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🌎 📸 Twitter takes a stand
Alexis Walker, Ashlyn Hill & Revathi Angajan
April 25, 2022
World News
Twitter Update
Twitter has stated that the platform will no longer tolerate advertisers to deny ‘scientific consensus’ on climate change, and this policy is basically echoing the one already in place at Google. ‘Ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis,’ was stated outlining their new policy on Friday. It is still unclear if this new change will impact the contents that are uploaded by twitter users, but lately twitter, along with Facebook, has been the platform sought out by groups to promote misleading information about climate change. It’s incredibly important to share legitimate information on the internet because it can lead to misinformation and confusion. Twitter has stated that it will also provide more information on how the platform would provide their audience with more reliable information about topics such as climate change, which is a positive change towards to acquiring more knowledge.
Nigeria Oil Blast
It was noted that at least 50 individuals were killed in Southern Nigeria due to an explosion that took place at an illegal oil refinery. There were dozens of people that had been working at the ‘refining plants’ before the refinery caught on fire. And consequentially, many were burnt to an unrecognizable state. Illegal oil refining seems like a good opportunity to the people of Southern Nigeria due to the increasing levels of poverty and unemployment. Unfortunately, there is no certainty on what caused the explosion, but it’s known that it occurred overnight into Saturday. With facilities such as this one, there are no precautions that are set into place for the safety of its environment or its workers, making it incredibly dangerous to work in such environments.
Weapons sent to Ukraine by the US
The US has provided $3.4 billion in weaponry to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion occurred two months ago. We will discuss the different weapons that were sent to Ukraine in the span of the last two months:
Drones: In their latest security package, there were ‘121 tactical unmanned aerial systems’ with the name of Phoenix Ghost drones. Which were quickly developed by the Air Force for the requirements of Ukraine.
Armored and tactical Vehicles: The US has delivered hundred of armored vehicles for the Ukraines forces’ usages. Armored vehicles including ‘200 M113 armored vehicles and 100 armored high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles.’
Heavy artillery: In the last few weaponry packages sent to Ukraine contained a total of 90 howitzer artillery systems. The Pentagon had confirmed that the Ukrainian forces have to train alongside the US forces before operating their howitzers.
Missiles: The US has delivered almost 2000 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems and 6000 portable AT-4-anti armor systems.
Guns and ammunition: The Pentagon delivered 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 5000 rifles, 1000 pistols, 400 machine guns and 400 shotguns.
And this is only the beginning of the military support that Ukraine could receive.
Written by Jenna Cho
Political Commentary
France's Charged Presidential Election
France's 2022 Presidential race is coming to a close, and the world is waiting for its result. The election has drawn more attention than most because of the two leading candidates: the current president, Emmanuel Macron, and his challenger, Marine Le Pen. Political analysts across Europe have referred to the election as one that will define the continent's future political direction and how it responds to the Ukraine conflict. In the 2017 election between Macron and Le Pen, Macron won with nearly double her votes after gaining the support of many citizens in the suburbs as well as socialists opposed to Le Pen. Conversely, Le Pen won the votes of nationalists and many citizens in lower-income areas.
The platforms of the two candidates differ greatly once again in this election, as Macron is a centrist and Le Pen is far-right. Macron has played a key role in international conventions supporting Ukraine, and has sent weapons to Ukraine in addition to sanctioning Russia. On the other hand, Le Pen has said she supports the Ukrainian people but is against sanctioning Russia and wants to reduce France's role in NATO. The two are also at odds regarding climate change, with Macron supporting efforts to expand clean energy and public transportation and Le Pen campaigning against wind farms and other sources of clean energy.
Polls have Macron in the lead currently, but by a small enough margin that if waves of Le Pen supporters came out to vote that weren't planning to, she could win the election. Macron has tried to appeal to more leftist voters than he typically would as a centrist, hoping that he could convince them to vote against Le Pen even if they didn't agree with all of his ideas. Le Pen has largely continued her 2017 campaign strategy, appealing to low-income, unemployed citizens, and nationalists.
Liberal Commentary
The current Presidential election presents an interesting future for France if Macron is defeated by his challenger-- and not a good one. Le Pen is a far-right nationalist who opposes efforts to combat climate change and has included a devastating policy aimed against the Muslim community which would ban Muslim women from wearing headscarves. While it's true that Macron doesn't have the best track record regarding followers of Islam in France, his platform hasn't been as aggressive to Muslims as what Le Pen would attempt to carry out. This is not the time to elect someone with ties to Russia who offers a two-faced response to supporting Ukraine. Le Pen has accepted million-euro loans from Russian banks on multiple occasions, and has happily met Putin, maintaining a good relationship with him until he invaded Ukraine. Reelecting Emmanuel Macron is France's-- and frankly, Europe's-- best bet for moving in the right direction politically. Europe has a nasty history with far-right nationalists being put into positions of power, so why elect one freely?
Admittedly, Macron is not the perfect candidate. As a centrist, his track record of wealth-tax cuts and flip-flopping support of climate policies has been less than ideal. However, the race in France is not a "may the best candidate win" race; it's a "may the worst candidate lose" race. Make no mistake, Le Pen is the worst candidate. Her policies would undo much of the social and diplomatic progress France has made in recent years, and put non-Christian religious communities and undocumented immigrants in danger. Even from across the world, we are waiting anxiously in hopes that Macron wins: both for the sake of the French people, and for the sake of diplomacy.
Written by Ashlyn Hill
Conservative Commentary
The French Election has two main candidates leading the way: Centrist Emmanuel Macron and Ultraconservative Marine Le Pen. Thus far the election seems much closer than that which previously occurred, and Macron barely leads by a nine-point gap (compared to the 30 point gap of the previous election)(Bisserbe and Meichtry). So the question remains which French leader will be the best for world politics? In the case to maintain the status quo, Macron is the better candidate. He has proven this through his work on the global political stage and he also has maintained a strong alliance with NATO and the European Union(Noack and Bronner). Le Pen in contrast is a strong advocate for France to leave NATO and restructure the EU alliance to allow France more autonomy over of its troops(Noack and Bronner). While this may seem to be in France’s best interest it would alienate them from previous allies and abdicate them of any previous treaty responsibilities making them a wild card in any future conflict.
Furthermore, Macron has accused Le Pen of being Putin’s puppet due to the fact that her party received 9.4 million euros ($10.2 million) from a Kremlin affiliated bank(Bisserbe and Meichtry). This assertion is further backed by Le Pen’s advocacy against Russian sanctions. While she claims this would be in the best interest of France the facts hint at a skewed perspective that could possibly run Russian sympathetic. It has been stated in one article that France is “deeply divided over its national identity and place in the world” (Bisserbe and Meichtry). While Macron has been a strong advocate against Russian aggression and a proponent of maintaining current alliances, Le Pen seems to be motivated by a Russian leaning sympathy disguised as nationalistic ideals that could lead France to isolate from its allies and possibly a civil war due to her continued attack on Muslims within France. Le Pen has advocated quite fervently for a headscarf banning law that would fine practicing Muslims from practicing their religious beliefs (Pedram). France’s largest minority currently is Muslims and isolating such a large sector of the population would only increase the inner turmoil and detract from any real problem-solving policies. Macron has stated this ban would be a “betrayal of the French spirit of the republic”(Bisserbe and Meichtry). Overall, the votes will decide the president but for the sake of the global status quo as well as the safety of French freedoms, we must hope Macron again prevails over Le Pen.
Written by Alexis Walker
Startups
Labster
Labster is an immersive platform which engages students in game-based, virtual science lab simulations which help students to learn techniques, perform experiments & interact with advanced equipment. Labster makes education easier by grading quizzes for students & providing educators with an overview of the students' performance. Labster is engaging & accessible to all students, with simulations being offered in various languages & accommodating audio & visual impairments. The virtual labs have been used by Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Hong Kong University, Trinity College and many other leading universities internationally. Due to remote learning environments during Covid-19, Labster has proven to be a practical tool used by students to become aclimatised to STEM lab environments. To this date, Labster has raised $40 million in venture capital, having been founded in 2012.
Economy
Russia’s war on Ukraine is having a significant impact on the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced their predicted Global economic growth from the previously projected 4.4% in January to 3.6%(Wiseman). This reduction reflects the significant impacts of the Russian/Ukrainian war due to the economic sanctions taken against Russia. The chief economist for the IMF, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, has stated “The war will slow economic growth and increase inflation”(Wiseman). This impact will most heavily affect the countries most reliant on Russian exports.
Germany’s Bundesbank has announced the war will reduce the country’s economic output by at least 5% since more than half of its natural gas imports come from Russia(Fairless and Rubin). This is said to further instigate a possible recession in Germany as well as increase inflation (Fairless and Rubin).
Russia itself is suffering from the sanctions with its economic output estimated to be reduced by 8.5%(Wiseman). Of course, Ukraine itself is suffering heavily from the war with a reduction in its economic output by 35%(Wiseman). It is probably best described by United States Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen who is quoted as saying the Russian-Ukraine War has made a “dire situation worse” with only negative economic impacts from the war for all (Rappeport and Swanson).
Written by Alexis Walker
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