Global:
GABCIKOVO, SLOVAKIA- Hundreds of Syrian war refugees are migrating to a village that recently voted against their stay by a shocking 97 percent, according to the Washington Post. Gabcikovo is a town with a population of 5,000. As a tightly-knit community, most of the townspeople speak Hungarian and are Catholic. The people of Gabcikovo say they are not cold-hearted or racist, but are worried and are asking the same questions other Europeans want to know about the rising numbers of war refugees and economic migrants. They wonder why wars and unrest thousands of miles away, involving Muslims, should be their business. Questions popped up among them, such as, “Who are these people? Where do they come from? Why are they here?†It was said that those who are of another ethnicity, another religion and/or another language will ultimately cause conflict. Not many mosques exist in Slovakia, and there is concern that Arabs who protest are more prone to wanting to fight. “We have no problem with different colors,†Daniel Koczkas, a 27-year-old coffee distributor who has lived in Gabcikovo his whole life, said to the Post, “but we don’t know them.†Some claim they are worried terrorists would slip in among the refugees. Nervous about the Danube River’s massive dam nearby, and how its hydroelectric plant would be a target, the majority of people voted against the refugees’ stay in Gabcikovo. Volunteers collected 1,881 signatures in just three days to stage the vote, and the “no†campaign won 97 percent of the ballots on the 60 percent turnout.
National:
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Planned Parenthood will give free STD testing despite their tension with Congress. The organization will make free testing available in 28 cities across the nation on “National Pink Out Day,†according to TIME Magazine. This is taking place while the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is discussing a future hearing in regards to Planned Parenthood. The controversy surrounds alleged videos of people with the organization discussing using aborted fetuses in medical research in this women’s health organization has been under rapid fire, and so some lawmakers want to defund the group because of these tapes. There has also been some talk about a possible consequential government shutdown, while Planned Parenthood said their opponents altered the videos. While the free STD testing is taking place on “National Pink Out Day,†Planned Parenthood hopes to attract millions of people to rally for defending reproductive rights for women.
Local:
CRANSTON, R.I.- West Nile Virus has been found in samples of mosquitoes in Cranston, environmental officials said. According to the Providence Journal, the Department of Environmental Management stated that it’s the third sample they’ve found this year that has tested positive for West Nile Virus. They also stated that this year in Rhode Island there have been no human cases of mosquito-borne illnesses reported. The Department of Environmental Management encourages people to take precautionary measures such as wearing long pants, long sleeves, wearing socks outside during the evenings and applying bug spray. Luckily, the risk of catching such a mosquito-borne illness will only last until the first frost of the season.