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15 year old Greta Thunberg takes a stand for climate change at COP24

15 year old Greta Thunberg made headlines last month through her uncompromising – and uncomfortable! – presentation to the United Nations’ COP24 Climate Change conference in Poland.  For Greta, it’s as simple as this: climate change is a threat to our survival, and the world is not doing enough about it. Each Friday since August 2018, Greta has missed school to go on strike outside of the Swedish Parliament Building. She is demanding change, and has encouraged kids around the world to do the same until world leaders take serious action to reduce emissions and fulfil the mandates of the Paris Agreement. 

Twitter trends [from Trendinalia] – today from USA

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Operation Northern Shield
  • Israel announces an operation to clear Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon-Israeli border. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

• Russians vote to rename the two main airports of Moscow, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, after poet Alexander Pushkin and scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, respectively. (TASS)

Law and crime

• The alleged boss of the Cosa Nostra mafia clan is arrested along with 45 suspected accomplices in the province of Palermo, Italy. They are accused of aggravated extortion. (Euronews)

Politics and elections

• Yellow vests movement
  • Following large protests against French President Emmanuel Macron‘s planned increases on fuel taxes, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announces that these plans will be suspended for at least six months. (Bloomberg)
• Brexit negotiations
  • The Government of the United Kingdom is found to be in contempt of parliament for the first time in history. The motion, which passed by 311 to 293 votes in the House of Commons, was triggered by Theresa May‘s government failing to publish its legal advice on its Brexit withdrawal plan. (CNN)
• Frank Scott Jr. is elected Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, defeating Baker Kurrus in the runoff. Scott will become the city’s first African-American mayor. (USA Today)

Sports

• NHL expansion
  • In ice hockey, the National Hockey League announces that its board of governors unanimously approved a new franchise for Seattle. The new team will start play in the 2021–22 season, bringing the league’s membership to 32 teams. (ESPN)

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