Three Things You Should Know (Beside Coronavirus!)

If you’ve checked the news recently then you probably read about the latest COVID-19 cases, how countries are dealing with the spread of the virus and maybe even government updates on what to do to stay healthy. It seems like the longer this pandemic lasts, the more repetitive the news becomes. Of course it’s important to stay on top of new developments, but just because we’re all at home in quarantine doesn’t mean that the rest of the world stops as well. So here are 3 events from around the world that happened in the last month you should know about:

Chiang Mai fires:

In early April, northern Thailand was struck by devastating forest fires, some of the worst experienced in decades. These fires burned down almost 90 km2 of forest land with over a third of the damages occurring in the Chiang Mai province. These fires led to a spike in air pollution levels with some areas reaching almost 12 times above levels considered safe to breathe by the World Health Organisation. These fires reportedly originated from Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in Chiang Mai. Thailand’s environment minister, Varawut Silpa-archa has blamed some of them on foragers and arsonists. And thirty-eight people have been arrested and prosecuted for causing wildfires. Thankfully, the fires have since then been reduced, and reforestation plans are beginning to be set in motion. The process is stated to begin on May 21 with the Royal Forest Department providing the needed seedlings.

Canada Bans Assault Weapons:

In response to the deadliest rampage in modern Canadian history, where a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 22 people after a 12-hour reign of terror in mid-April, the Canadian government declared 2 weeks later that all assault-type weapons were banned. The prime minister Justin Trudeau stated that it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in Canada starting May 1st. While the ban was effective immediately, the disposal of the weapons will be subject to a two-year amnesty period with some form of compensation for gun owners. According to CNN, the legislation for this ban was in the works since 2019 after Trudeau reelection after his failure to make good on a 2015 election promise to restrict sales of assault weapons in Canada.

Saudi Arabia stops the death penalty for minors:

Around the end of April the state-backed Human Rights Commission of Saudi Arabia stated that they will abolish the death penalty for people who have commited crimes as minors. This statement was part of a royal decree and followed an announcement that public floggings would also be banned. For the minors who have been found guilty of committing crimes, their sentences will be a maximum of 10 years in a juvenile detention facility. According to the guardian, this new decree will spare the lives of 6 men who were accused of participating in anti-government protests during the Arab Spring uprisings while they were under the age of 18. Saudi Arabia, which has one of the world’s highest rates of execution, with the execution of 187 people last year alone, hasn’t provided information on when this new reform is intended to be enacted.