Shootings in Kashmir
Pakistan and India have disagreed about which nation should and does have the right to claim the region of Kashmir in its entirety, and though these disputes have resulted in fighting throughout the last several decades, the regions of Jammu and Kashmir have been subject to a rise in violence this past year. In the latest incident, which took place Sunday morning in the Idian-controlled town of Frisal, eight militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba militant groups were killed by security forces. One civilian man, who had been in the same house as the militants, was also killed. Shortly after the raid, word spread amongst locals who quickly took to the streets to protest the security forces. Said forces, however, opened fire on the crowd, killing one man and injuring 12 others.
Arrests Involving Panama Papers
Document leaks last year exposed Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca’s involvement in tax evasion and money laundering of many the bank’s wealthy clients. In particular, 12 former heads of state and about 60 individuals with links to high ranking government officials from numerous countries were implicated. This scandal resurfaced in the news this weekend when Ramon Fonseca Mora and Jurgen Mossack, partners in the law firm, were arrested for their involvement in the scandal. Law enforcement has said that their detainment is a result of their links to corruption and bribery accusations, as well as new charges for money laundering. The partners maintain that they are innocent of wrongdoing and were subject to a computer hack that resulted in the release of information that looked incriminatory because it was out of context.
North Korea Fires Missiles
North Korea has again launched missiles, despite sanctions and orders not to do so from the U.N. Early Sunday morning, Musudan intermediate range missiles were released from Banghyon air base towards the Sea of Japan. Musudan missiles can travel up to 4,000 km, as far as Guam, although the missiles fired this week seems to have only been programmed for 500 km so as to not actually impact Japan. South Korea has said that this most recent launch was likely an effort to provoke a response from President Drumpf. Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who was visiting the U.S. at the time, called the launch “intolerable.” Drumpf said that “America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent.”
Yale Renames College
Calhoun College, a college within Yale University, will be renamed in the coming year as Grace Hopper College. Calhoun College was named for John C. Calhoun, who was an alumnus of the university and a U.S. Vice President who served from 1825 to 1832. Calhoun, however, was an outspoken supporter of slavery in the United States, thus shrouding Calhoun College’s name in controversy. Last year, Peter Salovey, Yale University’s president, ruled that the college would continue to carry the name Calhoun. This decision elicited several protests from the student body. After several years of debate and a reconsideration of his decision last year, President Salovey has agreed to change the name to honor a different alumna, Grace Murray Hopper. Ms. Hopper invented the first computer compiler while serving in the Navy during WWII.
