TRENDING HEADLINES
News Editor’s Top Picks
by Marie Fester
We rounded up some of the most interesting, significant, and most highly debated headlines this week and found:
Where is Vladimir Putin?
Good question. Depending on who you ask, he is either assisting in the birth of his illegitimate child, has the flu, is dead, or is writing a hit list for political murders. The leader was missing all of last week and turned up on Monday blaming the rumors on March madness.
Putin quickly ordered 45,000 troops into a state of full combat readiness in the Arctic. And so, #Putindead dies (The Independent, CNN, Huffington Post, BBC).
Cinderella
The newly released live action Disney princess movie was released last Friday and is surrounded with a cloud of debate over why Cinderella has not been turned into a stronger person (Time). The film has grossed 132 million globally, the infamous glass slipper is currently residing at Vogue, its hairstyles are inspiring bloggers and has a fresh rating of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 88% of viewers liked it.
Vanuatu
Tropical Cyclone Pam hit the pacific island nation this weekend, with eight confirmed dead and an expected 90% damage rate to houses. Winds were up to 160 miles an hour and residents report that it was the worst storm they had ever seen. It could take up to seven weeks to compile data from remote villages. The majority of all communications were wiped out on the island on Sunday morning slowing government response time (International New York Times).
Hillary Clinton
Ms Clinton has stolen the spotlight with her private server and email account scandal. As a result of her non-democratic actions her approval ratings have fallen and a new investigation into her emails from when she led the State Department will most likely be underway within the next week (Huffington Post, Time, The Telegraph).
Boko Haram
The Nigerian insurgent group made a pledge of allegiance to ISIS while it remains unclear what this will entail the joining of two terrorist groups is always unsettling and will add a twist to dealing with both organizations (CBC, NBC, CNN).
#DresscodePM
Mr Harper casually said in the House of Commons about wearing a Niqab during citizenship ceremonies, “Why would Canadians, contrary to our own values, embrace a practice at that time that is not transparent, that is not open and, frankly, is rooted in a culture that is antiwomen?”
Furious Canadians have since retorted with tweets using the hashtag #DresscodePM (National Post, CBC, Global News).
Justin Bieber
After a worrisome year or two of worrisome behaviour, the Canadian singer has finally been roasted. Which was apparently the reason for the dirty deeds in the first place. The singer also apologized for the bad behaviour and is planning on going back to being famous for his music. As well, he just celebrated his 21st birthday (CTV, ABC).
Ebola
An American healthcare worker volunteering in Sierra Leone, diagnosed with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), was brought back to the National Institutes of Health. The worker’s case has been evaluated as very serious. Meanwhile, the United-Kingdom has been declared EVD-free by the World Health organization after all diagnosed patients were recovered (WHO Press Release, NIH Press Release).
Bill C-51
The new anti-terror bill has caused an upsurge of riots across Canada. Demonstrators oppose the bill on the grounds that it gives intelligence agencies too much freedom to act on suspect terror plots causing infringement on individual rights and freedoms. NDP leader Thomas Mulcair will not be supporting the bill, and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau will be supporting it despite reservations. StopC51.ca likens the bill to an Orwellian move by the government. (CBC, CTV, Toronto Sun)