Possible genocide in Myanmar
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, a Southeast Asian nation known for its variety of ethnic groups, has been facing difficulties under its new government regime. The name change is not the only change to occur in the country under the. They are opposed to Rohingya Muslims and are trying to perform a genocide of them, according to independent.co.uk. United States Human Rights envoy Yanghee Lee visited Burma to see what exactly was going on in the country. Since the killing of nine officers on Oct. 9, at least 86 more people have been killed and over 30,000 civilians have left and gone over the Bangladesh border, according to independent.co.uk. “The events of the last few months have shown that the international community must remain vigilant in monitoring the human rights situation,” Lee said. The leader of the Myanmar government, Aung San Suu Kyi, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner, denies the reports of a Rohingya genocide.
Shots fired over a grilled cheese
An unusual attempted shooting took place on Jan. 8, over a grilled cheese sandwich. Daniel Blackwell, a Maryland resident, fired multiple shots through his basement floor, leading to his wife and children fleeing the house and calling the police, according to time.com. Blackwell’s wife told officers on the scene that the reason for shooting was because he was angry she took a bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich. After a three-hour standoff with police, Blackwell surrendered and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. “She said the first shot was fired as she was in the kitchen making dinner. At that point, she went down to the basement to check on her husband, found him surrounded by guns and ammunition and went back upstairs,” the police release said. When police went into the house, they found 15 firearms, according to time.com. Blackwell is legally not allowed to possess of firearms due to previous convictions and has been taken into custody. He was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and firearm violations, according to authorities.
North Korea continues to threaten United States
As the day of president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration nears North Korea hasn’t hidden its potential military plans. North Korea has said that they could launch a missile toward the United States at anytime, according to cnn.com. Tensions between North and South Korea have risen since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the country was close to testing a missile that could deliver a nuclear blast to the United States. “If North Korea disregards our warning and launches an ICBM, it will face more powerful and thorough sanctions and pressure by the international community,” South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said. A spokesperson from North Korea said that the United States is to blame for the development of the North Korean missile program, according to cnn.com.
-Radley Elenbogen, news editor
