50 killed at mosques in New Zealand

@zahraalbad on Twitter

50 people were killed at prayer during two attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The shootings started with the Al Noor Mosque, where most of the victims were killed and injured, at 1:40 pm, and continued at the Linwood Islamic Centre. A 28-year-old Australian man, Brenton Tarrant, described as a white supremacist and member of the alt-right, was arrested by police and charged with the murders of the victims. The New Zealand Prime Minister and her cabinet have decided on changing the country's gun control laws. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that the cabinet was "absolutely united" in its decision and that the shooting was "worst act of terrorism on our shores."
Memorials have been placed all over Christchurch and the world to mourn the victims.


Indian newlyweds came to Christchurch with a dream. On Friday, that dream dieds
Shooting survivor posts to social media from hospital bed
Live New Update on Mosque shootings in New Zealand, CNN

1. How do you think New Zealand and other countries should deal with lax gun laws and gun violence?
2. What do you think of the attacks?
3. What can be done to prevent mass shootings, like this one, from occurring?

Deadly car explosion kills 11 people

A car bomb exploded on Thursday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing 11 people and wounding 16 others. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but it is believed, Al Qaeda did it because they have targeted that area before. On Saturday Shabab gunmen stormed a government building in Mogadishu after a suicide car bombing and ensued a gunfight, which ended with 15 people dead. On Tuesday a bomb was planted on a private luxury car exploded in Mogadishu's Hodan district killing the driver and injuring a nearby pedestrian.


1. Who do you think did the bombing?
2. Do you think the injured from the car bomb are going to die?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/world/africa/mogadishu-explosion.html

'A third of Africans' want to migrate

More than one in three Africans have thought about emigrating. People want to migrate because they want to look for work, they want to escape poverty and because they want to escape from economic hardships. Europe and North America are not one of the most popular destinations. Instead, they want to migrate within Africa. The people that are most likely to leave are young adults and highly educated citizens. Some of the countries where more than half of the people are considering to move to "at least for a little bit" are Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Togo, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Some barriers people face while moving and crossing country borders are that in recent years countries in Africa (like Namibia, Mauritius, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Benin) have loosened travel restrictions for other African nationals, and now they either ask for a visa on arrival or use their passport with the condition that they can only visit for up to 90 days. Some citizens still need a visa to travel to more than half of the 54 countries in Africa, as they are protecting their borders drawn up by European colonizers more than a century ago.
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1. Do you think it's a good idea for Africans to migrate? Why?
2. Should Africans migrate within Africa or should they go abroad?
3. Is it a good idea for young adults and highly educated citizens to migrate? Why?

Mueller investigation of Trump-Russian collusion ends, revealing nothing

Attorney General William Barr released the main points of Robert Mueller's investigation in a four page letter to Capitol Hill lawmakers. In the report, it stated that Mueller found no evidence that President Trump's team or associates of his campaign worked together with Russian-related people, despite multiple offers from them. Although Robert Mueller has explicitly stated that the report does not exonerate Trump of any crimes, Trump told reporters that it was the "most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." The letter has recommended no further indictments against Trump or any of his team.

Discussion Questions:

1. Should further investigations continue?

2. Do you believe President Trump is guilty? Why or why not?

3. How will this impact the upcoming 2020 election?

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/barr-releases-letter-summarizing-muellers-key-findings-after-long-running-russia-probe

Trump warns storm-ravaged Puerto Rico that aid won't last 'forever'

Trump questions why Puerto Rico has more aid than states in the U.S. from weather.

Puerto Rico receiving aid from military men of the U.S.  

President Trump complained in a private lunch on Tuesday with the Senate Republicans about how Puerto Rico has received too much aid. The aid for Puerto Rico has been a fixation for Trump. He has also stated that he would not support anymore of the aid of food and stamp funds. Senator Lindsey Graham described Trump talking as if he had a "new cleanse on life." 

Trump then noted to the GOP senators that Texas was awarded $29 billion in aid and South Carolina got $1.5 billion to recover from their storm and hurricane weather. Then he questioned why Puerto Rico was getting $91 billion of aid. One of the Congressional officials said that its difficult to quantify exactly how much aid the island has received to recover from Hurricane Maria because of the way money is disbursed. 

Source: New York Times

Questions:
1. Do you believe that Puerto Rico is receiving too much aid and why?
2. Why do you think Puerto Rico is getting more aid than the state in the U.S?
3. Do you think Trump's jealousy will impact anything?

  

Happy Sweet Sixteen! Would you like to vote?

It was reported a few weeks ago by Rep. Ayanna Pressley that the age of voting should be lowered from 18 to 16. She states that maturity is out of the spectrum, and that at the "Beginning at the age of sixteen, young people are contributing to both the labor force and their local economies by paying income taxes, and yet are deprived of the opportunity to exercise their right to vote". Now, more and more political teams are promoting the lowering of the age to vote. This is not the first time a lawmaker has proposed to lower the voting age,  on March 7, 1970, Sen. Ted Kennedy did the same; in proposing the voting age to drop from 21 to 18, saying that it was unfathomable that young adults were drafted for war but could not vote. Oregon has already gone into the second phase of lowering the age, as legislators propose an amendment to the Oregon constitution; this is inspiring and promoting other states to do the same, and to further develop the idea for younger voters. With the 2020 election arising beyond the horizon, this could very well tips the scales on future voting.


1. What are your opinions on lowering the age to vote?
2. Would you want to vote?
3. Do you believe that paying taxes, and driving cars signifies that your mature enough to vote?
4. How much of an impact will young adults make to elections?

Info here
More info here 

Assault rifles to be banned in New Zealand in aftermath of massacre, Prime Minister announces

All military-style and semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles and high-capacity magazines will be banned in New Zealand following the mass shootings that had killed 50 people. An estimated 1.2 million guns are in circulation in the country; approximately 1 for every 3 people. Many people who had legally owned firearms will no longer be able to own them, due to them being classified as "military-style" weapons.

Similar measures have been taken in Australia including some exceptions from farmers, since guns have a real purpose for many farming communities, such as duck hunting. Last year, over 57,000 weapons were handed in, including a rocket launcher and a WWII machine gun. As a result of this, mass shootings have dropped to 0, and gun suicides and homicides have dropped significantly.

1. Do you think they were too harsh with the gun control? Could they have been more harsh?

2. Do you think it's okay for farmers to possess guns for hunting purposes?

3. Would confiscating all of these guns in New Zealand fix the mass shootings, as they did in Australia?

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/asia/new-zealand-christchurch-gun-ban-intl/index.html