China celebrates The Year of the Dog, across The Philippines one billion girls lift a finger to protest violence against women, U.S.A. mourners in Parkland, Florida comfort one another after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Israel launches air strikes on the Palestinian City of Gaza, and a new study in France link ultra processed foods to cancer.
Catch up on the week in global politics & culture! ☕🥐
China
Culture News: On February 16th, people came together at the Longhua temple in Shanghai to pray and to celebrate the Lunar New Year, marking the Year of the Dog. The Lunar New Year fell on February 16 this year, with celebrations in China scheduled to last for a week.
Japan
Culture News: Hackers descended on Japan earlier this week for the SECCON International Competition. Fifteen teams from Japan, the United States, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Poland and Indonesia competed their skills for cyber securities at the the international cyber security contest in Tokyo.
Music News: Japanese pop group ‘Virtual Currency Girls’ performed onstage in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. The eight-member girl group held a concert for their fans and Coincheck owners. The cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc. lost over $500 million due to a cyber heist last month.
United States
Culture News: People visited a memorial at Pine Trails Park on February 17, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. Police arrested former student Nikolas Cruz and charged him with 17 murders for the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14.
Culture News: Former U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama participated in the unveiling of their official portraits during a ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, on February 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. The portraits were commissioned by the Gallery, for Kehinde Wiley to create President Obama’s portrait, and Amy Sherald that of Michelle Obama.
Film News: It’s a MASSIVE hit! The critically acclaimed film “Black Panther” made over $200 million dollars in North America during the four-day President’s Day weekend! The film features actors Chadwick Bosenan, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan.
United Kingdom
Fashion News: Cara Delevingne stole the show yesterday in a rainbow cape before designer Christopher Bailey’s final bow at the Burberry show during London Fashion Week.
Culture News: A J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere (Nigerian, 1930-2014) retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum celebrates his famous “Hairstyles” series, a project he pursued for over thirty years, travelling throughout Nigeria to document a wide range of hairstyles worn by women. In his approach to photographing the heads of women, primarily from behind, sometimes in profile, and more rarely frontally, he maintained a consistent visual language.
New Zealand
Culture news: Auckland hosted its annual Pride festival promoting awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues and themes. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)
Brazil
Culture News: Revelers performed during the first night of Rio’s Carnival at the Sambadrome in Rio, Brazil, on February 12, 2018.
Africa
Environmental News: The water crisis hit Cape Town causing schools to ration water. Most dams in the region are down to just about 20% capacity. If dam levels continue to decline, the city’s taps will run dry by June.
Political News: The top six candidates in Sierra Leone’s March 7 presidential elections held a debate on Thursday evening in the capital of Freetown. The parties that participated include Foreign affairs minister, Samura Kamara, Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) Rtd Brig. Gen. Julius Maada Bio, Alliance Democratic Party (ADP) Mohamed Kamaraimba Mansaray, Coalition for Change Head Samuel Sam, and the National Grand Coalition (NGC) Musa Tarawally, a businessman. Electoral campaigning was officially declared open by the Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission (NEC) on February 5, 2018.
Israel
Political News: Israeli launched an air strike in Gaza City on February 17, 2018. Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, Gaza medical sources said, after four soldiers were wounded in an apparent bomb attack on the border with the Palestinian enclave. The explosion and ensuing Israeli air strikes marked one of the most serious escalations in the Hamas-ruled enclave since the Islamist movement and Israel fought a war in 2014.
Political News: Seventeen-year-old Palestinian Ahed Tamimi, a well-known campaigner against Israel’s occupation, stood trail in Israeli military court at Ofer military prison in the West Bank village of Betunia on February 13, 2018. The Israel military trial of the Palestinian teen was held behind closed doors sealed off from the public and news media.
Lithuania
Culture News: A mural depicting U.S. President Donald Trump lowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on February 17, 2018 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Trump has on numerous occasions expressed admiration for Putin.
Culture News: Graffiti on the outskirts of the city center of Vilnius reading: ‘If money can’t buy your love, maybe Bitcoin will do?’ is an interpretation of a famous line from The Beatle. The recent dramatic rise in the value of Bitcoin virtual currency is fueling speculative investor interest in cryptocurrencies.
Germany
Political News: German Chancellor and leader of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel and the British Prime Minister Theresa May met at a press conference at the Bundeskanzleramt, on February 16, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Topics they spoke about included Britain’s exit from the European Union.
France
Science News: On February 16th, a team at the Sorbonne in Paris released a study suggesting that ‘Ultra Processed’ foods including things like mass-produced bread, ready meals, instant noodles, fizzy drinks, sweets and crisps are tied to the rise in cancer.
The Philippines
Education News: Students of St. Scholastica’s College raised their fingers during the annual global event dubbed the One Billion Rising at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, February 14, 2018. Held every Valentine’s Day on February 14, One Billion Rising highlights the issue of violence against women, with the name taken from a United Nations statistic that one in four women will experience a violent crime in their lifetime.
