5 min read

⏳ Thursday Fix: Justice and Injustice

⏳ Thursday Fix: Justice and Injustice

Morning all,

Justice and injustice - a January 6 rioter sentenced, a missing tennis player, convicted killers to be exonerated, and a highly consequential opinion expected.

Until tomorrow,

Your Fixers


GOOD LISTENER?

Below is an audio version of today's newsletter.


WHERE IS PENG SHUAI?

In Wednesday's NewsFix, we spoke about Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai - the woman who has not been seen publicly since accusing a prominent political figure of forcing her to have sex with him.

As concerns continue   to mount, Chinese state media released a statement they claim is from Peng. The letter states the allegation of sexual assault "is not true".

"I'm not missing, nor am I unsafe. I've just been resting at home and everything is fine." -  the statement Chinese state media claim is from Peng Shuai

Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg described the statement as "deeply dubious," a view that was mirrored by many online and across the media industry.


WEDNESDAY RE-CAP

Jacob Chansley, the ‘QAnon Shaman’ who went viral during the storming of the Capitol on January 6, has been sentenced to 41 months in jail.

Chansley went viral, with his image quickly becoming associated with both the breach of the Capitol, and the fringe QAnon movement who largely supported Donald Trump.

CNN reported he is one of the first of those who breached the Capitol to receive a punishment, and there are apparently more than 660 cases.


EXPECTED TODAY...  

The European Court of Justice is expected to publish an opinion on phone data later today, in a first indication of what judgement could be reached in the case of Graham Dwyer.

Remember: Graham Dwyer was convicted of the 2012 murder of Elaine O'Hara, in a case of police detective work that fascinated the country. He is now arguing that pivotal evidence - which involved accessing his phone data - should not have been admissible, because of a change in EU law.

Dwyer is hoping the opinion today  will lean in favour of his argument, so he can use that to appeal the murder conviction.

Here is a really helpful article on all of this.


Meanwhile, two men who were convicted of the murder of Malcolm X back in 1965 are expected to be exonerated, with Manhattan's District Attorney saying more information would be provided today.

Why? For years, there has been doubt cast over the guilt of the two men, who both spent more than 20 years in jail. The pivotal factor seems to now be that key evidence was withheld by both the FBI and NYPD at the time - which authorities now believe would have led to a different verdict. It is not clear why that was done.

Who was Malcolm X? He was one of the most prominent Black leaders at the time. The New York Times described his death as "one of the most notorious murders of the civil rights era".


PANDEMIC

Germany is reporting its highest rates of infection since the pandemic began. Around two-thirds of the country's adult population is fully vaccinated.

In Ireland, the country's chief medical officer has advised it would be the "responsible" thing to cancel social plans in the run up to Christmas. RTÉ News are leading this morning with a line from the taoiseach, saying there's a few "uncertain and challenging" weeks ahead.


STARK STATISTICS

In Ireland, the number of deaths from drug use has risen 225% in the last 25 years, according to a report published in RTÉ News.

What other statistic jumped out? The fact that cocaine use has reportedly risen by 10,376% in the same period of time.


CLIMATE COVERAGE

In Canada, a state of emergency has been declared in the province of British Columbia after an unprecedented storm. Access to the area via road and train has been cut off, in what authorities say is a result of climate change.

Worth noting: As BBC News reported, this is the same region where 500 people died over the summer due to a record heat wave.


In India's capital of New Delhi, schools have been closed indefinitely as smog worsens. People have also been asked to work from home where possible.

How common is this? As Al Jazeera noted, New Delhi is one of the world's most polluted cities, and "is cloaked every winter in a thick blanket of smog".


MOST READ


TWITTER TRENDS

#Jamaican

Why? Because of an awkward interview with a comedian who goes by the name of 'White Yardie', which sparked a debate about his Jamaican identity as a white man.

White Yardie - who lived in Jamaica from three months old until he was a young adult and speaks with a strong Jamaican accent - was asked by an interviewer when he decided he was Jamaican. Many found the questioning disrespectful.


CRABS ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Millions of crabs on the remote Christmas Island are making their annual journey to the ocean to breed.

Described as "one of the most incredible natural processes on Earth," male crabs lead the way and are followed by females along the way.

The most fascinating part of all of this? The exact timing and speed of the migration is determined by the phase of the moon.

Here is a link to know more about this, and it includes a fascinating decades-old video of Sir David Attenborough amongst all the crabs.


WATCHING OUT FOR...

An interview between Ellen DeGeneres and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, will air later today.

In a preview released on Wednesday, Meghan chatted about her time auditioning as an actor, prior to her relationship with Prince Harry. It is not clear if anything newsworthy was asked about the dynamics between the couple and the rest of the royal family.


ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

All the feels. 🥺🥺🥺