In recent news, it seems as though the only thing discussed is the novel COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is much more going on in the world that the coronavirus is overshadowing. 

In Russia, their highest court approved constitutional changes which made way for current President Vladamir Putin to remain in his position until 2036. The Russian Constitutional Court removed one of the final potential obstacles in Putin’s way granting him the potential to be president for life. The Constitutional Court is headed by Valery D. Zorkin, a Soviet-trained scholar who has been in charge of the organization since it was founded after the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1990s. Since Putin has already been in power for two decades, allowing him to run for two more six year terms has created quite the controversy. 

In other news, hostilities between the US and Iran are escalating. After the US assasination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, an important Iranian leader, tensions immediately rose between the two nations. Recently, a barrage of rocket fire initiated by a pro-Iran Shiite militia struck a military base in Iraq. The result was the deaths of two American troops and one British soldier. Subsequently, the U.S. responded with an attack which targeted those linked to the militia. The airstrike killed at least five members of Iraqi security forces which prompted an outrage among the public. 

Additionally, there is another plague in our midst. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reported that swarms of hundreds of billions of locusts are beginning to form in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopian and Kenyan governments are struggling to compile enough aircrafts to target the swarms with pesticides. It has been reported that countless acres of crops have been ruined as the locusts move through the region creating an economic and agricultural issue throughout Africa. 

Amidst the pandemic, a terrible earthquake hit northern Utah on 18 march. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.7 and was felt as far away as southern Idaho and Wyoming. The Utah State Capitol elevated their response readiness level to the highest level, a Level 1 Emergency in response to the earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic. After the earthquake, Rocky Mountain Power had countless customers without power and electricity but was able to regroup by late Wednesday evening. On a good note, there were no fatalities or injuries reported.