- Press Review: July 2022 - July 21, 2022
- Press Review: July 2022 - July 14, 2022
- Press Review: June 2022 - July 6, 2022
From Madrid to Ohio. From peace to mass shootings. An overview of this week’s news and how they affect our world.
Here is the news that you might have missed from the last month.
Madrid Hosted 2022 NATO Summit
From June 28 to June 30, Madrid hosted this year’s NATO summit, which has been marked by the Russia-Ukraine War. In fact, the military organization stated its intention to provide a “360-degree protection” to all of its allies and continues its mission for global peace, as reported in the NATO 2022 Strategic Concept.
The summit also helped to enforce the economic, political and diplomatic relations between the member states. As declared by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain will hold stronger links with Turkey in an effort to help Turkey to become a new member of the European Union.
The United States stated its intention of keeping strong military relations with its European partners. That is why it will increase its military personnel in Europe adding 20 thousand more soldiers, getting to nearly 100 thousand soldiers in total.
In the words of Joe Biden “this NATO summit has made history.”
Shooting in Fields Shopping Mall, Copenhagen
The shooting occurred in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, on July 3. A man armed with a rifle and a knife entered Fields shopping mall and started shooting to anyone near him. The police response was fast, and in just 13 minutes the attacker was detained. Nevertheless, it was enough time for him to kill 3 innocent people and to wound 4 more.
According to Le Monde and AP News, the alleged 22-year old perpetrator is being held in a psychiatric facility for at least 24 days, tying the attack to a possible mental illness and ruling out a connection with terrorism. The suspect also published videos of himself holding guns on social networks such as YouTube, before the shooting; however, those videos were removed overnight.
For a Nordic country like Denmark, where mass shootings are unheard of, these attacks are truly harmful to its society. The two Danish teenagers and 47-year old Russian citizen who lost their lives in the shooting will have a memorial on July 5 to honor their deaths.
Pope Francis Denied Rumors about His Early Resignation
Pope Francis‘ health has been center of public concern since he cancelled a trip to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo aimed to spread peace. Following the change of plans, speculations of a possible resignation from the 85-year old Christian representative have arisen.
Rumors sustain that Pope Francis suffers from cancer. However, during an interview he denied that possibility. Pope Francis said that his health problems are tied to a knee injury rather than other illnesses. In the same interview, he added that the idea of resigning “never crossed my mind.” However, he said that he may resign someday in case its health makes it impossible for him to work full time as Bishop of Rome and Head of the Catholic Church.
If he resigned, Pope Francis would be the 2nd to do so in a decade, right after former Pope Benedict XVI.
The House of Commons Will Revise Bill on Assisted Suicide
Under the British Suicide Act of 1961, assisted suicide is considered a criminal offence, punishable with up to 14 years of jail. However, this act will be debated in the House of Commons because of a popular petition that received 100 thousand signatures, the minimum signatures necessary for anyone who wants to take a petition to Parliament. Most recently, Liam McArthur, a Liberal Democrat member of the Scottish Parliament, introduced a similar bill in Scotland’s Parliament.
The British bill has a great contraposition, led by a group Care Not Killing. This UK-based organizations wants to promote better palliative care and completely rejects euthanasia. Its main argument fosters human dignity and the idea that vulnerable people may recur to assisted suicide due to financial, social or emotional problems rather than health ones.
Akron Police Fatally Shot an Unarmed Black Man
Jayland Walker, a 25-year old Black man was shot 60 times by police in Akron, Ohio despite being unarmed.
Akron’s Chief of Police, Stephen Mylett, said that the police had found a weapon in Walker’s car, but that Walker was unarmed when he was killed. Bobby Dicello, Walker’s family lawyer, has expressed his gratitude for Mylett’s statement but still wants justice for Walker’s murder.
For now, the police officers involved in the shooting have been suspended from work, but are still receiving a paycheck.
Movements like Black Lives Matter emerged after the murder of George Floyd two years ago, which helped to turn on a social change in search of equality, justice and freedom. However, structural racism in the United States is still a problem for both political and social life.
The Press Review is a bi-weekly column produced by our Newsroom team to highlight the stories that you might have missed from the last month. You can read more about our weekly content on the Newsroom page.
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