This Week in Culture: May 29-June 4

From Nigeria

The inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s new president, was celebrated by the nation’s citizens. Buhari is responsible for newly reinforcing democracy in the country because he is the first presidential candidate to claim victory against a sitting president based on polls ever since military rule came to a conclusion in 1999.

From China

Beijing enforced an anti-smoking ban on Monday that prohibited smoking on public transportation, in offices, and restaurants. If anyone violates the new measure in China’s capital he or she will need to pay 200 yuan as opposed to the previous fine of 10 yuan. People caught smoking in public places three times will have their names put on a government website.

From the USA

For the second year in a row, Scripps National Spelling Bee had joint winners. Vanya Shivashankar, a 13-year-old five-time finalist from Kansas, and Gokul Venkatachalam, a 14-year-old four-time contestant, shared the trophy after spelling scherenschnitte and nunatak correctly. The champions will each be given a trophy and $35,000 in cash prizes.

From France

City workers officially began removing the hundreds of thousands of padlocks from the iron grillwork of the Pont des Arts. Couples from all over the world came to the site to place metal locks with each of their initials carved into them onto the bridge and threw the keys into the River Seine as an expression of their love.

From Bangladesh

Bangladeshi authorities have charged the owner of the Rana Plaza Complex and 41 other people for their involvement in the collapse of the building in 2013. The industrial accident has been referred to as the worst disaster in Bangladesh’s garment industry because more than 3,000 workers were trapped and 1,000 were killed during the week-long rescue.

From Iran

28-year-old artist, Atena Farghadani, has been sentenced to twelve years and nine months in prison after creating a cartoon comparing Iranian parliamentarians to cows and monkeys. Several months ago, the young activist publicly spoke about being mistreated by guards after her arrest in August last year.

From Australia

The prominent glass pyramid in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens will be dismantled and replaced with a modern enclosure worth several million dollars that is expected to open in mid 2016 or the around the time of the garden’s bicentenary. The pyramid has been a key feature of the Royal Botanic Gardens for forty years.