2022 has set global tension at the highest it’s been in years. Around the globe conflict has sparked, from the war in Ukraine, the rising tensions between the USA, China, and Taiwan, and Sweden and Finland joining NATO and reversing their neutrality. The world is the closest it’s ever been to World War 3 since 1962 and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
NHS art teacher, Mrs. Theresa Lappostato, is retiring from NHS at the end this school year. The 16-year veteran art teacher from NHS has had an undeniable impact on students and future artists since acquiring this job. She also kept the Amy Bonadonna memorial scholarship alive, in memory of a former NHS art student who passed away.
As tensions rise around the world amid the war in Ukraine, the countries neighboring Russia have all sought after different forms of security. Thrown in the spotlight are the peaceful and neutral Scandinavian nations of Finland and Sweden. Their desired form of security is an application to NATO to join the defensive alliance. However, Putin and the Russian government have seen this as a threat to their national security, claiming that NATO is aggressively expanding and planning on invading Russia.
The February 24th invasion of Ukraine by Russia has continued to encounter setbacks. The five-day invasion now has gone on for longer than a month, and as such there has been plenty of important updates and events that have happened since the last updates. From Ukrainian counter attacks, massacres, and Russian retreats, a lot has changed and with that change comes constant humiliation for Russia.
On February 24, 2022, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. In the first few hours of the war, it seemed like it was already over before it had begun. Russian troops made plenty of gains, Ukrainian border guards were surrendering, and Ukrainian forces were put in retreat. However, after the initial shock and awe of the Russian attack had worn off, numerous faults were revealed in the Russian invasion.
The Russo-Ukrainian war, which began on February 20, 2014, has recently been thrown into the spotlight once again as Russia begins to amass troops on the border of Ukraine. However there were a number of important events that not only started the war, but are a driving factor in why the war has been going on for the past seven years.
On January 2, 2022, riots and protests occurred in the country of Kazakhstan. The riots were triggered after a rise in the price of fuel and according to BBC News. “The demonstrations, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, turned into the worst unrest the country has seen in its 30 years of independence.” The riots have also transformed into general discontent with the ruling government.
On November 24, a large build up of migrants coming from Belarus attempted to enter the EU from Poland. They were stopped, however, by Polish border troops and the oncoming winter. This has caused what some are calling a “humanitarian crisis” as thousands of the migrants were left without shelter and with little food and water as winter approaches.
As European countries recover from COVID and lockdown restrictions are being lifted, European countries now face a new problem: a shortage of natural gas. Due to climate change, many countries around the world are moving towards cleaner energy sources such as natural gas. However as countries come out of lockdown, they are faced with the fact that there is not enough natural gas for the post pandemic recovery.
On Monday, October 18th, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced Russia will suspend diplomatic ties with NATO. This also includes the information office in Moscow. According to RT News, “Lavrov said that, after that date (November 1st) NATO should turn to the Russian ambassador in Belgium for any contact.”
