All by Jie Ern Lau
The UN estimates that since the start of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, around 2 million Ukrainians have fled to seek refuge in other countries. Even though Boris Johnson expressed sympathy for Ukrainians and asserted that the UK is on their side, the country has taken a more restrictive approach, refusing to waive visa rules.
Michael Avenatti represented Stormy Daniels during her series of legal battles against Donald Trump. He had gained significant traction during that period as her lawyer and an outspoken critic of Trump. However, he utilised his position as Daniels’ lawyer to steal $300,000 from her. As a result, on the 5th of February 2022, a Manhattan federal court convicted Avenatti for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
World renowned tennis player has recently been deported from Australia owing to his unvaccinated status. Consequently, he will not be able to compete in the Australian Open tournament at which he could have made history by securing his 21st Grand Slam victory. As a result of this situation, various political and societal problems have arisen, which will be explored in this article.
While the COVID-19 outbreak has undoubtedly affected most average individuals through the restriction of movement and increased risk of illness and death, vulnerable groups such as refugees have arguably felt the brunt of the pandemic worldwide. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that around 167 countries fully or partially closed their borders and among those, 57 did not make any exceptions for people seeking asylum. This is an infringement of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.
The UK is slated to hold COP26 in Glasgow from the 31st of October to the 12th of November 2021. The conference has been delayed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but its importance has never been more emphasised. The upcoming COP26 is particularly important as research shows that global warming must be curbed at 1.5 degree Celsius for the goals set out by the Paris Agreement to be viable, hence it will be examined whether countries’ updated self-determined contributions are capable of doing so.
