9 things that happened around the world last week

Feb 26 2017, 10:21 am

Each week, we bring you a roundup of some of the biggest stories making headlines around the world.

Here are nine things that happened last week that you should know about (in no particular order)

1. Trump revokes transgender bathroom order

On Wednesday, February 22 the Trump administration revoked protections for transgender students that allow them to use the bathrooms of their choice.

In May 2016, Obama issued a guidance allowing transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. The move was considered a civil rights victory for transgender people.

Trump argued that states should have the power to decide their own bathroom policies without federal guidelines.

2.  Kim Jong-nam killed by nerve agent

Malaysian authorities say that the half-brother of North Korea’s leader was killed by a nerve agent that caused “very serious paralysis” within 20 minutes.

Kim Jong-nam was killed at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport last week. Two women are in custody.

According to Malaysia’s health minister, traces of the VX toxin was found during Kim Jong-nam’s autopsy. “VX only requires 10 milligrams to be absorbed into the system to be lethal, so I presume that the amount of dose that went in is more than that,” he said in a news conference. “The doses were so high and it did it so fast and all over the body, so it would have affected his heart, it would have affected his lungs, it would have affected everything.”

3. Select media outlets barred from White House briefing

Journalists from New York Times, CNN, BBC, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, and BuzzFeed New were barred from a White House press briefing on Friday, February 24. Reporters from the outlets say they were denied access to the briefing with White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

“Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of the New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest,” said New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet in response to the denied access.

4. Drone footage captures great white shark following unsuspecting surfer in Australia

An Australian government drone captured footage of a great white shark following an unsuspecting surfer at Lighthouse Beach in New South Wales. The shark can be seen following dangerously close to the surfer before swimming away. The area is known as the “shark capital” of the country.

5.  Car plows into crowd at Mardi Gras in New Orleans

A car that plowed into a crowd attending Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans on Saturday injured 28 people. The truck hit other vehicles before colliding with parade-goers. The suspect has been identified by police. Authorities say the suspect is being investigated for driving while highly intoxicated. Twenty-one people have been hospitalized.

6. 13 migrants found dead in shipping container

The bodies of 27 migrants were found in western Libya. Thirteen of the migrants died by suffocation in a shipping container.

According to the Red Crescent, the migrants in the shipping container were locked inside it for several days. They were attempting to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe.

Fifty-six migrants were rescued from the container.

7. Zoo’s live stream of giraffe giving birth pulled after nudity complaints

An upstate New York zoo’s live stream of a pregnant giraffe giving birth was pulled from YouTube after extreme animal rights activists reported the live stream, claiming that it contained sexually explicit or nude content.

Over 20 million people were viewing the cam of April the giraffe giving birth at Animal Adventure Park in New York but the live broadcast stopped at 8 am. “This has pulled an educational tool away from tens of millions of individuals,” said the zoo’s owner Jordan Patch, in a statement.

8. Strange sea creature washes ashore of Philippines beach

The remains of a mysterious sea creature were discovered on a beach in the Philippines on Wednesday. The large creature measured 4.5. metres in length. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Manila, believes that the unidentified animal was a sea cow.

9. NASA announces new discovery outside our solar system

NASA made a big announcement this week  about discovery outside of our solar system.

No, it’s not aliens, but it is something that could tell us more about life that exists beyond planet Earth.

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope revealed the first known system of exoplanets, which are seven Earth-size planets around a single star. The exoplanet system is called TRAPPIST-1, named after The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile.

NASA says that all of these planets could have water, under the right atmospheric condition.

Three planets, in particular, are more likely to have water because they are located in the habitable zone. This is an area around a parent star where a rocky planet has an increased chance of containing liquid water.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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