Mexico
On March 19, three Mexican film students in their twenties—Salomón Aceves Gastélum, Jesús Daniel Díaz and Marco Ávalos—were kidnapped, murdered, and their bodies dissolved in acid by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Law enforcements believe that the killings were most likely motivated by the New Generation Cartel perceiving the students as rival gang members. The victims are stated to have been abducted by the gang, who impersonated police officers to assist the students when their car broke down on the highway. Since Mexico’s government has declared war on organized crime in 2006, more than 200,000 have been killed or disappeared. While this effort has led to some disorganization of the gangs, due to the widespread corruption of Mexico’s government, the end of this war on gangs is nowhere in sight. (BBC)
South Africa
On Monday, April 23, the annual Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to Makoma Lekalakala and Liz McDaid.These women represent the human rights groups Earthlife and Southern African Faith Communities. For the past five years these women have battled in court to obstruct the creation of a nuclear power-plant conceived by the conjoined effort between South Africa and Russia. The power plant plans were initially approved illegally and unconstitutionally, not having gone through the sufficient channels of parliament and having been opened to the public’s discretion. The construction of the power plant was officially blocked in court on Monday. Public disdain for the project arose from a multitude of issues, including its price tag: seventy-six billion dollars. (BBC)
Canada
On Monday, April 25, a white van in Canada rampaged down a main Toronto street, killing 10 people and injuring 15. Alex Minassian, the 25-year-old perpetrator, was captured in a tense standoff blocks from the scene of the crime. On Tuesday, April 24, a day after the attack, Minassian was charged with 10 counts of first degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. While a deliberate attack, it is not yet known the motive behind Minassian’s behavior. A hotline has been set up for witnesses to contact the police with any relevant information and investigation is still underway. (BBC)
United Kingdom
On Monday, April 23, 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, welcomed their third child and second son born at 11:01 BST, weighing 8 lbs. 7oz. The couple has yet to publicize the name of the child, who is fifth in line for the throne as King. With the birth of the new baby boy, Princess Charlotte, the Duke and Duchess’s second child, made history. For the first time ever, a female was not bumped down the line of succession because of a younger brother. Being the third child of the Duke and Duchess, the possibility that new baby may eventually become King is quite rare, an occurrence that has not yet happened in the current House of Windsor. (BBC)
South Korea
On Monday, April 23, South Korea silenced its loudspeakers stationed along the South-North Korean border that blasted news and propaganda against North Korea in efforts to inspire the North Korean soldiers to question the factuality of the information shared by their government. The motive behind this act was to set a tone of peace between the two as the first inter-Korean summit in over a decade will be occurring next Friday. This follows North Korea’s announcement that they will be suspending nuclear testing and closing an atomic testing site. Additionally, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jung-un, and United States President Donald Trump, are scheduled to have the first ever meeting between these two countries in June. (BBC)
Compiled by Stephanie Meyer
