Written by Sabrina Collier and Mathilde Frot
This week, to put it mildly, could have been better. Scary, negative and troubling news stories have dominated the newspapers and TV broadcasts, so much so that you'd be forgiven for not being sure which stories deserve your attention the most. To help clear things up, here's our rundown of the most important stories to be worried about this week.
Reasons to be really concerned
London attacked Sadly, we can’t ignore the horrific events in London on Wednesday, where a lone attacker drove a car through crowds on pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before attempting to gain entrance to the Palace of Westminster. Five people (including the attacker) lost their lives, including policeman Keith Palmer. Several students were caught up in the attack, including four from a university in Lancashire. Read the latest updates on the BBC here.
London ISIS attack: Vigil held at Trafalgar square, solemn crowd remembers victims
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) March 24, 2017
Read @ANI_news storyhttps://t.co/Nv2oTm0ZTH pic.twitter.com/fnshd7YmG7
Syria air-strike On Wednesday, a US-led coalition air strike in Syria killed at least 30 civilians in a school in the town of Mansoura, near ISIS-held Raqqa. The attack took place less than a week after 49 people died in a mosque in the village of Al-Jinah in Western Aleppo. Both incidents sparked off fears the White House’s newly-reviewed drone strike policy has made it easier for the US to launch attacks which kill innocent bystanders.
Reasons to be nervous
Brexit Yep, it’s actually happening. Prime Minister Theresa May has set a date for the UK to trigger Article 50 (the formal notification that a country is choosing to shoot itself in the foot leave the European Union) – Wednesday 29th March. Unfortunately, no one remembered to tell Scotland. Catch up with the latest Brexit drama here, or find out how Brexit might affect you in this article.
An actual video of Theresa May preparing to trigger Article 50. pic.twitter.com/MLdAWScmDQ
— Adam Hurley (@ATMH1994) March 20, 2017
NHS in crisis Almost 2,700 nurses with EU nationality resigned from the NHS last year. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says this shocking fall in numbers is likely caused by the government’s failure to reassure EU nationals on their future. This is pretty bad news for the nursing workforce in the UK, with a slump in applications from English students after NHS bursaries were scrapped, and a total of 24,000 nursing vacancies to fill across the country.
Laptop ban The US and the UK have introduced bans on large electronic devices (e.g. laptops and tablets) on direct inbound flights from certain countries in the Middle East and Africa. Phones and medical devices are not included, but that hasn't stopped thousands of travellers from being annoyed. Find out more at the BBC.
Arab airlines don't only have great service they also have humor. #Laptopban. First a great response from @emirates now @RoyalJordanian pic.twitter.com/qXkOQgok0o
— بثينة العزابي (@Boutaina) March 23, 2017
LGBTQ+ YouTube videos If you noticed the #YouTubeIsOverParty hashtag trending on Twitter on Sunday March 19, this is why. YouTube has been widely criticized after it emerged videos with LGBTQ+ content was being filtered in restricted mode. YouTube eventually responded with this tweet, saying: “We are so proud to represent LGBTQ+ voices on our platform – they’re a key part of what YouTube is all about. … “LGBTQ+ videos are available in restricted mode, but videos that discuss more sensitive issues may not be.”
Me coming out of my weekend solitude and getting caught up on the Youtube LGBTQ restrictions drama. pic.twitter.com/0ESvwQFjub
— mamrie hart (@mametown) March 20, 2017
France’s presidential saga Yet another French politician has been mired in scandal over a “fake job” row. France’s interior minister Bruno le Roux has stepped down, after admitting to paying his two daughters a sum of €55,000 of public money over a period of seven year for working as parliamentary assistants over the school holidays. Also, on Thursday, Fillon made serious allegations against the French president François Hollande on live television, calling on judges to investigate meddling by Hollande.
Reasons to be cautiously optimistic
Trump <3 Russia On Monday, FBI Director James Comey denied Trump’s bizarre wiretapping allegations and confirmed for the very first time that an investigation into a collusion between Putin and the Trump campaign has been ongoing since last July. Elsewhere, in a brazen attempt to make Trump's claims he was wiretapped by Obama seem more credible, Republican Devin Nunes held a surprise press conference on Wednesday to announce that intelligence agencies incidentally collected communications about members of the Trump campaign while spying on foreign nationals. Despite Nunes attempting to make this seem more scandalous, everything was in fact entirely legal and pressure on Trump remains greater than ever.
CNN’s hot leak Staying with Trump, it’s been two months since Buzzfeed’s publication of the unverified, infamous golden showers dossier, but the endless stream of Trump leaks has been near-constant. On Wednesday night, CNN reported they had information suggesting associates of Trump have communicated with the Russians to damage Hillary’s campaign. The White House and FBI declined to comment, but were the FBI to find conclusive intelligence, Trump would potentially face impeachment. Read more about why finding conclusive evidence may prove difficult here.
Reasons to be happy
14-year-old lecturer While most of us even struggle to get offered an interview, 14-year-old math whizz Yasha Asley has somehow secured a part-time lecturing job at the University of Leicester… Yasha went straight to university after primary school and scored an A in math for his A levels when he was eight. Well, that’s made us feel stupid. Thank you Yasha.
Move to Japan International student enrolment in Japan is continuing to grow, with a target set of having 300,000 international students by 2020. It also seems like Japan is an increasingly attractive place to stay and work, with a record number of foreign graduates finding employment in 2015. Want to join them? Check out our guide to studying in Japan.
Welcome to Japan, the local time is... tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/07H3OSH9n0
— The Simpsons (@Simpsons_tweets) April 14, 2016
Rise of Canada There’s good news for Canadian universities, with many reporting a large increase in applications from international students – for example, the University of Waterloo reported undergraduate international applications are up by 25% and graduate international applications have increased by 41%. South of the Canadian border, the 'Trump Effect' is causing problems, with 39% of US universities reporting a drop in applications from international students. Leigh-Ellen Keating, who directs international services for Brock University in Ontario, told Inside Higher Ed: “Mr. Trump, he’s not bad for our recruitment strategy.”
Reasons to wish you were this kid
Who wouldn't want to be this cocksure and confident? Life goals.
(Lead image: FBI (Flickr))
