As hard as it is to believe, another week has passed. The days are flying by! Here’s a look at the top news from the past week.
Facebook’s Emotional Test
Facebook under fire for manipulating users’ NewsFeeds without their consent. Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
No, Facebook is not getting emotional. Oh wait, it kind of is. During the past week, the general public discovered that Facebook was conducting a controversial study on its thousands of users. It was reported that the social media giant was manipulating these users’ NewsFeeds to see how an individual’s emotion could be affected by his or her online experience. After the news broke, many people immediately jumped and declared that their “Facebook civil rights” were being violated. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg admitted that the emotion testing experiment was “poorly communicated”, and clarified that the company does in fact place great value on user privacy. However, after this incident, many people have remarked that their image of Facebook has gone down. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, it looks like you’ve lost a couple of friends.
Trouble in the Middle East
Protestors in Palestine rally for the funeral of Mohammed Abu Khdeir. Credits: AFP
Tensions are flying high between Israelis and Palestinians lately, after several violent incidents in the area. First, three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped last month were found murdered in the West Bank. Following the news, Israel launched airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, an organisation which Israel describes as an Islamic terror group. In the most recent incident, which many believe was carried out in revenge, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Arab teenager, was found murdered in the forest. Autopsy results showed that he was likely burned alive by Jewish extremists after being kidnapped off a street in Jerusalem. Israeli authorities have arrested “a number of suspects” in connection with the killing, including a few minors. These crimes have heightened tensions in the area, especially in Jerusalem, and both sides fear further violence.
Blocking Buses Full of Undocumented Immigrants
Protestors in Murrieta, CA blocking buses carrying immigrants. Sam Hodgson/Reuters
The town of Murrieta, California, was featured quite prominently in the news last week, due to clashes between pro and anti-immigration groups. The trouble started when protestors showed up in the hundreds to block the advance of buses that were carrying illegal immigrants from Mexico and other Central American countries. The protestors waved American flags and chanted “U.S.A.” and made it clear that they had no interest in allowing the immigrants into their city. On the other hand, many pro-immigration protestors also fought back, claiming that while the federal approach to immigration was not ideal, they were there to “counter the overwhelming racism and xenophobia” that had been present in the city for the past couple of days.
For more information about this topic, see the link here.
Babbling Japanese Assemblyman
Ryutaro Nonomura breaks down during his press conference. JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images
Where do we even begin with this story? Ryutaro Nonomura, a 47-year-old Japanese politician, has become an internet sensation thanks to his very public breakdown during a press conference in which he was to explain his alleged overuse of government funds for his travel expenses. Nonomura is said to have taken 195 trips to various hot spring resorts, all without providing receipts. During the three-hour press conference, Nonomura broke down in tears and pounded his fists, all while shouting through his sobs phrases such as “You don’t understand!” and “I want to change this society!” Needless to say, people have shared the video clip of Nonomura’s breakdown, and the video has continued to rack up the numbers in the view count. Oh dear.
Watch the clip by BBC News here.
World Cup Update
The Netherlands’ players celebrate after their victory against Costa Rica. Robert Clanfione/Getty Images
Believe it or not, the World Cup is almost over! This week, the games continued, and needless to say, with so many games going to extra time and penalties, the week was not lacking in drama.
Countries left: Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Germany
Top World Cup stories:
- Neymar is out of the rest of the World Cup after suffering from a fractured vertebra, caused by an incident late in Brazil’s quarterfinal match against Columbia. With just minutes left in the game, Juan Camilo Zuniga of Columbia jumped up and hit Neymar square in the lower back with his knee, injuring Neymar to the point where the player had to be stretchered off the pitch. While the incident thankfully did not cause any career-ending damage, FIFA has decided to investigate the circumstances of the injury.
- The Netherlands won their closely contested quarterfinal game against Costa Rica in penalty kicks. Louis van Gaal, the manager for the Netherlands, took a risk by substituting goalkeeper Tim Krul with just seconds remaining in extra time. The risk paid off, with Krul saving two penalties in the 4-3 shootout victory that led them into the semifinals against Argentina.