First Female Prime Minister in Sweden Quits Within 7 Hours
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After making history as the first woman to govern Sweden, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Magdalena Andersson, resigned 7 hours later. On 24 November, Andersson’s coalition partner (the Greens) left the two-party minority government and she encountered a budget defeat in parliament. In a tight vote of 154-143, the proposal of the opposition (the right-wing democrats) had been favoured. Hours later, she chose to step down from her position. “For me, it is about respect,” she said in a news conference, “but I also do not want to lead a government where there may be grounds to question its legitimacy.” [CTV] [By Iris Ma]
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3 Men found Guilty in Ahmaud Arbery Case
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Greg McMichael, Travic McMichael, and William Bryan have been found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. In February 2020, the three white men chased and trapped Arbery, a black man who had been jogging through the neighbourhood. They then shot him 3 times with a shotgun. When a video of the shooting was made public, the case became a part of the Black Lives Matter movement as another example of racism and injustice faced by Black Americans. Throughout the trial, the defense attempted to use racist imagery to portray Arbery, at one point claiming that he had “long dirty toenails.” They contended that Arbery had been acting suspiciously, and that the defendants had responded correctly by performing a legal citizen’s arrest. Thankfully, they were found guilty by the jury and will face federal charges for hate crimes. As Arbery’s father said, “the spirit of Ahmaud defeated the lynch mob.” [BBC][By Miranda Zhao]
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France and Britain Spar After 27 Migrants Drown in English Channel
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27 migrants are dead after their inflatable boat capsized off the coast of France on Wednesday. Speaking a day after the disaster, French President Emmanuel Macron said that a greater collective effort between the European nations was needed, and announced that officials from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain and the EU would meet on Sunday to discuss efforts to combat migrant-smuggling networks. But his announcement did not prevent French Interior Minister Gerald Darlmanin from trading barbs with his British counterpart, suggesting that by hiring illegal immigrants, British employers were encouraging illegal migration to English shores. The British Prime Minister, meanwhile, criticized lackluster French operations to stop migrant boats from leaving France in the first place, describing them as “not enough.” President Macron has also vowed that his country would “not allow the Channel to become a cemetery.” [Global News][By Joshua Zhuang]
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Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse Since 1440
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A partial lunar eclipse, the longest of its kind since 1440, occurred on 19 November in the early morning. A partial eclipse is when the moon moves into the Earth’s umbra, slightly misaligned with the Sun, causing part of the moon to be covered by Earth’s shadow. This event lasted for a total of six hours with the partial eclipse starting at 2:19 AM and ending at 5:47 AM. Although much of North America had mostly cloudy conditions, coverage dissipated in Toronto an hour before the maximum, at 4:03 AM. If you missed this eclipse, don’t worry! Set your alarms for 15 May and 7 November to view the two upcoming total lunar eclipses in 2022. [AccuWeather][By Justin Wei]
