February has been an eventful month, so here are the five top stories:

First Woman to Be Cured of HIV?

Living in the United States, the first woman in the world and the third person overall has been cured of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). 

This treatment was made possible due to the use of stem cells. Originally, she was being treated for her leukemia, but the stem cells seemed to cause a remission of her HIV. 

“She also would be the first person living with HIV to achieve remission as a result of receiving umbilical cord blood cells that possess a mutation that is protective against HIV-1, known as CCR5-delta32/32,” said Healthline. 

By using the stem cells from an adult donor’s umbilical cord, her recovery has been made possible. This will aid scientists and their research for possibly curing this disease. 

Tensions Between Ukraine and Russia

Although a “proxy war” has been going on between Ukraine and Russia for a while, the tensions between these two countries has greatly increased within the last month. 

“Russia has repeatedly denied its plans to invade but the recent massing of more than 100,000 troops along the border with Ukraine, and more soldiers stationed in its ally Belarus for military drills, has only served to strengthen concerns that a full-scale Russian incursion is imminent,” said CNBC.

This sense of imminence has proven to be correct as Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. 

The reason for this invasion is merely a question of power. Ukraine has a lot of natural resources such as iron, coal, and titanium. These are all things that contribute to their large iron and steel industry. If President Vladimir Putin gains control of Ukraine and these resources he will have a lot of power over the countries that rely on Ukraine for these resources– Germany, Spain, Portugal. 

Little Girl Missing Since 2019 Finally Found

In 2019, four year old Paislee Shultis was reported missing. She was living with a different family at the time as her biological parents were deemed unfit to care for her. 

Her father, Kirk Shultis, claimed he had no idea where she was; however, when the police searched his home, their results said otherwise. 

“A little over an hour into the search, one of the detectives noticed that the stairs leading to the basement of the house appeared to be strangely constructed. After removing several boards police found Paislee and Ms. Cooper hiding in what the police described as a “small, cold, and wet” enclosure,” stated BBC News. 

She is currently living with her non-biological but legal guardian with her older sister and is safe at last. 

Canadian Trucker Protest

A three-week protest was finally broken up after thousands of truckers were blocking streets in Ottawa, Canada. They had been protesting COVID-19 mandates that say that all Canadian truckers need to be fully vaccinated or must be quarantined for the two weeks following their trip if they want to cross the border. 

Even though it started because of the COVID mandates, truckers started to say that the movement was about COVID rules in general. They didn’t even care that they would be arrested.

“The protest, which was first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers but also encompassed fury over the range of COVID-19 restrictions and hatred of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reflected the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger,” said Independent. 

They have been removed as a result of the Canadian police force even though they “vowed never to give up.” 

Kuwait Overturns Law Criminalizing Transgender People

Originally, Kuwait had a law that stated if a person was found imitating the opposite sex, they would be charged with a $3,300 fine and could possibly be put in jail for up to one year. 

This law has been overturned and it is no longer in practice. 

Kuwaiti law enforcement officers “must also immediately halt arbitrary arrests of transgender people and drop all charges and convictions brought against them,” said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa division. 

The law was taken down because the court said it just hindered personal freedom. Removing this law is a major breakthrough especially for Middle Eastern countries as they are much more restrictive about LGBTQ+ issues.

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