Jaha Dukureh, a 24-year-old survivor of female genital mutilation, started a petition some time ago to demand that the US start a commission that would keep more accurate statistics on the practice in the US in the hope that the data would force a change in global attitudes. On Friday, the petition received its 100,000th signature. The practice has been illegal in the US since 1996, but studies indicate that there are hundreds of thousands of girls in the US who have endured the ritual.
A new alliance is being formed in Southeast Asia: the Philippines and Vietnam are moving closer together in an attempt to offset Chinese power in the South China Sea. The alliance is just being formed, so it is difficult to say how far it will go. But Vietnam and the Philippines have often been on opposite sides on many issues so the mutual overtures are unusual. Balance of power theory suggests that two countries do not need to be highly compatible when faced by a strong mutual opponent. The Chinese are not pleased by the alliance, but they could have hardly expected something different given their recent behavior in the sea.
On Sunday Ukraine will hold its presidential election to replace the government of former President Yanukovich. There are many contenders for the position and it is difficult to predict the outcome. But Russian President Putin said that Russia would respect the vote. No matter who is elected, it is going to be very difficult to deal with the separatists in eastern Ukraine. There has been a sharp uptick in violence prior to the election, and the new government will have a difficult task in stabilizing the economy and the political situation.
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