Category: International

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed its employees last month of its plans to discontinue overseas epidemic prevention work in 39 of 49 countries after severe budget cuts, according to CNN. Reports by The Atlantic also indicated that the country’s flagship public-health agency is facing internal scandal after the resignation of CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald in late January. According to a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, Fitzgerald’s departure came as a result of her “complex financial interests,” involving investment in tobacco stock.

The CDC’s Center for Global Health seeks to prevent the spread of disease abroad through monitoring between 30 and 40 outbreaks in other countries daily and training more than 10,000 people as disease detectives, according to the organization’s website. These efforts to stop outbreaks at their source have been funded mostly through a five-year supplemental package, which was awarded to the CDC in 2014 to respond to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

According to The Atlantic, Congress appropriated $5.4 billion at that time, most of which was directly dedicated towards quashing the epidemic. Around $1 billion was allocated to help developing countries respond to infectious diseases. This funding is now drying up, and the CDC, with no promise of future funding, has been forced to significantly downsize its international work. The director of a division of the Center for Global Health, Dr. Nancy Knight, said, “We estimate approximately an 80% reduction in the staff that are based overseas.”

Countries losing funding include the Democratic Republic of Congo, which recently experienced its eighth Ebola outbreak, and China, which recently underwent its worst outbreak of H7N9 bird flu. “This is also going to result in a significant reduction of the staff we have at headquarters,” Knight added. Dr. Rebecca Martin, the Center for Global Health’s director, said overseas work will remain in 10 priority countries: India, Thailand, Vietnam, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Guatemala.

The CDC’s looming funding cliff has been met with anxiety and criticism from experts. The CDC’s former director, Dr. Tom Friedan, said the loss of prevention activities overseas will “significantly increase the chance an epidemic will spread without our knowledge and endanger lives.” Additionally, Dr. Friedan noted that while some have downplayed the importance of disease prevention, it is these preventative efforts that will decrease the cost—both economical and human—of infectious disease. “We can either help other countries stop disease outbreaks abroad or fight them here at home,” said Dr. Tom Frieden.

Mary Chu, who was part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the recent Ebola outbreak, agreed with Dr. Friedan that prevention is crucial. “To respond to an outbreak, you need to have a presence on the ground to execute emergency operations, and that has to be based on existing trust,” she said. Unfortunately, scaling back the current CDC presence on the ground will likely be necessitated by financial realities. “People have to prepare and live their lives,” says Linda Venczel, from PATH, a nonprofit working in global health. “People are packing their bags and looking for other jobs. Things will unravel pretty quickly,” she said.

While beset by budget cuts and the worst flu season in a decade, the CDC is now also facing an unexpected shift in leadership. Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, the organization’s director, has resigned because of her troubling financial investments in tobacco and health care companies. Her resignation came less than a day after reports revealed that the month after she became director of the CDC, she had purchased stock in Japan Tobacco Inc.  Dr. Fitzgerald said she had been unaware of the tobacco-stock purchase, according to the Wall Street Journal. In an email, she said that the purchase was made by an outside entity contracted by the couple’s investment manager and that she didn’t have control over which stocks were bought and sold.

Even before this information became public, lawmakers in Washington had expressed frustration with Dr. Fitzgerald’s investments, which required her recusal on several major health crises, including cancer and the opioid epidemic. Senator Patty Murray, the senate Health Committee’s top Democrat, said Dr. Fitzgerald’s resignation represents “yet another example of this Administration’s dysfunction and questionable ethics.” According to The New York Times, Dr. Anne Schuchat, a veteran official at the CDC, has been named acting director for the present.

Sarah is a senior double majoring in English and biology.

When questions are raised about the legitimacy of an election it can cause doubts among voters about the efficacy of the electoral system.  In Liberia, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has received 56 complaints about the current presidential election so far. After the first round of voting on October 10th, several political parties have expressed concern over alleged misconduct in the voting process. Since no candidate received an absolute majority, under the Liberian constitution, a runoff election between the two forerunning candidates will be held. The final voting on November 7th will decide between George Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change and current vice president Joseph Boakai, of the Unity Party.

The New York Times reports party complaints of late poll opening, that NEC never counted the ballot papers issued, and even an instance of ballot stuffing by a presiding officer. With these questions about the electoral system, it is unsure how many voters will participate in the next round of voting. Rodney Sieh, editor of the Liberian daily newspaper Front Page Africa, told the Times that voters are “very disenchanted by these stories” and he stressed the question of whether they will vote in the second round.

Most recently the Unity Party, which has been in power since 2006 with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has added its complaints to the other allegations raised. On October 28th Front Page Africa reported the Boakai campaign confirmed that the Unity Party has filed a complaint with the NEC. This action has raised some concern that the Unity Party would threaten to boycott the election. Front Page Africa reports that it would not be an unprecedented move in the country’s elections. In 2011 the Coalition for Democratic Change threatened to boycott the election over allegations about the results. This happened after their party’s candidate lost the first round of voting to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

However, Mo Ali, the Unity Party’s Official Campaign Spokesperson, emphasizes that boycotting the election is not a consideration. “We are going to participate in the runoff and we should all continue with our campaign,” he told Front Page Africa, “Those that are engaged in sending out such information are detractors that are intending to create the situation in which our partisans and supporters will not turn out to vote.”

The Coalition for Democratic Change, despite having raised objections after losing the elections in both 2005 and 2011, has remained quiet with allegations this time around. Their candidate, George Weah, is currently in the lead with 38.4% of the vote.

The democratic form of government is still a relatively new development in Liberia. According to the U.S. Department of State’s fact sheet on its relationship with Liberia.  The country began as a settlement of the American Colonization Society, and they declared independence from the society in 1847. From 1876 until a coup in 1980 the country was dominated by the True Whig Party. Then in 2005, after a series of military and transitional governments, the current government system was formed. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first democratically elected woman head of state in Africa. This current election represents Liberia’s first time replacing a democratically elected president with another democratically elected president. Whatever the outcome of the election, it is an important time in Liberia’s national history.

Last  Thursday, April 13, the United States dropped what is considered the largest and most powerful non-nuclear bomb on an Islamic State tunnel complex. The bomb was dropped in Afghanistan in attempt to take action against the terrorist group ISIS.

According to CNN “A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the ‘mother of all bombs,’ was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission.”

The bomb, CNN reported, was  “ a 30-foot-long, 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition.” This bomb cost “$16 million, and more than $300 million to develop” as stated by the New York Times. The bomb, so large it had to be dropped from a cargo carrier, detonated before it hit the ground and could be seen from 20 miles away.

President of the United States, Donald Trump, authorized the attack and described it as a “another very, very successful mission.” Trump has handed over “total authorization” to execute operations against ISIS. While the United States authorized this attack, they have yet to release the death toll publicly or discuss the specific damage. Fox news reported, “There are under 1,000 ISIS fighters in eastern Afghanistan. Gen. John Nicholson said hundreds of U.S. airstrikes in the past two years have cut the number down by two-thirds.” Fox news also reported,  “Afghan officials say 36 ISIS fighters were killed in the strike.”

With the possibility of loss of civilian life, the White House and Military officials have stated clearly their decisions were the best option for action against the Islamic State. They have also stated their other options of a land attack would have resulted in loss of American and allies of the United States life.  However, this is the third American lead airstrike since Trump took office. Previous bombings have claimed the lives of  3,471 civilians, according to the New York Times.

Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, claimed during his daily press briefing at the White House, that the strike would lessen operational space for ISIS. The Afghanistan Government was kept in the loop surrounding the discussion of the drop of the massive bomb however the former Afghan President condemned it.

A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice may allow employers to prohibit employees from wearing clothing with “a political, philosophical, or religious sign” according to Al Jazeera. The court claimed the decision was made to protect the freedom of businesses to enforce their own dress code, and operate as they feel would best benefit the work environment.

The ruling was made over the cases of two women in France and Belgium who were dismissed for refusing to remove hijabs in the workplace. According to Al Jazeera, because of the circumstances surrounding the ruling, many critics are calling it a “thinly veiled measure targeting Muslims.”

But Muslims aren’t the only group being targeted by the ruling. It would also allow employers to prohibit Jewish kippahs, Sikh turbans, and even Christian jewelry such as crosses or rings. Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis said that “the decision sends a signal to all religious groups in Europe.”

According to The Independent, Rabbis aren’t the only ones speaking out against the ruling, as the United Sikhs advocacy group called the ruling a “disturbing ruling allow[ing] employers to override fundamental human rights.”

While the ruling has garnered considerable backlash, many conservative leaders in the EU find it to be a refreshing step in the right direction. François Fillon, a conservative candidate in the French presidential election, in an article in the Independent,called the ruling an “immense relief” and an aid to “social peace” . He believes the ruling is an essential step toward correctly dealing with the influx of Muslim immigrants into Europe, along with other attempts to ban the burka and hijab in certain public places in France last year.

Aside from the religious implications of the ban, it has broader implications for the general public. If this ruling is upheld, workplaces will not only be able to ban religious symbols, but philosophical and political symbols as well. This means that any clothing associated with an ideology, be it political, philosophical, or religious could be banned from workplaces.

The court ruling did acknowledge that the ban may constitute an “indirect discrimination” if people adhering to a particular belief , such as Muslims, are adversely affected by the ban. But that discrimination, according to an article in the Independent, would be permissible if it was “objectively justified by a legitimate aim.”  The difficulty in individual rulings, would be discovering if the aim was legitimate – such as a policy of neutrality – or if it really construes direct discrimination against a people group.

Many feminist Muslim campaign groups have also spoken out against the decision, saying that it unfairly affects Muslim women, and may serve to push them out of the workforce. As many Muslim women refuse to take off the traditional style of dress, it may prevent them from holding jobs with certain companies, and adversely affect the community as a whole.

The court expressed concerns over the potential outcomes of the ruling, stating that “we fear that employers will treat it as a license to discriminate at the point of hire,” but stood by the ruling despite concerns.

Several people were killed in Melbourne, Australia on Monday morning when a plane crashed into a shopping mall.

The chartered flight had taken off from Melbourne’s Essendon airport Tuesday morning and was headed to King Island, an island located between the south shore of Australia and the island of Tasmania. According to the New York Times, a pilot aboard the plane reported a “catastrophic engine failure” moments before the crash. However, Victoria Minister for Victoria Police, Lisa Neville said the details surrounding the crash are still “being confirmed by police and fire services.” Reuters, a London based news agency, reported that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the crash.

All five individuals aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash. The names and nationalities of the deceased were not released as of Monday night. However, in response to a report that the individuals were U.S. citizens, the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, while declining to comment, said it was working with local authorities.

A statement released by the Embassy said, “We are unable to confirm any details about the nationality or identity of any of the victims. The U.S. Embassy in Canberra and the consulate in Melbourne are working closely with local authorities to assist in any way possible.” The statement also extended their “…deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all those who died in today’s tragic crash.”

The plane, described by the New York Times as a “twin-engine Beechcraft Super King Air” crashed into a storage area in the back of the Direct Factory Outlet Mall. According to Reuters, witnesses at the scene stated the plane exploded upon impact. Firefighters, paramedics, and police were rushed to the scene of the crash, where the flames were extinguished. Both the roof and infrastructure of the mall were damaged.

The connects to the airport where the plane crashed near the end of the runway. The mall was set to open about an hour before the crash occurred. This was somewhat fortunate as no one on the ground sustained any injuries, according to assistant commissioner of Victoria police, Stephen Leane. He stated,  “…certainly if we look at the circumstances, we’ve been very lucky…” based on “…the time of day and who was around.” Leane also said, “it was a catastrophic plane crash…”

While flights in and out of Australia’s main airport were unaffected, the Essendon airport, where the crash occurred, remained closed as of Monday night. Additionally, parts of the Tullamarine Freeway remained closed for part of the day Monday as there was a significant amount of scattered debris as a result of the crash.

In a CNN article, Neville said she expects authorities to have updates on the personal identities of the deceased shortly.