World News

France

On October 9th, French President Emmanuel Macron decorated couple Serge and Beate Klarsfeld with awards of commendation for their work in finding Nazi war criminals. Serge received France’s highest award of commendation, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, while Beate received the National Order of Merit. The couple dedicated their lives to searching for Nazis after they married in the 1960s. They have found the location of members of France’s collaborationist Vichy regime. Most notably, they discovered the location of Klaus Barbie, a former officer in Nazi Germany’s secret police, the Gestapo. He was responsible for deporting Jews and other minority groups to death camps. His crimes led him to be known as the “Butcher of Lyon.” After Klarsfeld was discovered and revealed his whereabouts in 1971, Barbie was given a life sentence and died in prison in 1991. (BBC)

North Korea

On October 9th, South Korea’s presidential office released the announcement that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, will invite Pope Francis to the country. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in will deliver the invitation to Pyongyang during his trip to Europe and the Vatican next week. No pope has visited North Korea before, although an invitation was extended to Pope John Paul II in 2000. No formal diplomatic relations exist between North Korea and the Vatican. The invitation by Kim Jong-un is seen as the latest reconciliatory gesture from the country. (BBC)

Israel

On Sunday, October 7, two Israelis were shot and killed in a factory at the Barkan Industrial Zone, near the Jewish settlement of Ariel. The factory had some 3,300 Palestinians working alongside Israelis. The shooter has been identified by CCTV footage as a Palestinian worker at the factory. While Israel’s military said that they were treating the killings as a terrorist attack, the attacker is not believed to be a part of a Palestinian militant group and may have had motives that were not nationalistic. Since 2015, more than 50 Israelis and 260 Palestinians have been killed in clashes.(BBC)

Haiti

On Saturday, October 6, an earthquake struck northern Haiti, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 people. The quake had a magnitude of 5.9 and is one of the strongest to have hit the country since 2010, when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the nation and killed more than 200,000 people. Several buildings have been destroyed, and power around the epicenter of the quake was affected. Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise urged people to remain calm. A disaster response task force has been set up. (BBC)

India

India’s #MeToo movement has taken Bollywood and Indian media by storm. Unlike America’s corresponding movement, India’s movement was not impelled by investigative journalism, but rather by a spontaneous rush of tweets. Many of the accusers have been women journalists, however like America, many of India’s women have called out comedians, journalists, authors, actors and filmmakers. Famous Indian actor Alok Nath was the latest to be called out. He did not deny the allegation. Many of the allegations are being reported to the front page of national newspapers, forcing the publications to respond. At least one major newspaper has vowed to launch an investigation into the allegations after seven women accused one of its senior editors of sexual harassment and sexual extortion.(BBC)