Right where your tax dollars are going.

Floating

Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean container and shipping lines, officially went bankrupt on August 31st. As of today, 14.5 billion dollars worth of goods remains floating around the world’s seas, and 66 of Hanjin’s container ships cannot enter into most ports. What will happen to these goods and Hanjin is still being hashed out. (Economist)

Draining

One of the region’s largest art exhibits, Turkey’s annual Contemporary Istanbul, is still scheduled to go on between November 3rd and the 6th. However, this festival will not be joined by its peer exhibits: Canakkale Biennial and Art International. Fears of terrorist attacks and military crackdowns have recently stifled much of Turkey’s artistic events, with little hope for the future. (Contemporary Istanbul)

Circling the Drain

The initiation of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro has an auspicious start when Brazil’s new president, Michel Temer, was booed at the opening ceremonies. This happened as Brazil announced an investigation into Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee’s president, regarding an illicit ticket reselling scheme. Brazil continues to circle the drain after the ouster of its former president, Dilma Roussef. (Huffington Post)

Gone

Another truce between the Syrian government and the umbrella of rebel groups, brokered by the US and Russia in late night talks, aims to create an actually lasting truce, Past attempts have ended in failure, a fact current pundits magnify by bemoaning the Assad regime’s alleged use of chlorine gas last week. (BBC)