And in the Rest of the World…

THE world watched in horror, as reports confirmed EgyptAir Flight 804 had crashed. The Airbus A320 plane was carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew from Paris to Cairo. Terrorism has not been ruled out.

Friday, May 20: At 11.15pm, Reuters reported that the Egyptian navy retrieved “more debris from the plane, some passengers’ belongings, human remains, and plane seats”. At around 5pm that day, Reuters said that the Egyptian navy found some of the plane’s debris and passengers’ belongings 290km away from the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

But these reports only came in after an initial period of confusion. Earlier that morning, EgyptAir’s Vice President Ahmed Adel, speaking to CNN, dismissed a previous report that the plane wreckage was found: “We stand corrected on finding the wreckage.” The debris mentioned in an earlier statement from Civil Aviation Ministry to EgyptAir, though “corresponding to EgyptAir’s colours”, did not belong to the plane.

According to CNN, data from the plane – sent over a period of two minutes – showed that smoke alerts on the plane had been activated. CNN’s aviation analyst David Soucie said the data indicates that a bomb instantaneously obliterating the plane was highly unlikely. While no terrorist group has claimed responsibility, terrorism has not been ruled out.

On Thursday morning (May 19), Flight 804 had been flying in Greek airspace before its radar signal dropped. Repeated calls from Athens air traffic control – attempting to “transfer communications control from Greece to Egypt” – were not answered. Search and rescue teams then began looking for the “missing” plane.

While it is too early to rule out any cause, reports confirmed that the passengers were 30 Egyptians, 15 French nationals, two Canadians, and nine others of various nationalities. Use the map below to see the different reactions from around the world, and then check out the selection of quotes relating to other world news.

Canadian lawmakers

“What kind of man elbows a woman?…It’s pathetic! You’re pathetic!”

—Mr Tom Mulcair, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was accused of manhandling a Member of Parliament (MP) and elbowing another female MP, on Wednesday (May 18). Opposition Conservative and New Democratic legislators were apparently stalling a vote on the government’s assisted suicide legislation, before Mr Trudeau’s controversial intervention. Ms Niki Ashton, a New Democrat MP, said: “This was deeply traumatic”. Mr Trudeau has formally apologised in Parliament. A committee of MPs will be examining the incident.

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Governments of China and Taiwan

“The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue…”

— Ms Tsai Ing-wen, newly sworn-in President of Taiwan, on the relationship between China and Taiwan

On Friday (May 20), Ms Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in as Taiwan’s President, reported Reuters. Ms Tsai is taking over eight years of Nationalist party’s Ma Ying-jeou. The head of Taiwan’s Council for Industrial and Commercial Development, Mr Liao Wan-lung, voiced fears that economic ties with mainland China may worsen. Ms Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has a clause in its charter to promote “a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan”, which the mainland is strongly against.

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Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram

“Their bodies didn’t look good…They had had no bath and were in a dirty condition.”

— Mr Aboku Gaji, member of Civilian Joint Task Force, on the captives who escaped

At least two schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria, were found this week, CNN reported. In 2014, terrorist group Boko Haram raided a boarding school, kidnapping over 200 girls. On a Tuesday night patrol, Mr Gaji found Ms Amina Ali Nkeki wandering out of the Sambisa forest. She was with a man and a child she had conceived during captivity. Nigeria’s military said it recently carried out attacks in this Boko Haram-occupied forest. Another schoolgirl, the military said, was rescued during its operation on Thursday.

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Voters of the United Kingdom

“Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods.”

— Mr Boris Johnson, British Member of Parliament, on the campaign for the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU)

The debate about whether the UK should leave the EU heated up. Mr Boris Johnson – rising Conservative star and de facto leader for the Brexit campaign – made these comments in a Sunday Telegraph interview. The Guardian reported that Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) have said the comments “hit a new low”; other Conservatives defended Mr Johnson’s “historical parallels”. The party is divided, even as the UK’s June 23 referendum on its EU membership draws closer.

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The people of Venezuela

“I have great respect for Maduro, but that doesn’t mean I can’t say: ‘You’re crazy, you’re as mad as a goat.’”

— Mr José Mujica, former President of Uruguay, on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

Venezuela is declining into economic collapse. Its President Nicolás Maduro is embroiled in a war of words. On Tuesday (May 17), he called the head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Mr Luis Almagro, a longtime traitor and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent. (Venezuela is a member of OAS.) This was after Mr Almagro had publicly told him to heed the opposition’s calls for a referendum on his rule. Currently, President Maduro’s term ends in 2019. Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation rate, with shortages in power and basic goods.

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Featured image planet-earth-space by Flickr user Adamo Corazza. CC BY-ND 2.0. 

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