paralyzed on her left side.
July 2 Batangas, Philippines: The mayor of Tanauan, Antonio Halili, was assassinated after being shot in the chest by a sniper rifle while attending a flag-raising ceremony. Though Halili was suspected of having ties to the drug trade, he was known for being tough on drug dealers, even parading them in the streets in what was known as the “walk of shame.” He died en route to the hospital and the suspect remains at large; however, according to The Philippine Star, Halili’s family said they believe the assassination to be an inside job by the government.
July 2-6 Thailand: A team of 12 boys and their coach were found alive in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave July 2 after they went missing June 22. They became trapped when the cave flooded from the monsoon rains and have yet to be rescued do to the particularly tricky and dangerous situation. On July 6, former military diver Saman Kunont died after losing consciousness as he worked to place oxygen tanks along the five-hour route to the chamber where the team is trapped.
July 3 India: The International Criminal Police Organization, otherwise known as Interpol, has issued a notice for the arrest for Nirav Modi, a billionaire jeweler suspected of playing a role in defrauding the Punjab National Bank approximately $2.2 billion. Modi is suspected of colluding with senior members of the PNB in order to acquire funds without the means to repay them. According to German news outlet Deutsche Welle, Modi is suspected to be hiding in the UK where he fled last month and claimed asylum.
July 3-4 Nantes, France: Protesters and police clashed in the city of Nantes overnight between July 3 and 4, damaging several buildings and around 30 cars as participants threw Molotov cocktails. Protests sparked in response to the death of a man in his 20s when he was fatally shot after attempting to avoid a checkpoint, reversing his car into a police officer as he attempted to escape.
July 4 Poland: A reform bill passed in April that forces 37 percent of the Supreme Court’s judges into early retirement went into effect July 4 amid countrywide protests. The bill reduced the mandatory retirement age from 70 to 65 years old, giving the 27 affected judges until Tuesday night to resign. Thousands protested at the courthouse in Warsaw, as president of the court Malgorzata Gersdorf along with 16 other judges arrived for work Wednesday morning.
July 4-7 Egypt: A verdict placing over 1,500 people on a national terror list has been overturned by the Court of Cassation during a July 4 ruling. Many of the defendants were members of the now illegal Muslim Brotherhood, including the former President Mohamed Morsi. Due to a 2015 anti-terrorism law, passports and assets for anyone on the terror list could be frozen for three years.
Separately, a tourist from Lebanon was sentenced July 7 to eight years in prison for spreading false rumors, attacking religion and public indecency, according to Middle East Eye. Mona el-Mazboh was at the Cairo International Airport last month about to return home when she was arrested for complaining about Egypt in a video uploaded to social media. According to Al Jazeera, the video included complaints of sexual harassment, poor restaurant service and stolen belongings including money. She also called Egypt “a son of a bitch country” and referred to men as pimps and women as prostitutes.
July 5 Jordan-Palestine Border: The Swedish activist t arrived at the Jordanian-Palestinian border of Allenby Bridge July 5 after an 11-month journey. Ladraa left Sweden by foot in August 2017 to raise awareness about the Israeli occupation. In his journey, he walked through 15 countries and 4,800 kilometers (approximately 3,000 miles). After six hours of interrogation, he was ultimately denied entry into the West Bank by Israeli authorities. However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas bestowed him with Palestinian nationality and the Medal of Merit for his support.
July 6 Pakistan: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine amounting to $10.5 million after an anti-corruption court found him guilty of connection to the Panama Papers. Sharif, who is currently attending to his wife while she receives treatment in London, has not specified a return date to Pakistan.
July 7 Somalia: Seventeen people were wounded in simultaneous car bombings conducted by al-Shabab forces near the presidential palace and a government security building. Militants stormed the government security building while exchanging fire with police. According to The Guardian, nine people died in the attack and the battle lasted a couple hours, after which the three attackers were killed.
July 8 Tunisia: Nine officers were killed in an ambush while conducting a regular patrol of the northwest region of the country. According to Xinhua Net, a Tunisian offshoot of al-Qaida, Okba Ibn Nafaa, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ongoing Bali, Indonesia: A volcano dormant from 1963 until September 2017 erupted July 2 for the second time since June 30, hurling incandescent rocks and sending ash 6,500 feet into the air as lava flowed 1.2 miles down. Hundreds of flights were grounded as a result, and 590 people were evacuated from a four-kilometer exclusion zone. The volcano remains active with the latest eruption on July 4. As of July 8, 3,200 people have been evacuated into 29 shelter camps.
When I first came to PSU, I was a Chinese major, having studied three years prior in high school alongside French and Japanese. After the first year, I took a hiatus. I don't believe in going to college straight out of high school, but it's what was expected. I returned a few years later to study Japanese at PCC and Arabic at PSU. I am now a junior majoring in International Studies: Middle East and Arabic. In the future, I would like to work as a journalist or humanitarian aid worker in the region, helping people who lack economic and political backing and media exposure.
