A doctor in Syria provides information on the conflict ravaging the country. Controversy strikes in Brazil regarding the recent suspension of President Dilma Rousseff. And the implications of the recent internet outrage surrounding the death of Harambe the gorilla are considered. It's Fiery Tuesday, our weekly segment on political and societal news from around the world. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

Now more than five years old, the Syrian Civil War has cost almost half a million lives and driven many more Syrians from their country. In a country on the brink, Doctor Osama Abo El Ezz speaks with German newspaper Der Spiegel about the crisis swallowing the region.

Generally, when we talk about the Taiwanese people we're speaking of either the Mandarin-speaking refugees who fled mainland China during the 1949 Revolution or the Hokkien-speaking majority who settled Taiwan over the course of several centuries earlier. But there is another group seldom recognized by Westerners: the Taiwanese Aborigines, who predate both groups. And their lot is often not an easy one.

Weeks ago, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was suspended by the country's legislature following a controversy surrounding her possible connections to a scandal involving Petrobras, the country's chief oil producer. This move has, however, not come without its own heated debate and many in the country are characterizing it as a "coup" in all but name and decrying Rousseff's successor Michel Temer.

One of the most controversial subjects in modern feminism is sex work (aka pornography, strip dancing, prostitution, etc.). Should feminists support the choices of women who involve themselves in the sex industry? Or should they decry it for objectifying women? Or both? At The New Statesman, Laurie Penny examines the debate and some points both sides overlook.

Last week, a small child fell into the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla exhibit, attracting the attention of a large male gorilla named Harambe. When Harambe approached the child and appeared to threaten it, zookeepers decided after some debate to kill the gorilla. The decision has been at the focus of a heated debate ever since, some of which has been quite disturbing.


Top image by Bernard Gagnon