ICYMI: News Round-Up for April 29-May 3, 2024

Here are just a few of the news events that took place over the past week:

1. A month after introducing export controls, Türkiye fully halted trade with Israel. Officials do not intend to reopen trade with Israel until they allow full humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. For context, Türkiye's exports to Israel in 2022 were valued at just over US$7 billion.
2. The Biden Administration rolled out a fresh wave of sanctions against global entities accused of aiding the Russian military effort. The U.S. also accused the Russian military of using chemical weapons on the battlefield, which would be a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
3. Heavy rainfall caused dams to burst in both Kenya and Brazil this week causing deaths and widespread damage in areas already impacted by flooding. In both cases, El Niño is believed to be the culprit behind increased rain intensity.
4. Ukrainian forces experienced setbacks this week, retreating from a number of villages on the war’s eastern front as the Russian army advanced. The timing of Russia's push is strategic as Ukraine is waiting for a new wave of U.S. military assistance to arrive.
5. Researchers in Indonesian rainforest observed an orangutan use a medicinal plant to treat a wound, chewing leaves into a poultice and placing it on the injury. This observation marks the first time a wild animal has ever been seen treating a wound with a medicinal plant.
6. Pro-Palestinian protests at major colleges in the U.S. (and around the world) continued to capture headlines this week, particularly as students clashed with law enforcement over encampments. Institutions have seen a wide variety of responses to the protests. Berkeley has allowed the camp as long as operations aren't impacted and the protest remains non-violent. At many other campuses, such as UCLA and Columbia, there have been a number of arrests and encampments have been cleared by police.

As always, see the sources tab for links to learn more about each news event.

Side note: I'm happy to have a reason to use the urangutan emoji. 🦧