Here’s your March reminder that you live in a news bubble
Hi Friends!
We’re introducing a bi-weekly series where we ask people from around the world — sorry Flat-Earthers — to share developing stories from their own countries.
A humble reminder that the world is a large place…
🇬🇧United Kingdom:
Last week, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found collapsed on a park bench in Salisbury after being poisoned with a military grade nerve agent. It’s not yet clear who is responsible for the attack, but fingers point to the Kremlin. This attack is reminiscent of the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence agent who had become a British citizen and a staunch critic of the Kremlin. How will London and the international community respond to another instance of alleged Moscow “meddling”?
📍Anonymous
🇲🇦Morocco:
A press agency released a photo of King Mohammed VI of Morocco recovering after undergoing surgery in Paris for an irregular heartbeat. Critics (article in Spanish) were quick to notice that the Queen was absent from the photo… leading the rumor mill to speculate as to why.
📍Liz Yaslik, 27, Research Analyst
🇯🇵Japan:
March 11th marked the 7th anniversary of Japan’s devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which killed 15,000 people after triggering a tsunami and an unprecedented meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. To this day, around 35,000 people remain displaced and in temporary housing due to infrastructure failures, topographic changes, and excessive radiation levels.
📍Mina Hamamoto, 27
🇹🇭Thailand:
A high profile criminal case is heating up against Thai construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta, who was caught last month poaching and eating a rare black leopard protected by law. Now, a deputy national police chief is claiming that knives key to the investigation have been chemically tampered with — rendering DNA collection impossible. Allegations of evidence tampering come just days after additional bribery charges were added to the case.
📍 Anonymous
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🇮🇹Italy:
Italy has elected its first black senator: Tony Iwobi, a Nigerian who immigrated to Italy on a student visa in the 1970s. Ironically, he’s a member of the country’s far-right, anti-immigrant League party. Iwobi believes immigration “shouldn’t cost a cent to the host country.”
📍Alessandro Tomasino, 27, Sales Area Manager
🇮🇱 Israel:
Israel’s announced participation in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is nearly overshadowing the ongoing corruption allegations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2017, an official representative of Israel announced that the country would be forced to leave the contest in the coming year due to the closing down of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority; however, the 3-time Champion has now announced that it will be joining after all.
At its most bare-bones, Eurovision is an international song contest… but it’s so much more than that! Originally created by the European Broadcasting Union in 1956 to unify Europeans following World War II, it is now one of the most watched events in the world.
📍Ronen Adler-valdes, RMA specialist, Tel Aviv
Got a story we should highlight? Send your submissions to @hellonavigo or #newswithoutborders on Instagram or Twitter.
— Nicholas Graham Platt
