Beijing begins offering COVID-19 boosters
Beijing, the capital city of China, has approved the offering of booster vaccinations against COVID-19. China has been slowly rolling out booster shot availability since September, with Beijing being one of the last remaining cities to announce their booster guidelines. Anyone who is over the age of 18 and is part of a group that is at high risk of contracting the virus, including immunocompromised people and anyone who is scheduled to work during the Olympic games, is eligible to receive a third dose of the vaccine. The announcement comes just four months before the Winter Olympic games are scheduled to take place within the country.
Japan adopts new clean energy plan
On Oct. 22, Japan announced their new clean energy policy, which promotes the use of nuclear and other renewable energy sources over fossil fuels. The country has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and this new energy policy is a step towards reaching that goal. Japan has been historically hesitant to make statements on using nuclear energy since the collapse of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011, but now states that timely reactor restarts are essential in preventing another shutdown.
Environmental protests begin in Berlin ahead of U.N. summit
Groups have begun to gather in Glasglow for protests ahead of the upcoming United Nations Summit that is subjected around climate change and subsequent environmental issues. Thousands of people, many of them young, have gathered at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest the government’s slow response to tackling climate change. In the recent years there has been a push by separate political parties on Germany’s government to take issues like climate change more seriously, notably the Green party seeking to form a coalition party after the exit of previous Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Gang boss who kidnapped U.S. missionary group threatens to resort to violence
The boss of the Haitian gang who is accused of kidnapping sixteen U.S. missionaries and one Canadian took to social media on Oct. 21, announcing that hostages would be killed if the gang’s demands were not met. The gang, known as the 400 Mawozo, has demanded one million dollars for each person kidnapped. The kidnapping took place on Oct. 19 after the mostly U.S.-based missionaries left Christian Aid Ministries, a religious missionary located in a town just north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
