Short Stories of Politics and Unrest in the World

Despite the rise of influential movements such as #MeToo, gender inequality has remained stagnant over the past decade, according to a news study released by the United Nations on June 12. Among both men and women, "biased gender social norms are prevalent worldwide: almost 90% of people have at least one bias" among the seven biases analyzed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said. Read More

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has alleged that the Indian government threatened to shut the platform and raid employees' houses in the country. In an interview with a US-based YouTube channel, Mr Dorsey said India requested removal of several tweets and accounts linked to the farmers' protest in 2020. Twitter was also asked to censor journalists critical of the government, he alleged. Read More

The United Nations secretary-general has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to spread disinformation and hate, as he backed a proposal for the creation of an international watchdog to monitor the technology. Speaking at the launch of a new policy on disinformation on June 12, Antonio Guterres said that while technological advancement has been used for some good, the risks posed by AI threatens democracy and human rights. Read More

An overnight missile attack by Russian forces has killed at least ten people and wounded at least 28 others in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the city mayor, Oleksandr Vilkul, said on June 13. A five-story residential building in the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was hit early on June 13 morning. Three cruise missiles were shot down, but others got through, say officials, with at least one person still caught under rubble. Read More

Donald Trump denied dozens of criminal counts of willfully mishandling US government secrets and scheming to prevent their return, in a historic first appearance on June 13 in federal court. It was the former president's second arraignment as he battles a deluge of legal threats, coming just 10 weeks after he was charged with a string of felonies in Manhattan over hush money payments to a porn star. Read More