WEEKLY NEWS IN 5

We’ve summarised the news from the previous week.

It’s officially back-to-work Sunday, so you might not be back into the swing of things yet. That’s why we’re here to bring you a weekly round up of the most important things to happen around the world in the last week.

• While Australia is used to bush fires, what parts of the country are currently experiencing is undeniably the worst they’ve ever seen. Both New South Wales and Victoria have declared states of emergency and thousands of people have fled their homes. The fires have claimed 19 lives so far, both civilians and firefighters. Temperatures show no signs of dropping as the summer season is far from over.
• Tensions were escalated between the US and Iran when President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike on Baghdad, killing one of Iran’s most powerful leaders, Qassem Suleimani. Fears of future conflict have arose and WWIII is currently trending on Twitter. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn expressed concern saying that, “the US assassination” of the general “is an extremely serious and dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East with global significance”.
• Ethical veganism is now a philosophical belief, meaning it’s protected by law, a tribunal has ruled for the first time. The case arose when Jordi Casamitjana, who is a vegan, claimed he was sacked by the League Against Cruel Sports due to his belief of ethical veganism. The judged ruled that ethical veganism should fall under the Equality Act 2010.
• Emma turned 18! If you’ve ever seen ‘The One with the Cake’ Friends episode, you’ll know the significance of this year. The episode shows her first birthday party and the family making a home video that will be shown to her on her 18th birthday. Chandler records his part saying, “Hi, Emma. It’s the year 2020. Are you still enjoying your nap?”, so obviously, the entire world has realised that Emma is now, in fact, 18. The actress, Noelle Sheldon, who played Emma when she was just a baby, took to Instagram to say that she “just woke up from the best nap of all time”. Happy birthday Emma!
• The Golden Globe awards are taking place tonight in Beverly Hills, California. Ricky Gervais is set to return as host, while stars like Jodie Comer, Jennifer Aniston and Rami Malek battle it out for the awards.

Image of the week

This image of a firefighter was taken by Dale Adams, a lieutenant at the Eden Hills Country Fire Service. He took it of his colleague as he and a koala watched the Cudlee Creek blaze, one of many wildfires currently spreading through Australia. He told The Guardian that is was common for koalas to come out in these situations, and is thought that they are looking for firefighters.