Buzz
Staying updated with the news can be a challenge. To make it easier, we've compiled the most mind-blowing stories from the past week. This week, crossing the middle of August, began with violence and included at least one deeply tragic moment. While the world wasn't all bleak, the somber events of the past seven days were impactful enough to cast a shadow on everything else.
10. Violent Protests and a Terrorist Attack Devastated Charlottesville
One of the darkest developments of the last two years has been the disturbing realization that almost anyone can use a vehicle as a weapon. The truck attacks in Nice, Stockholm, and Berlin, along with the car and van assaults in London, have now been followed by another tragic incident.
This Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a group of left-wing protesters, injuring 19 and killing one. He has been arrested and could face charges for a federal hate crime.
The protest was originally about the removal of Confederate statues in the town. Although not planned as a right-wing rally, it quickly turned into one, with groups like the KKK and various militia movements seizing control of the streets. Violent clashes broke out between the left and right, and police officers were attacked. In the chaos, Fields made a terrible situation even worse.
The current atmosphere in the US is incredibly tense. More rallies like this are scheduled in the near future. We can only hope they don't all escalate in the same way as Charlottesville.
9. Free Speech Was Attacked
In a previous article, we argued that free speech includes protecting the speech of those you disagree with. Now, it's time to back up that claim with action.
Following the right-wing violence in Charlottesville, the neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer published articles mocking the woman killed in Fields's terrorist attack. The intense backlash forced the site offline, but in doing so, it also damaged free speech for all of us.
The people behind The Daily Stormer are truly despicable. However, the First Amendment protects free speech for everyone, including those we find repulsive. When GoDaddy, Google, and Russia’s Ru-Center refused to host the site, they violated those protections. Cloudflare further joined the effort by removing their DDoS protections, which are vital for any website to function. While it may be hard to feel sympathy for fascists losing their free speech, by allowing this, we open the door for companies to control what we can and can’t say.
Additionally, this week saw a more concerning example of free speech being suppressed. The US Department of Justice formally requested that Dreamhost hand over the IP addresses of over a million people who visited an anti-Trump protest website. There are fears that this information could be used to target left-wing activists and intimidate them into silence.
8. Australia Accused New Zealand of Plotting to Overthrow Its Government
Australia and New Zealand are essentially the US and Canada of the Southern Hemisphere. Because of this, it's rare for them to clash (unless it's rugby season). This week, however, things went beyond a simple disagreement. Canberra accused New Zealand’s opposition of attempting to destabilize the Australian government.
The Australian government, led by Malcolm Turnbull, currently holds a slim majority of just one seat in the House of Representatives. Australia doesn't allow people with dual citizenship to serve in the House, and several MPs have already lost their positions over holding second passports.
On Monday, it was revealed that the father of Australia’s deputy PM Barnaby Joyce was born in New Zealand. The issue? New Zealand automatically grants citizenship to the descendants of those born there, making Joyce a dual citizen and disqualified from serving in parliament. This could be a major setback for Turnbull, as Joyce’s departure would wipe out the government’s majority.
Things took a turn for the bizarre on Tuesday. It came to light that the left-wing opposition parties of both Australia and New Zealand may have worked together to expose Joyce’s citizenship issue, leading Australia’s foreign affairs minister to warn that relations between Wellington and Canberra could collapse if New Zealand’s opposition wins the September elections. So, in short: New Zealand might have tried to bring down Australia’s government, and Australia may have interfered in New Zealand’s upcoming elections.
7. The Philippines Endured Its Deadliest Day Yet in the Drug War
In the year since President Duterte launched his violent anti-drug campaign, over 7,000 people have been killed in the Philippines. To put this into perspective, that's more fatalities than the entire death toll of the Somali War in 2016. On Monday night, the violence in the Philippines reached horrifying new levels, with 32 people executed by police in the deadliest 24 hours of the drug war so far.
This wasn't an isolated event. The following 24 hours saw another 28 people killed. This smaller number may have disappointed Duterte, who had previously celebrated the massacre by urging the police to kill 32 people every night until drugs were completely eliminated from the country.
At this point, Duterte has essentially granted police officers unlimited power to act however they see fit with suspects. Human Rights Watch has documented instances where police have fabricated evidence to justify killing innocent civilians. Duterte's reaction to these reports? On Thursday, he authorized police to kill any human rights activists who stand in their way.
6. One of China's Most Renowned Crime Writers Was Exposed as a Real-Life Criminal
Liu Yongbiao was emerging as a prominent figure in the Chinese crime fiction scene. His debut novel became so popular that it was adapted into a 50-episode television series, and his fanbase was steadily expanding. At the conclusion of his most recent book, he hinted at the plot for the next one: a story about a successful crime novelist who murders people without ever being caught, despite writing a best-selling book on the subject.
Can you guess what happened next?
On Friday evening, Liu was taken into custody for the 1995 murders of four individuals. All of them were killed on the same night, beaten to death in what seemed to be a failed hotel robbery. When the authorities arrived at his home, Liu allegedly said, 'I’ve been waiting for you here all this time.'
As strange as Liu’s tale may sound, it's not the only instance of a crime writer concealing real-life wrongdoing within their fiction. In 1992, Dutch author Richard Klinkhamer published a book in which he described the murder of his missing wife. Shortly after, she was discovered dead—murdered by none other than Richard Klinkhamer himself.
5. Grace Mugabe Was Arrested for Assault
It’s no secret that Grace Mugabe is an awful person. As the wife of Robert Mugabe, a man whose actions make Kim Jong-un seem like the epitome of reason and sanity, she’s not exactly a shining example of decency. We all know this, but a recent incident brings it into even clearer focus, one that unfolded in South Africa last Sunday.
Details are still somewhat unclear, but it seems that Mrs. Mugabe had a confrontation with model Gabrielle Engels, who was staying at the same hotel. The First Lady accused Engels of partying with her sons and then proceeded to beat her mercilessly with the plug end of an electrical cord, leaving Engels with severe head wounds. When Engels sought to have Grace arrested for assault, Mugabe invoked diplomatic immunity.
The incident threatens to strain relations between Zimbabwe and South Africa, particularly if the prosecution moves forward. On the flip side, allowing Mugabe to avoid any consequences for such a blatant attack would send the dangerous message that one can assault a South African citizen on South African soil and still face no repercussions.
4. A Collapsing Tree Causes Chaos at a Portuguese Religious Festival
Sometimes fate places us in the wrong spot at the wrong time. This was the case for worshippers attending a religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira this past Tuesday. During the festivities held in the lush hills above Funchal, a massive oak tree unexpectedly fell, crashing onto the crowd below. Tragically, 13 people were instantly killed, and another 49 were left injured.
The festival was part of the Catholic nation’s annual Assumption celebrations, marking the Virgin Mary’s ascension to Heaven. While similar parties take place throughout Portugal, this particular gathering above Funchal was especially large, amplifying the tragedy of the tree’s collapse. In such a dense crowd, there was simply no place to escape.
Later reports confirmed that the tree had been rotting, with no foul play suspected. Still, it’s heartbreaking to imagine how just a slight shift in timing could have spared so many lives. Had the tree fallen a day earlier or later, there would have been no one underneath, and 13 people might still be alive today.
3. Sierra Leone Endures A Devastating Landslide Disaster
Worse than the Ebola outbreak. Worse than the civil war. These were the comparisons made by officials at the Freetown mortuary in Sierra Leone after a catastrophic landslide struck in the early hours of Monday.
Following intense rainfall, the slopes of Sugar Loaf mountain collapsed in a violent surge of mud and water. Entire communities on the outskirts of Freetown were engulfed, with homes completely swept away. As of now, over 400 lives have been confirmed lost, with at least 600 people still missing. The death toll is anticipated to rise in the coming days.
The disaster has left local resources stretched to the breaking point, and mass graves have been used for burials. Among the dead are around 100 children, and more bodies continue to be recovered. For a nation still grappling with the aftermath of an Ebola outbreak that claimed 4,000 lives, this new calamity could not have arrived at a worse time. In response, the government has declared seven days of national mourning for the victims of this tragedy.
2. Colombia’s FARC Completes Disarmament Process
Once regarded as the wealthiest and most powerful terrorist organization in the world, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fought a brutal conflict with the Colombian government for over half a century. This prolonged war claimed the lives of a quarter of a million people and forced nearly five million Colombians into displacement.
In November, the Colombian government and FARC reached a landmark peace agreement, ending the deadliest chapter in Colombia's ongoing civil conflict. (However, the ELN, another insurgent group, continues its violent struggle.) Nine months after the peace deal was struck, the disarmament process has been completed. On August 16, FARC handed over its final weapons to the United Nations. These weapons, along with others from the group, will be melted down and transformed into monuments in Bogotá, Havana, and New York.
This marks the conclusion of a transition that many doubted would succeed. While some weapons caches remain hidden in the jungle, their locations have been provided to the UN for destruction. The next challenge now lies in the difficult task of reintegrating 7,000 former FARC fighters into civilian life.
1. Kenya’s Election Results Stirred Controversy (Once Again)
In 2007, Kenya's national elections erupted into deadly violence, claiming the lives of over 1,200 people. Since that tragic event, elections in the country have been fraught with heightened tensions, and this year was no exception. When Kenyans went to the polls on August 8, there was widespread anticipation of unrest. However, to everyone’s surprise, the elections proceeded peacefully, with international monitors, including the UN, USA, EU, and African Union, affirming their fairness.
Then, on the following Friday, the official results were announced, and everything began to unravel.
President Kenyatta secured victory over opposition leader Raila Odinga, which was expected given Odinga's history of losing four previous presidential races. However, Odinga, known for his frequent claims of corruption, vote-rigging, and unseen forces undermining democracy, quickly accused his opponents of foul play. As always, such accusations were followed by outbreaks of violence.
Pro-Odinga protests erupted over the weekend, claiming 24 lives and leaving hundreds injured. Among the casualties was a six-month-old baby girl, tragically beaten to death by a police officer. In response, Odinga has called for nationwide strikes and vowed to take his case to the Supreme Court, a move that could ignite further violence in the coming days.
+ Terrorism Strikes Barcelona
As this article was being written, breaking news emerged from Barcelona, Catalonia, where a van drove at high speed through the bustling Las Ramblas street, crashing into pedestrians. Las Ramblas is not only the busiest street in Barcelona but also a hub for both locals and tourists, particularly those in the hospitality industry. It is clear the driver’s intent was to kill as many people as possible.
This marks the first major terrorist attack in Spain since the horrific Madrid train bombings in 2004, which claimed nearly 200 lives. Although the death toll from Thursday’s attack is lower, it is still deeply unsettling. The last terrorist attack in Barcelona occurred in the summer of 1987 when the Basque separatist group ETA bombed a department store. Now, three decades later, blood has once again been spilled on the streets of the Catalan capital.
In the next few days, it seems almost inevitable that the death toll will climb further. More details will emerge about the suspect and their motives, and it’s almost certain that some malicious group will claim responsibility. However, for now, that must take a back seat. Today, our focus should be on the victims—individuals who were merely enjoying their city when they were mercilessly killed. Our hearts and thoughts are with them and their families during this tragic time.
