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News Brief: August 29 – September 2

 International

Ravil Maganov: Russian Lukoil Chief Dies in ‘Fall from Hospital Window’

Ravi Maganov, chairman of Lukoil, Russia’s biggest private company, is the latest of several Russian energy oligarchs to die under odd conditions. Reports say Maganov died after falling from a window at a hospital known to have Russian elite as its patients.

According to BBC’s article

·         The body of millionaire and former Novatek manager Sergei Protosenya was found alongside his wife’s and daughter’s at a Spanish villa in April

·         A former vice-president of Gazprombank, Vladislav Avayev, was found dead with his wife and daughter in their Moscow flat, also in April

·         In May, a former Lukoil tycoon, Alexander Subbotin, died of heart failure, reportedly after seeking alternative treatment from a shaman.

Lukoil’s board did not support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

UN Accuses China of Committing Crimes Against Humanity

Although China has continuously denied them for years, there have been claims and allegations of rape, torture, forced sterilization and more going on in its “re-education camps.” Located in the northwest province of Xinjiang, these camps have prompted the UN to accuse China of “serious human rights violations.”

About 12 million Uyghurs reside in Xinjiang, a million of these allegedly being detained against their will.

Beijing says the camps are a tool against terrorism as China proclaims Uyghur militants to be violently pursuing an independent state.

Some have called their actions genocide, though the UN stopped short of that, instead accusing them of exaggerating the threat in order to justify their actions.

Visit BBC’s article for the full story.

National

Twitter Readies Edit Feature for Premium Users

Twitter plans to release an edit option for premium users ($4.99 USD a month) later this month. Their approach takes potential misuse into consideration.

One key feature will be the fact users have just 30 minutes to make changes. Another key point is edited tweets will appear with a corresponding label. When clicked, this label reveals prior versions.

Twitter spoke on the importance of these features.

“They help protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said,” Twitter said.

See KFOR’s article for more information.

This Non-profit Has Rerouted 250 million Pounds of Food to People in Need

Based in Los Angeles, the non-profit Food Forward has rerouted 250 million pounds of food from landfills since 2009.

This comes out to about 19.2 million (19,200,000) pounds of food per year. For context, the average apple weighs just 0.4 pounds, the average burger 0.75 pounds and the average watermelon 20 pounds.

The perishing produce is sent to those in need all over the country, providing over a billion servings of fresh produce to food insecure communities.

“We’re all kind of under this umbrella, feeling like the last 10 years for Food Forward were a dress rehearsal for the pandemic,” CEO Rick Nahmias said.

Now, every single dollar donated redirects 10 pounds of produce to these communities. This effort also depletes methane emissions, as it keeps produce out of landfills.

Read more about them in Good News Network’s article.

Local

Norman High Teacher May Have Teaching License Revoked

Oklahoma’s Secretary wants to revoke the teaching certificate of Summer Boismier, a Norman High School English Teacher, after she handed out QR codes to students which granted access to the Brooklyn Public Library, where they could rent books not allowed at Norman Public Schools.

Boismier resigned on Aug. 24 following a teacher’s complaint about the act, which was a potential violation of House Bill 1775.

However, according to a letter by Sec. Ryan Walters, she was fired. He does not want her teaching in Oklahoma.

In either case, Oklahoma’s Secretary of Education wrote a letter to the State Board of Education requesting Boismier’s certificate be revoked.

See KFOR’s article for the full story.

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