Manga Cartoon Whitewashes Haitian-Japanese Athlete
Controversy arose online after a Japanese company depicted Naomi Osaka, a Haitian-Japanese tennis player as a blonde-haired, white-skinned woman in a Manga Cartoon. The company, who sponsors Osaka, apologized for “white-washing” after the drawing was posted on Twitter. This isn’t the first time an inaccurate cartoon of Osaka has been created. After an an Australian cartoonist depicted Osaka as a white woman in September 2018, the controversy took weeks to die down.
Protests Against Maduro Rise in Venezuela
Last Wednesday, thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest, echoing the nationwide call to force President Nicolás Maduro out of office. The National Guard met groups of demonstrators in Caracas with force, blocking their paths with tear gas. According to the New York Times, the United States and many of Venezuela’s neighbors have called the president an illegitimate dictator and expressed strong support for a plan to establish a transitional government. Since Murados election in 2013, more than three million Venezuelans have fled the country, and those who stayed behind have struggled with food and water scarcity and rampant crime.
EU Cracks Down on “Golden Passports”
The EU Commission has instructed the EU to tighten restrictions on so-called “golden passports” which are given to non-EU nationals in exchange for investments. The EU gives its members unique access to the European market as well as free movement in EU nations, privileges extended to non EU members via these passports. Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria and 17 other EU nations grant resident rights to foreign investors who invest in their country, putting them onto a path for citizenship. The Commission explains that money laundering and tax evasion have been linked to these visas and warns countries against giving out these types of passports.
Soccer Star Still Missing after Plane Disappearance
Emiliano Sala is presumed dead after his flight last Monday from the French city of Nantes to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, suddenly disappeared off the coast of Guernsey, an island in the English Channel. Search teams have been receiving satellite footage and mobile phone data in efforts to recover any survivors. According to MSN News, the sports star had sent a voicemail to his father explaining how the plane “looked like it [was] going to fall apart” prior to his departure.
