Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything that happens around the world. But fear not, this article sums up some of the biggest news of week 6.
International: Earthquake in Turkey and Syria
A major 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northeastern Syria on the morning of February 6th, local time. Several aftershocks have reverberated throughout the last few days, whereas one of the aftershocks had a magnitude of 7.5. The earthquakes and their aftershocks have left big parts of Turkey and Syria in ruin, and the death toll keeps rising. The World Health Organisation fears that the estimated number of dead citizens could reach eight fold (BBC News, 2023). Big parts of the world are now offering their help through specialist rescue teams, search dogs, and equipment (The Guardian, 2023).
International: What’s happening in Ukraine?
It has soon been a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On day 350 of the war, February 7th, the Ukrainian military said that the past 24 hours had the largest number of Russian casualties since the war started. Russia did also state that they have killed a large number of Ukrainian troops during the past few weeks. However, these numbers have not yet been confirmed independently from each other, but the intense warfare in east Ukraine is a fact. Furthermore, many countries are supporting Ukraine with equipment, ammunition, and battle tanks. Though this has not been met positively by Russia. The Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu warned the western arms supplies, saying that they dragged Nato into the conflict by doing so, which could generate “an unpredictable level of escalation” (The Guardian, 2023).
National: Terror-attack threat against Sweden
Recently, there has been an increased number of terror-attack threats towards Sweden, Säpo writes in a press release. One of the reasons is the recent burning of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy, as well as the negative rumors of the Swedish social service. It was in December 2022 that a campaign aired on Twitter, accusing the Swedish social service of stealing children. This campaign is now circulating on Arabic-speaking media channels, creating a violent climate online with terror-attack related comments and threats (SVT Nyheter, 2023).
Sport: LeBron James is the new all-time point scorer of NBA
For a long time, the all-time point scorer in the NBA has been Kareem Abdul-Jabbars. But not anymore. In a game against Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7th, LeBron James surpassed the record with only 10,9 seconds left of the third quarter. The new record is now 38 390 points, 3 points higher than the former record of Abdul-Jabbars (Sky Sports, 2023).
Sources:
International: Earthquake in Turkey and Syria:
Wertheimer, T. (2023), “Turkey earthquake: Death toll could increase eight-fold, WHO says”, BBC News, February 6
Badshah, N, Henley, J & Belam, M. (2023) “Deaths surpass 12,000 while Istanbul suspends stock exchange – as it happened”, The Guardian, February 8
International: What’s happening in Ukraine?
Chao-Fong, L. (2023) “Russia-hUkraine war at a glance: what we know on day 350 of the invasion”, The Guardian, February 8
National: Terror-attack threat against Sweden
Koch-Emmery, L. (2023) “Hotkampanj mot svenska myndigheter – islamister uppmanar till terrordåd”, SVT Nyheter, February 6
Sport: LeBron James is the new all-time point scorer of NBA
Naz, M. (2023) “LeBron James becomes NBA’s all-time points record holder as he surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record”, Sky Sports, February 8
