More World News of Political Interest

COLOMBIA

Weird times here.  President Juan Manuel Santos received the Nobel Prize for Peace, but the peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas was voted down (narrowly) in the national referendum on the deal.   President Santos, who insisted that there be a public referendum to legitimize the deal, presently sees himself as unable to implement the agreement.  Ex-President Alvaro Uribe successfully inflamed many people against the deal, by suggesting that the deal was too generous to the ex-rebels.  Now Uribe wants to "adjust" the deal [i.e., make it harsher on the rebels], but there is no indication from FARC leaders that they are willing to renegotiate the agreement, much less accept harsher terms.  Meanwhile, President Santos has said that the ceasefire will extend to October 31st.  No one knows what will happen after that.

HAITI
Nearly 900 people are known to have been killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, with aid officials saying up to 90% of some areas have been destroyed.


BRAZIL
Brazil’s municipal elections on Sunday ...revealed a significant apathy by voters with the entire political class ... more than 25 million eligible voters chose to stay home... the highest abstention rate in the country’s history...Others, who did go to the polls on Sunday, chose to nullify their vote, or register a blank ballot.


Deforesting in the Amazon Increases by 24%


JAPAN
A fifth of the Japanese workforce faces the risk of death from overwork, according to a new government survey into the country's notoriously strenuous working culture.


AUSTRALIA
Australia's centre-right coalition government introduced legislation to parliament last month to hold a public vote in February 2017 on whether to legalize same-sex unions...Advocates of same-sex marriage are concerned public debate around the vote would prove harmful to members of the LGBTI community. 


PAKISTAN
Despite objections from religious hardliners, lawmakers Thursday took the first significant move to curb mounting numbers of “honor” killings in Pakistan, stiffening the penalties and closing a loophole that allowed such killers to go free.


NIGERIA
Nigeria: IMF's Zero-Interest Loan Conditions Too Tough to Handle - Govt