News

Can global trade occur without the blessing of the United States? A newly signed trade deal seems to support this idea (Deutsche Welle, June 29, 2019). At the recent G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, the European Union signed a “milestone trade agreement” with four South American nations—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The EU continues to work on trade deals and has already completed more than 70.

According to a study by the chemistry department at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, fish caught by commercial fishermen off the Cape “are contaminated by antibiotics, pain killers, antiretrovirals, disinfectants, and industrial chemicals” (Times Live, June 26, 2019).

A sobering new report by the World Health Organization, based on 2016 data (the most recent available), documents an increase in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in recent years. “More than 1 million people catch an STD, or sexually transmitted infection (STI), every day across the globe, with chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and syphilis of greatest concern” (Deutsche Welle, June 6, 2019).

A few weeks ago, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner unveiled his peace plan for Israel and the Palestinian people (Deutsche Welle, June 25, 2019). Dubbed “Peace to Prosperity” and “the deal of the century,” the investment plan calls for increased technology, communications, and transportation infrastructure between Gaza and the West Bank.