Morlaix, France:
Around 100 farmers in the French province of Brittany stormed and torched an insurance office last week, according to the BBC, to protest falling prices for their produce and the loss of the Russian market due to trade embargoes. They then dumped large piles of cabbages, manure and artichokes in the town center before torching the town’s tax office. Given that the farmers were blocking a main road, firefighters were unable to save the building. The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has condemned the attacks.
New York, NY:
The United Nations Climate Summit met on Tuesday. In addition to announcing $200 billion in private and government financing to work against climate change, the summit included speeches from Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. Secretary-General, former vice President Al Gore and newly appointed U.N. Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio. The summit followed the People’s Climate March two days earlier, where 400,000 people demonstrated in the streets of New York. The summit hoped to raise political will for a universal agreement on climate to be approved in Paris next year, according to the U. N. news center.
Bangalore, India:
Mangalyaan, India’s first robot to be sent to Mars, successfully entered the atmosphere early Wednesday, according to the BBC. India is the one of only a few countries, along with the U.S., Russia and Europe, to successfully send a robot to the red planet. It is also the first nation to be successful on their first attempt. “Today all of India should celebrate our scientists,” said Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister. NASA also tweeted their congratulations to their counterpart, the Indian Space and Research Organization.
Syria:
The United States, along with a coalition of other countries including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates, launched the first 14 airstrikes against ISIL in Syria on Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera. The U.S. has been launching airstrikes against the group in Iraq for some time, but this was the first air raid in Syria. Before the strikes, the U.S. let Syrian U.N. envoys know about the attack. Targets included areas near Raqqa, ISIL’s capital in Syria, and resulted in the death of at least 20 ISIL fighters, according to initial reports.
