Welcome to Label’s, fortnightly news update, bringing you a few headlines from Loughborough, the UK and around the world.
BBC Mental Health
The past few weeks have certainly been a busy. As part of a special BBC series, dedicated to mental health, you may have noticed our union president on the news the other evening! Rahul has been interviewed about mental health in university for East Midlands Today, meanwhile he and our Education EO also partook in a discussion. It’s always great to raise awareness of mental health and we are proud that our union can spread their message across the region!
Nightline Awareness Week
To further the theme of mental health awareness, last week, we saw Nightline Awareness Week across campus. As well as increased posting across social media and events, the fountain has been lit up in blue all week as a reminder of the presence of the support service. Nightline offer an instant messaging service and are open for calls from 8pm to 8am across the working week.
Russia and Ukraine
Last weekend it was revealed that Russian border guards fired on Ukrainian ships, as well as seizing their crew, near to the Crimean Peninsula. There is some debate over who controls the water, yet it was still unacceptable as three sailors were wounded and concern raised across the world of such conflict resurfacing. The act was condemned by both Merkel and Trump and Ukraine’s President has appealed to NATO for support.
French Riots
Over the past couple of weeks, les gilets jaunes (the yellow jackets) and supporters have taken to the streets in Paris to protest about increasing fuel prices, on top of higher living costs. Diesel prices have increased by 23% in the last 12 months, leading to drastic action by the public. On November 17th, 300,000 people took part in a national-wide protest. While riots in Paris have lead to three deaths, 100 injured and 400 arrested. President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting today; no state of emergency has been declared, but Justice Minister, Nicole Belloubet, has promised to bring the full force of the law to bear on people who are found to have resorted to violence.
Brexit
Meanwhile, who honestly knows what’s going on with Brexit? Everyday someone threatens to resign and Brexit seems to recede further away. The current conflict, however, revolves around a televised Brexit debate between May and Corbyn, an issue that has reached a head this week. The Prime Minister has agreed to take part in a debate on the BBC, yet Corbyn’s preference is to go with ITV. Currently, they’re at loggerheads but we should see what happens soon as the debate is set to take place within the next week. Hopefully, then we’ll have some idea what’s going on!
Antarctic Wingsuit Woman
A 50 year old Australian, Heather Swan, has become the first woman to wingsuit over Antarctica. Jumping out of the plane at 12,000 feet above Union Glacier, she set the world record last month. Alongside her husband, they’ve also performed the first and only wingsuit voyage of the Grand canyon in 2015, and broken the record for the highest base jump in a wingsuit after they jumped from Mount Meru. What a woman!
Here in Media, we’re also working to be more open for our volunteers. You can view a copy of the latest Minutes here. If you have any other questions about Label, you can email [email protected], or for general enquiries, our Media EO Jazz, at [email protected]
If you’d like to hear about something you’re interested in, do contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] with any stories which are important for us students.
