October 27 marks the 85th birthday of celebrated Egyptian feminist, writer and doctor, Nawal El Saadawi. With a bibliography consisting of over 30 books, fiction and nonfiction alike, El Saadawi is one of the most prolific and established writers on women, Islam, and oppression. Her platform is based on her fierce condemnation of female genital mutilation, her criticisms of the ways the patriarchy functions through religion, and her resilient belief in the liberation of women through social, political, economic, and intellectual independence.

Today marks the 25^th anniversary of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union. Twenty-five years ago, spurred on by the lack of support from the USSR over ethnic conflicts in the region and a brutal military crackdown over demonstrations the year before, Azerbaijan declared independence. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on October 18, 1991, after seventy-one years under Soviet rule.

Pleasant surprises are tough to come by these days. But on Friday, a World Bank tribunal delivered one by rejecting a multinational mining firm’s lawsuit against El Salvador that many observers thought would go the other way.