WEEKLY ROUNDUP: SAUDI ARABIA, NEW VISA LAWS, AND CHANEL MILLER

by isised | September 14, 2019

Saudi Arabia oil plants burn after drone strikes 

A second attack from ten drones on two oil plants at Abqaiq, which are owned by oil company Aramco, has resulted in fire outbreaks at the facilities.

Although the blazes have now been brought under control, the politics of the attack are far from mollified. The drone strikes have been claimed by the Houthi youth rebel group from Yemen, who have indicated that they are hoping to target more places in Saudi Arabia. Four years ago a coalition led by Saudi Arabia came into Yemen to support President Hadi, whom the Houthi had ousted in a coup. The Houthi have claimed numerous violent attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months, citing them as retaliation for civilian deaths in Yemen.-Annabelle

 

New Visa laws for international students

This week, the government announced new proposals which would allow international students to remain in the UK for two years after they graduate. The changes are due to come into effect next year, for any undergraduates or graduates commencing courses in 2020/21. – Scarlet

 

Chanel Miller (victim in Brock Turner case) gives up anonymity & is writing a memoir 

Chanel Miller, formerly known as the ‘unconscious intoxicated woman’ assaulted by Brock Turner in 2016, has reclaimed her name as news comes that she will be releasing a memoir this coming September. The Brock Turner case served as a forerunner to the #MeToo movement, sparking outrage in the US and across the world. The case saw Chanel, a young woman, sexually assaulted behind a dumpster at Stanford University by freshman Brock Turner. Despite a unanimous conviction, based partially on the testimony of the man who interrupted the attack and struggled through sobs to make his statement due to what he had seen, Brock Turner received a six-month sentence, of which he served three. 

The subsequent outrage was stoked by a statement released by his father, that his minute sentence was an overreaction to ‘20 minutes of action’. Chanel Miller made a powerful statement at the time, addressing her attacker directly in court in a victim impact statement which went viral with the words ‘You don’t know me, but you’ve been inside me, and that’s why we’re here today’. Now, three years on, she continues to take incredible strides. Her memoir, ‘Know My Name’ will see ‘Emily Doe’ become ‘Chanel Miller’, and will hopefully permanently alter the narrative news outlets appear to have adopted in this case among many others, still preferring the term ‘Stanford Swimmer’ to ‘Convicted Rapist’. This bizarre habit (which one tweet calls comparable to calling Hitler a painter) caused significant irritation on Twitter, with #BrockTurnerIsARapist trending earlier this week. – Margot∎

Art by: Ng Wei Kai. Words by: Annabelle Fuller, Scarlet Katz Roberts, and Margot Harvey.