RIGHTS: ICYDK, many Spanish words are categorized as either masculine or feminine (think: amigos vs amigas). So lately, in an effort to include people who don’t identify as male or female, some Spanish speakers have begun using gender-neutral language (think: amigues). Enter: Buenos Aires, which just blocked the use of gender-neutral language in schools - one of the first such bans in the world. Over in the US, a court allowed Georgia’s 6 week abortion ban to take effect. The bill was signed in 2019 but quickly halted for violating Roe v. Wade. And in other news, Prez Biden just unveiled a $2.3 billion plan to fight climate change…but stopped short of declaring a climate emergency. Cue some backlash.
WORLD: Yesterday, Turkish warplanes struck a vacation resort in northern Iraq, killing at least 8 tourists and injuring more than 23. Iraq pointed fingers at the Turkish Forces for the attack. Turkey pointed fingers at the Kurdish Workers’ Party, a political militant group whose fighters have been known to take refuge in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, a top Russian official just announced that Russia may be setting its sights on parts of southern Ukraine. Reminder: throughout the war, Russia has focused much of its assault on the east. On that note: the European Commission is telling countries to cut their gas use by 15 percent amid fears that Russia could halt supplies. Big deal, since Russia supplied Europe with 40 percent of its natural gas last year.
POLITICS: Sri Lanka has a new prez: Ranil Wickremesinghe. You know Wickremesinghe as the country’s former prime minister who had announced his intent to resign earlier this month after mass protests. So you could probably imagine that those protesters are not too happy about Wickremesinghe’s new role as prez - especially since he’s already vowed to crack down on demonstrations. Stay tuned. In other news, it looks like Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will compete to replace UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Sunak is a former chancellor of the Exchequer, while Truss is the country’s foreign secretary. Now, the two will face off in a vote of the Conservative party’s membership, with the results declared in September.
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