NewsFix: Friday September 10, 2021
Morning all,
Benjamin Mendy is due in court, R Kelly’s trial continues, and America’s Department of Justice sues Texas over the state’s new abortion ban.
Until Monday,
Hilary
SERVING UP SOME HISTORY
British tennis star, Emma Raducanu, has qualified for the US Open final in her debut at the tournament. As BBC News noted, Raducanu has become “the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final for 44 years”. She will play another teenager, Leylah Fernandez, in Saturday’s final.
Worth noting: Raducanu was born in Canada to a Romanian father and Chinese mother, and moved to the UK when she was two years old. Leylah Fernandez is a Canadian tennis player with Filipino and Ecuadorian roots.
ON TODAY’S AGENDA…
Manchester City and France footballer Benjamin Mendy is due to appear in court on Friday.
Why? On August 27, the footballer was charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. His bail was denied and he has been remanded in custody, and was also suspended from Man City while they investigate the accusations. The charges relate to alleged attacks on three women, one under the age of 18.
Case update: On Monday September 6, a second man was charged in connection with the alleged sexual assault claims, and will also appear in court later today.
R KELLY: TRIAL UPDATE
A woman has told the court the singer allegedly locked her up without food and water for at least two days back in 2003.
The accuser - who identified herself as ‘Sonia’ - also claimed that when she was finally fed, she became very full very quickly and “felt something come over” her which caused her to fall asleep.
Sonia went on to say she woke up to the singer adjusting his pants, and she believed she had been sexually assaulted.
At the time, Sonia was a 21-year-old intern at a radio station, who travelled to Chicago independently to interview the star.
AFGHANISTAN
The last known member of Afghanistan’s Jewish community, Zebulon Simentov, has left the country. Simentov - who is in his 60s - lived in and maintained Kabul’s only synagogue.
Meanwhile, CNN posted a harrowing piece (below) about a Hazara family who fled to the UK, but didn’t escape without tragedy.
What does ‘Hazara’ mean? The Hazara are a Shiite ethnic minority in Afghanistan. Al Jazeera estimated they account for “up to 20%” of Afghanistan’s population.
“The Hazaras are said to be descendants of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol empire, and the Mongol soldiers who swept through the region in the 13th century.” - Al Jazeera
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MOST READ
- BBC News: Teenager Raducanu reaches US Open final
- The Guardian: Emma Raducanu defeats Maria Sakkari in US Open women’s semi-final - as it happened
- The Financial Times: Cathie Wood’s Ark cuts China positions ‘dramatically’
- Al Jazeera: UN warns Afghanistan at risk of ‘total breakdown’
- The Irish Times: Nearly 15,000 reports of suspected Covid vaccine side effects made to HPRA
SOCIETAL SHIFTS
America’s Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against the new laws on abortion in Texas.
The country’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said the law - which is the strictest legislation on abortion in the entire country - was “clearly unconstitutional”.
How strict is the new law? It effectively bans abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, once a heartbeat is heard. Crucially, the law also gives citizens the right to sue anyone involved in an abortion procedure.
TODAY MARKS…
According to ONS data, 4,912 people died by suicide in England in 2020. This is 404 fewer than in 2019. Males aged 45-49 continue to have the highest suicide rate (23.8 per 100,000).
In Ireland, the latest statistics are based on 2018 - where 75% of the 437 people who took their own lives were men.
Support available from Samaritans 24 hours a day. Just call 116 123 or text Text SHOUT to 85258
TOMORROW MARKS…
The 20th anniversary of 9/11. We recommended two fascinating documentaries earlier in the week - Turning Point on Netflix, and Inside the President’s War Room on BBC iPlayer and Apple TV.
Keeping an eye: There is a report in Russian state media, TASS, saying the new Afghan/Taliban government’s inauguration ceremony is schedule for Saturday, September 11. Please note that is not widely confirmed, but something to keep an eye out for.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
Ed Sheeran’s new song, Shivers, is out. It has already been listened to more than 1.3 million times in just seven hours.