The world in 2015 review: a year of living dangerously
We look back at the global spread of jihadi ideology and terror, tensions in international relations and a glimpse of hope in efforts to tackle climate change
Good things did happen. Iran and the western powers reached a landmark agreement on circumscribing Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme. Israel was unhappy, as were Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states – but most of the rest of the world breathed a deep sigh of relief.
The year brought signs of progress – at long last – on the global effort to fight climate change, after negotiators from nearly 200 countries signed up to an ambitious deal to limit temperature rise. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel inspired many across Europe by opening her country’s borders to Middle Eastern refugees, at considerable cost to her personal political position.
14-year-old girl ‘raped as revenge for election defeat’ kills herself in India
Two men raped a young girl whose mother was winning the local election
A 14-year-old girl who was gang-raped as ‘revenge’ after her mother won a local election has reportedly killed herself.
The girl’s mother was a candidate of the block development council (BDC), a local government faction in the Mirzapur district of north-east India.
In a horrific twist on what is locally known as “Panchayat poll rivalry”, two men allegedly kidnapped the sleeping girl and raped her in a nearby field last Wednesday, according to the Times of India.
The girl, her mother and family went to report the alleged crime to the police but were sent home only with verbal assurances. The girl, who has not been named, hanged herself in her home the same day.
Opinion: Generation hashtag rebels in Africa
2016 is set to be a year of elections in Africa. Hopes for more democracy are dim but young Africans are starting to kick against autocratic rulers, writes Claus Stäcker.
As the year came to a close, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame secured backing for a potential three further terms in office in a referendum with a Soviet Union-style electoral outcome of 98.4 percent. The Rwandan electorate is not stupid. Maybe they opted voluntary for stability and the certainty that accompanies the familiar. In other words, they chose security over liberty.
Kagame led Rwanda out of the chaos that followed the 1994 genocide, putting it on a successful course for reform. It seemed that the ends justified the means. Analysts refer to this as “development dictatorship” and there are reasons to prefer it to anarchy. But Kagame has his hand firmly on the tiller and he won’t let anybody else anywhere near it. The only genuine opposition party, the Democratic Green Party (DPGR), is muzzled in the true authoritarian tradition and it wasn’t allowed to mount a campaign against the referendum. This was a vote in which Rwandans were offered no choice.
A World War II aircraft carrier’s new mission: promote science education
New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum preserves history while inspiring young Americans to become bold, innovative, and daring explorers themselves.
NEW YORK — That the NASA space shuttle Enterprise sits on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is no small point of pride for its president, Susan Marenoff-Zausner.
Indeed the shuttle symbolizes the museum’s mission: to use history as a platform to propel future generations forward. As the first woman and non-military person to helm the nonprofit cultural and educational institution since it opened in 1982, Ms. Marenoff-Zausner wants today’s students to be bold, innovative, and daring – just like the Enterprise.
“We are privileged to have all of this ‘cool stuff’ – our artifacts such as planes, and propellers, and collections such as diaries and other personal items of actual former crew members to excite our children about learning,” Marenoff-Zausner says. “This ‘stuff’ helps to teach them about the past and connect them to the present and the future.”
El Nino weather: Worries grow over humanitarian impact
The strongest El Nino weather cycle on record is likely to increase the threat of hunger and disease for millions of people in 2016, aid agencies say.
The weather phenomenon is set to exacerbate droughts in some areas, while increasing flooding in others.
Some of the worst impacts are likely in Africa with food shortages expected to peak in February.
Regions including the Caribbean, Central and South America will also be hit in the next six months.
This periodic weather event, which tends to drive up global temperatures and disturb weather patterns, has helped push 2015 into the record books as the world’s warmest year.
“By some measures this has already been the strongest El Nino on record. It depends on exactly how you measure it,” said Dr Nick Klingaman from the University of Reading.
“In a lot of tropical countries we are seeing big reductions in rainfall of the order of 20-30%. Indonesia has experienced a bad drought; the Indian monsoon was about 15% below normal; and the forecasts for Brazil and Australia are for reduced monsoons.”
Most reporters killed in 2015 ‘didn’t die in war zones’
Total of 110 journalists killed globally in 2015, Reporters Without Borders say, most were in “countries at peace”.
| Human Rights, War & Conflict, Europe, France
A total of 110 journalists were killed around the world in 2015, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have said, noting that while many died in war zones the majority were killed in “countries at peace”.
In its annual report published on Tuesday, the Paris-based organisation said 67 journalists were killed in the line of duty this year – up from 66 in 2014.
It listed war-torn Iraq and Syria as the most dangerous places for journalists, with 11 and 10 deaths respectively, followed by France, where eight journalists were killed in an assault on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
A further 43 journalists around the world died in circumstances that were unclear, the group said. An additional 27 non-professional “citizen-journalists” and seven other media workers were also killed in 2015.