Canada

Canada’s recently elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face a major political decision on whether or not to bail out Bombardier, Inc., a multinational transportation company based in Canada. The government of Quebec has already committed to give $1 billion to Bombardier, and they want Trudeau to help.  This decision could be very costly for Canada.  So far Trudeau has been very popular among Canadians, due in large part to his leftist policies.  He was sworn in on Oct. 28, the same day he introduced his cabinet.

China

Due to fears that China does not have enough young citizens, the Communist government ended their one-child policy last week. Instead, the government now mandates that married couples are allowed to have up to two children.  The fears stem from economic reasons, since young people are a great asset to national economies. An additional factor is that the country’s current gender ratio remains uneven, since traditional families tend to favor boys over girls and will give baby girls up for adoption or even kill them.

Iran

The nuclear accord forming between the U.S. and Iran could give the two countries the kind of trust in each other they have not experienced for a long time.  The new accord demands that Iran accept nuclear program cuts, including getting rid of certain types of uranium and centrifuges. With all of these limits, Iran will not be able to build nuclear weapons. If Iran meets these conditions, the U.S., UN and EU will lift current economic sanctions they have long imposed on Iran.

Israel

Tensions were high in the Middle East on Oct. 20 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly stated that Muslims were directly responsible for the Holocaust, convincing the Third Reich to eliminate the Jews. Palestinian officials countered that Netanyahu appeared to be absolving Hitler of 12 million murders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was quick to step in during a press conference in Berlin with Netanyahu soon after, claiming responsibility on behalf of Germany for the Holocaust.

Syria

Peace talks are beginning concerning the Syrian refugee crisis, and diplomats are cautiously optimistic that they can successfully transition current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad out of office.  Involved parties include French, American and Arab diplomats.  The plan includes Assad giving up his power to a temporary government prior to elections in Syria. As of now, casualties from the Syrian civil war amount to over 250,000 and are likely to increase. Most recently, the Syrian government launched rockets at a marketplace in Duma. Many citizens remain in critical condition.

Turkey

Turkey’s national election took place on Oct. 25, ending with Tayyip Erdogan of the Justice and Development Party as president after a coalition government failed to come together last June. The party won with just under half the vote.  Since a coalition government is no longer viable, Turkey will be ruled under one party, and Erdogan will be in charge.  Erdogan has a history of authoritarian ways, including cracking down on the media and certain forms of free speech.

Ukraine

Thousands of officials were elected in Ukraine on Oct. 25. According to the GlobalPost, voters all across the country came out to vote for thousands of mayors and approximately 160,000 lawmakers. There were over 130 registered political parties on the ballots. The voter turnout ended up being 46.62 percent, the low number likely because parts of Ukraine are still controlled by rebels supported by Russia, and votes from Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk ended up not counting because of ballot disputes.

United States

Wisconsin Republican and former vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was elected speaker of the House of Representatives on Oct. 29. Ryan is also the U.S. representative in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District and the ex-chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Since his election, he has stated his refusal to work with President Barack Obama on immigration policy, claiming in an interview with CBS that Obama cannot be trusted, and has decided to create a team to investigate Planned Parenthood. Ryan is the youngest speaker of the house since the 1860s.