The News Canon - Edition 12

Edition #12

Monday 13th March 2023

THE NEWS CANON

Hundreds of Trillions: Plastic Pile up in Oceans

The oceans are littered with 171 trillion plastic pieces – read on to page 4 to find out more…

The Endurance – The Lost Ship: Finally Found

107 years later, a lost ship has finally been found – read on to page 10 to find out more

Princess Lilibet Diana Christened in US

Harry and Meghan’s second child, Princess Lilibet Diana has been christened in the US – read on to page 6 to find out more…

Source: all news articles are written based on the BBC’s articles unless specified otherwise

The World of Classical Music: A Cry for Help

By Finn

‘ItisbecauseweappreciatetheBBC’srolesomuchthattheseproposedcutsaresoutterlydevastating.’

GeneralSecretaryNaomiPohl

The BBC singers, founded in 1924, have been performing for more than a hundred years, tackling some of the most difficult and exhilarating choral music spanning over five centuries. They have premiered significant choral masterpieces by Benjamin Britten and Francis Poulenc, as well as difficult contemporary works. Now, they’re being cut.

On the 7th of March 2023, Simon Webb, the director of orchestras and choirs at the BBC, announced the closing of the BBC singers and a 20% reduction of job positions in the BBC England-based orchestras. The Musician’s Union has described these cuts as “utterly devastating” and many conductors and influential figures on the classical music scene have expressed their horrified sentiments at this news.

The decision followed a review, conducted in 2022, which examined the BBC’s musical funding and financial expenditures.

Naomi Pohl, the first female General secretary of the Musician’s Union, has said the that they would fight as hard as they can to combat this

decision, stating that “the BBC is the biggest employer and engager of musicians in the UK, and it plays a unique role in the ecosystem of our music industry.”

“To now hear of potential redundancies across the BBC orchestras in England and the closure of the Singers as a performing group is unthinkable” says Jo Laverty, organiser of the Musician’s Union Orchestral department.

Charlotte Moore, the chief content office for the BBC said:

“Great classical music should be available and accessible to everyone, and we’re confident these measures will ensure more people will engage with music, have better access to it, and that we’ll be able to play a greater role in developing and nurturing the musicians and music lovers of tomorrow.”

This is only one of the many examples illustrating how the classical music sector has suffered greatly. This industry is invaluable to our society, so seeing such cuts being made has been devastating to musicians everywhere.

By Siya S

Japan Self Destructs H3 Rocket

On 6th March 2023, Japan’s H3 rocket took off from the Tanegashima Space Center. It initially followed its planned trajectory, but experienced engine failure. This meant that Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) had to send a command for the rocket to self-destruct just 14 minutes after it took off. This was a big setback for Jaxa as this was the first time they had designed a medium-lift rocket in 3 decades. The government called the failure “extremely regrettable”.

Tuesday’s launch was following a suspended launch that occurred previously just 3 weeks prior, where the rocket failed to get off the launch pad due to faulty rocket boosters. However, Hirotaka Wantanabe (a space policy professor at Osaka University) told the press, “Unlike the previous cancell ation and postponement, this time it was a complete failure”. He added that it “will have a serious impact on Japan’s future space policy, space business and technological competitiveness”. Had the mission succeeded, Jaxa had planned to launch the H3 around six times a year for the next 2 decades.

What was the H3?

The H3 rocket was an attempt to create a cheaper alternative to Elon Musk’s Space X, as it ran on a lower-cost engine with 3Dprinted parts. Its primary purpose was to launch commercial and government satellites into the Earth’s orbit. The rocket was 57m (187) and had a monitoring satellite on board that was capable of detecting North Korean missile launches.

By Zahra

Hundreds of Trillions: Plastic Piles up in Ocean

The concentration of plastic pieces in the ocean has risen from 16 trillion pieces in 2005, to the current estimate of 171 trillion pieces in a new study, data suggests.

Ocean plastics are responsible for killing fish and sea animals due to the fact that they take hundreds of years to break down into less harmful materials. It is estimated by Condor Ferries that around 100 million marine species die every year from plastic poisoning in the ocean. Scientists warn if no action is taken, the concentration of these plastics could triple by 2040

However, last week a historic UN high seas treaty was signed, for the protection of 30% of oceans known as The High Seas. This estimate was made by a group of scientists who analysed records of plastic in the oceans since 1979, and added data from expedition that have voyaged the seas with nets collecting these plastics. The plastic concentration found in the nets is added to a larger model to produce a global estimate.

‘The estimate on this plastic is made up of both recently and older, broken-down pieces of plastic’, says lead author Marcus Eriksen. Single-use plastics such as drinking bottles or packaging are broken down over time into smaller microplastics by sunlight or mechanical degradation. However, marine animals such as whales, turtles and fish occasionally mistake plastic for food, leading them to often die of starvation, due to not being able to digest the plastic that fills their stomach.

This plastic can also enter human drinking water. Studies have shown microplastics in the lungs and placenta. However, scientists do not know enough about the effect of these plastics on humans. The highest concentration of plastic currently is found in the Mediterranean Sea. Some large floating masses such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch also exist.

In November 2022, thousands of pieces of plastic debris from all over the world were found on a South Atlantic Island – Ascension Island. This put 900 species of marine life at risk, conservationists reported. At Plymouth University, Professor Richard Thompson added that the estimate contributed to what scientists already knew about marine pollution. “We are all agreed there is too much plastic in the ocean. We urgently need to move to solutions-focused research.”

It’s About Time… A mum's 'remarkable turnaround' to win her baby back

By Tara S

In August 2020, a young mother in the UK lost custody of her baby due to concerns about her drug addiction and ability to provide a safe home. However, after completing a rigorous rehabilitation program, she was able to make a remarkable turnaround and win back custody of her child.

According to the BBC, the mother underwent a 12-month rehabilitation program, during which she was drug-free and consistently met her responsibilities as a parent. She was also able to secure stable housing and employment, which further demonstrated her commitment to providing a safe and stable environment for her child.

However, this was not so easy for everyone, as another woman’s case in Leeds was advised to have this therapy but had to find somewhere herself, as the NHS couldn’t assist her. She was still on the waiting list during her whole case “even after 18 months” and her efforts for a loan were also unsuccessful as local authorities refused to fund her.

dedication to rehabilitation and her progress in becoming a responsible parent.

While specific figures on the success rates of drug rehabilitation programs in the UK are not provided in the article, it is worth noting that addiction is a complex issue and recovery is often a difficult and ongoing process. The mother's success in overcoming her addiction and regaining custody of her child is a testament to her resilience and commitment to building a better future for herself and her family.

The increasing demand for openness in family court will be fuelled by this, seen through by projects such as the “open justice” experiment which allowed the close following of this case and therefore helped to promote the campaigning of matters that are normally dealt with in private, hidden from the public eye.

Lucy Reed’s Transparency project was a supporter of the case, and her concept aimed “to promote the transparency of Family Court proceedings in England and Wales through providing straightforward, accurate and accessible information for litigants and the wider public.

(https://transparencyproject.org.uk/coreprinciples-mission-statement/ )

As a result of the work of the young mother in the first case, the court ruled in her favour and granted her full custody of her baby. The article notes that the judge commended the mother for her "remarkable turnaround," citing her

Additionally, this week having been International Women’s week goes to show how the progression and development of individual women can grant greater successes for other women in the future. Her efforts stimulated change as the local authority had to rewrite a document explaining their actions in calling her psychological issues as “current”. Her aims will inspire many mothers to get out of what was described as a “vicious cycle” of babies being born into care, as a shocking 82,000 people make up the record-breaking overloaded care system in England, which needs to be reduced.

Princess Lilibet Diana Christened in US

By Ellie

Harry and Meghan’s second child, Princess Lilibet Diana, born in 2021, was christened in their family home in California on Friday 3rd March by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Right Reverend John Harvey Taylor. Members of the Royal Family were invited, the couple’s spokeswoman states. The public announcement about the christening marks the first time Lilibet has officially been referred to as a princess, confirming that Harry and Meghan will be using royal titles for their children.

The Royal Family’s website, which currently refers to Lilibet and Archie, Harry and Meghan’s first-born child in 2019, as ‘Miss’ and ‘Master’ is known to soon be changed to respect Harry and Meghan’s wishes of Lilibet being referred to as ‘princess’. The BBC has learned that Archie and Lilibet won't use the royal titles in casual conversation, but they will be addressed as

prince and princess in official settings. However, it is also known that when Lilibet and Archie are of age to choose, they will make the decision whether to keep their royal titles or not.

Lilibet and Archie do not have the authority to call themselves ‘HRH’ – His or Her Royal Highness – as the right to do so belongs to their father, Harry, who stopped using the title when he retired from his role as a working royal.

It was revealed earlier this week that Harry and Meghan were debating whether to attend the coronation of the King and Queen Consort in the UK or not. According to the BBC, some potential attendees are being urged to save the date before receiving formal invitations later. Buckingham Palace has refrained from saying whose name might be on the official guest list.

Image source: Yahoo

By Kavya

Ukraine Powerplant Disaster

The United Nations has issued an urgent warning following a barrage of Russian missile strikes that caused the disruption of the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

Half of Ukraine’s energy is supplied by four nuclear power plants and fifteen reactors, making it a critical component of Ukraine’s energy grid, which Russia has been targeting since last October.

The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director general Rafael Grossi, has warned that “each time we are rolling a dice” and that the condition of Europe’s largest nuclear power station stays critical. He has appealed for the conflict to be solved and for

Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure to be guaranteed as safe.

The Zaporizhzhia plant – which had its 750kV line bringing electricity to the facility damaged by shelling - has been cut off for the sixth time since the war began. Although the damage was repaired and power was restored almost twelve hours later by engineers from Ukrenergo, which is the Ukrainian state energy company, there still remains the risk of the incident happening again. Russian forces have likely been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with the likely purpose of disrupting logistics and demoralising civilians. They have used missile strikes, artillery barrages, drones, and air strikes in their efforts to damage Ukrainian power plants.

What’s Next for Ukraine?

Although danger has now passed, it may only be temporary. While a grave accident at Zaporizhzhia is unlikely to take place, there is an elevated risk of an accident at other Ukranian nuclear power plants.

Mistaken Identity: US Citizens Kidnapped in Mexico

By Tara

Last week, four Americans were kidnapped by a Mexican cartel gang after crossing into the border city of Matamoros. Matamoros is currently caught between warring factions of the ‘Gulf’ cartel as they battle for control over the ‘Plazas’: the drug smuggling routes that lead north into the USA.

The unfortunate group of friends drove their minivan straight into this area and were held for four days; two of the men were killed and two survived. They were moved between the gang’s safe houses to avoid American detection. The US embassy issued a statement ordering their immediate release, hoping to cause instant alarm for any Mexican cartel or local gang operating along the border, which proved effective, as the captors seemed to realise that it was much more advantageous to hand over the Americans to deflect the danger and tension their gang was facing.

The Mexican government has provided little information about motive in this recent event, but the attorney general’s office of Tamaulipas said that their strongest theory was that this was a case of mistaken identity. These officials stated that no leads were being ruled out; however, they would not comment on any suggestions that a drug gang had confused the Americans for either US-based rivals, Haitian gang members, or human traffickers.

Kidnapping in Mexico is incredibly common with last year’s figure amassing to over 100,000 people disappearing, presumably as victim to such a crime. Most kidnappings are resolved with complete amnesty, particularly in cases of undocumented immigrants travelling north to the US. This case was concluded within 24 hours after the authorities were alerted to the situation, very quickly in comparison to many kidnappings. However, this sparked controversy as some Mexicans voiced their frustration on social media that such cases involving foreigners are resolved at exceptional speed but are often disregarded when involving natives.

Rishi Sunak’s Plan to Stop Migrant Crossings

By Yasmine A

The UK government’s new plan to stop migrants from entering the UK is set to be passed under the Illegal Migration Bill. The bill will make anyone entering the country illegally on small boats unable to claim refuge or seek citizenship.

Rishi Sunak has claimed that it is "fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum" whilst Keir Starmer, the current leader of the opposition Labour party, describes the measures as “unworkable.” Sunak has made the issue one of his key commitments under his premiership; the government believes it is an important topic to voters, making it vital in the next election.

Last year, more than 45,000 individuals crossed channels to reach the UK, in comparison to 300 in 2018.

These proposals would mean the home secretary would have a duty to remove people arriving illegally in the UK, which would be prioritised over a person's right to claim asylum. However, there are still exceptions for minors and those who are seriously ill. The bill would take several months to become law but those arriving in the UK illegally are already at risk as of this week.

There have been questionings regarding the compatibility of the legislation with the Human Rights Act and the UN’s Refugee Convention, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman saying the bill would push ‘the boundaries of international law.’ The bill may come with a “Section 19b” statement as a result of this, which essentially highlights that the given proposals may not be in line with the Human Rights Act.

As a result of this, the bill could fail in court and the majority within the House of Commons does not guarantee the plan will not be blocked in the House of Lords.

The proposals essentially say that those arriving illegally would be removed to a “safe third country” despite the failure of previous policy plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Rishi Sunak describes the plan as “fair for those at home and those with a legitimate claim to asylum, " describing those illegally entering as not in immediate danger as well as being fair to those who were “not jumping the queue.”

The Liberal Democrats described the idea as "immoral, ineffective and incredibly costly for taxpayers while doing nothing to stop small boat crossings", whilst the Refugee Council stated that the UK would lose its commitment to giving people a fair chance regardless of the way they came into the UK.

Image sources – Sky News, Metro

The Endurance – The Lost Ship: Finally Found

By Aryn L

Scientists have found The Endurance, the lost ship of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, 107 years after it sank. It was found on the weekend at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Despite having been crushed by sea-ice In 1915 and sunken almost 3km below the surface, it was found in remarkable condition.

The project to find the lost ship was mounted by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, using a South African icebreaker, Agulhas II. They finally uncovered the wrecked site after two weeks of looking, on the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s funeral.

“The Endurance, looking like a ghost ship, is sprinkled with an impressive diversity of deepsea marine life – stalked sea squirts, brittlestars, and crinoids (related to urchins and sea stars), all filter feeding nutrition from the cool deep waters of the Weddell Sea,” commented deep-sea biologist Dr Michelle Taylor.

The challenge after that was finding the ship itself. Since the Weddell Sea is nearly always covered in thick sea-ice (what ruptured the Endurance in the first place), getting to the sinking location was tricky enough, let alone conducting a search.

This magnificent boat was first renowned after the Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The boat set out to make the first land crossing of Antarctica before they had to abandon the quest when the ship was trapped by sea-ice. Shackleton managed to get his crew to safety on a small lifeboat.

Ukraine Launches Investigation into Unarmed Soldier Killing

By Dharshini

This article contains details some readers may find distressing.

Ukraine launched an investigation against Russian soldier that have been said to have killed an unarmed soldier.

Although Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that they will bring justice to the soldier, the case is more complicated than usual, as there have been inconsistent knowledge about his identity. The footage shows the Ukraine soldier bravely saying, ‘Glory to Ukraine’ and being shot only moments later. However, the clip does not show the killer(s), so they have not been identified. It also has not been verified when or where the footage had been made.

In order to unite the people of Ukraine and to honour the soldier’s life, President Zelensky has said that Ukraine should respond to Russia by saying together, ‘Glory to the Hero! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to Ukraine!’. Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister has been asking for an ‘immediate investigation’ from the International

Criminal Court to prove that Russia has committed a crime war.

On Tuesday 7th March, the military managed to identify the soldier as Tymofiy Shadura, and he was said to have been near the eastern city of Bakhmut in early February. Even after he was said to have been named, the identification of the soldier would be completed only when the body was found.

Despite the fact that the sister of Mr Shadura, the suspected name of the victim, has said that she recognised her brother, there still has been some controversy over the identity of the soldier, as a Ukrainian journalist has said that they recognise the soldier as someone else.

Russia is still denying every allegation that Ukraine has accused the Russian troops of committing, which include torturing, rape and killing prisoners. This murder has sparked another accusation, that Russia has denied yet again.

Teacher Interviews

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Out of all possible superpowers, Mr Thorogood stated that he would have the “key to infinite happiness!”

Ms Siddiqui said that she would like to possess the power of teleportation into people, to gain their experiences. For example, she would teleport into an actress to have amazing acting skills. She added that she also would like to be able to generate food on command

Mr Feltham would love to be able to fly. He attempted long jump when he was younger, and so would love to relive the experience of being in the air, however this time, remain in the sky, never land and fly over fields across the country. This event (him flying) occurs ‘obviously’, in his dreams.

Señor Carbonell heart-warmingly said that he would want to remove physical pain and disease from everyone.

Mr Peter, always the economist, related that he would like to be ‘moderately’ rich. Which means rich, but “not rich enough to need to give it away”. He added, “why is America a superpower? Because it’s really rich.”

Dr Silverman’s superpower would also be flying, as it’s pretty chill and can be used for fun and necessity.

Mr Tosh would have the superpower of instantly recognising where he has seen every

The Team:

Executive editor and layout editor: Zarah

Head editor: Ai Yi

Head reporter: Dakshka

Head re-searcher: Lana L

actor/actress without needing to look it up to clarify, as that would save his family and friends a lot of irritation!

Mr Adams really wants super speed, specifically the super speed from the TV show ‘The Flash’. He further specified that super speed in this case is basically time manipulation because you can slow down time making yourself really fast as a result. Advantage of this includes the ability to go anywhere really quickly: ‘over the weekend, I could be in Fiji in seconds!’ He also added that it would technically make him a genius because his brain would work in super speed.

Mr Hennelly would like to be able to teleport whenever and wherever he wants, specifically so that he could live in Bora Bora, but still work at NLCS, and also be able to go to any Brighton FC football match by just teleporting. (He also added that he ‘wants it to happen with sound effects like in Harry Potter’)

Another one for flying! Mr Galton would love to be able to fly, so that he could join the “swallows that migrate to South Africa”

Ms Demetriou wishes she could click her fingers and her whole house would be cleaned –something she used to tell her children she could do However, if she had to choose a more ‘fun’ superpower, it would be the ability to fly as ‘the feeling would be amazing’

Editors: Alana, Amber, Antara, Aryn, Dakshka, Dara, Fran, Imani, Karina, Lina, Mahi, Sania, Sophia M, Sophia P

Reporters: Sophia, Anya, Kat, Aryn, Tara, Daksha, Aiyi, Zarah, Imani

Re-searchers: Finn, Imani, Aryn, Zarah, Ai yi, Selin, Zara

This week’s journalists: Finn, Siya S, Zahra, Tara S, Ellie, Kavya, Tara, Yasmine, Aryn, Dharshini