Compass World: China Introduces Video Gaming Restrictions for Minors
LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN
Mexican Legislature Approves Presidential Recall Measure
Mexico’s Congress approved a series of constitutional changes on November 5, most significant among them a measure allowing a recall vote on the president. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador advocated for the recall option because it could serve as a democratic referendum on his governance. The Mexican president’s term lasts six years, and Lopez Obrador will not seek to change that, but the opposition claimed that the president wanted to allow a recall vote in order to put himself on a new electoral ticket halfway through his term. The Mexican Senate agreed that no recall vote can happen until after 2021 Mexican legislative elections. In order to become law, the measures would need to be approved by a majority of Mexico’s state legislatures, which Lopez Obrador’s party controls.
INDO-ASIA-PACIFIC
China Introduces Video Gaming Restrictions for Minors
The Chinese government released official guidelines on November 5 restricting the amount of time children under the age of 18 can spend playing video games. The new regulations fall under a broader effort by the government to curb video game addiction, which officials say is harmful to children’s health. The government previously established a gaming regulator in 2018 in response to concerns about near-sightedness in children. The new guidelines ban anyone under 18 from playing video games online between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM. They will also be restricted to 90 minutes of gaming on weekdays and three hours on weekends and holidays. Some of the largest video game companies responded proactively, but enforcement and reliable age verification have been major concerns. According to BBC, China is the second-largest gaming market in the world.
MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA
Palestinian Refugee Wounds Eight in Jordan
A young man from a Palestinian refugee camp stabbed eight tourists, including three tourists from Mexico and one from Switzerland, at a popular destination in northern Jordan. The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Mustafa Abu Tuameh and was said to have been recently radicalized. At this time, it has not been reported whether he had ties to militant organizations or if he acted alone. Jordan’s health minister stated that all the victims were in stable condition and had been admitted to a hospital nearby. The attack may cast a shadow on Jordan’s vital tourism industry at a time when the country has been experiencing sluggish economic growth.
EASTERN EUROPE & RUSSIA
Putin Suggests Replacing Wikipedia With Russian Version
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking before a meeting of the Russian Language Council at the Kremlin, proposed replacing Wikipedia with a more “reliable” Russian version. The proposal by Putin is part of a broader effort by the Russian government to take greater control of the state’s internet access. Putin specifically suggested that Wikipedia be replaced by a Russian text based on the encyclopedia of the Soviet Union. According to the Independent, the Great Russian Encyclopedia might just be the world’s last printed encyclopedia. It was initiated by decree of Vladimir Putin in 2003 and finally published in 2017.
AFRICA
Bosco Ntaganda Sentenced For War Crimes
The former rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ‘Terminator’ Bosco Ntaganda, received a 30-year prison sentence, which is the longest ever doled out by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is also the first person to ever be convicted by the ICC of sexual crimes, as he allowed his troops to often engage in rape. Ntaganda spent a large portion of his life both as a rebel commander and as an army official. He started as a rebel in his native Rwanda until the conflict spilled over to the DRC, where he served in the country’s army. He later joined another rebel group, this time founding the M23 group and leading hundreds of other defecting soldiers.
WESTERN EUROPE & CANADA
French Student Denied Immigration by Quebec Authorities
Emilie DuBois, a French citizen attending university in Quebec since 2012, was denied immigrant status because she was unable to demonstrate adequate French-language proficiency. Quebec rejected Emilie Dubois' application apparently because part of her university thesis was in English. DuBois completed a doctorate at a French language university in Quebec. Despite passing a French test to prove her language ability earlier this year, she received a rejection letter stating that she had not completed her education entirely in French because of the one English chapter in her thesis. Quebec's immigration minister said in a statement on November 7 that the decision "doesn't seem to make much sense” and has asked officials to look into her case. According to BBC, Quebec has a special agreement on immigration with Canada's federal government and has broad powers in the selection of immigrants.
Writing contributed by Adam Hilelly, Ben Richmond, and Benjamin Barth.