Sunday Summary - 6th of April 2025

Happy end of exam week, dear students!

If, like me, you have been living under a rock (metaphor for exams) for the past week and want to catch up on the latest news, then you are in the right place. Let me round up events from around the world for you, while you sit back and enjoy the sun. 

Since US President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, we have been hearing about his administration’s outrageous, disheartening, and at times simply lunatic decisions almost every day. To nobody’s surprise, US politics will also grace your eyes today. On April 3rd, Trump announced new universal trade tariffs for almost every country in the world. Tariffs are additional taxes charged on goods imported from other countries and are technically a policy measure to boost national economies. But the Trump administration, now facing retaliatory measures from other nations, is being accused of risking a US recession, with stock markets falling considerably since Tuesday. Moreover, US tariffs will affect the global economy, but especially the poorest countries in the world, such as Cambodia and Vietnam, being taxed at 49% and 46% respectively. Trump’s baseline tariff is 10%, impacting countries like the UK and Australia, while China and the European Union, both top of Trump’s “worst offender list”, are being penalised with 34% and 20% respectively. Officially, Trump has claimed to want to close the gap between goods being imported versus produced in the US and to protect US industries from competition. But the demand for products in the US is much higher than in other parts of the world, hence the need for imports. Companies are able to pass on the additional costs to consumers, leading to an increase in prices for goods hit by tariffs.

Trump has also stated that the tariffs are “payback” for unfair economic treatment of the US and that they are reciprocal, but a comparison of other countries’ tariffs on US goods reveals a huge mismatch. The EU, for example, only imposes, on average, 5% on imported products. In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced retaliation while being open to negotiation. The UK is attempting to negotiate a deal with the US to lower its tariffs or will otherwise, like China, retaliate. 

Nowhere is safe from Trump’s tariffs, with even penguins and seals now being taxed at 10% if they ever wanted to expand to the US market. Two islands 4,000 km off the Australian coast and only reachable by a seven-day boat trip from Perth, have been added to Trump’s tariff list. One may wonder, is this where the famous Madagascar militant penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Junior have set up their business? Otherwise, what could warrant such a decision?

In a 25-hour-long marathon speech in front of the US Senate, Senator Cory Booker took a stand against President Trump and broke the record for the longest speech in Senate history. Why is this remarkable? Apart from disrupting normal business in a Republican-dominated Senate, it is the first time a Democrat has taken impactful action against the Trump administration, making Booker a symbol of perseverance. Booker did not stop to go to the toilet or eat and stood for the whole duration of his speech, as is demanded by Senate rules. His critical speech against the US President, celebrated by Trump critics worldwide, has set a powerful example.

Turning to news not far from home, the Leuven Public Prosecutor's Office has appealed the recent verdict in a rape case involving a medical student, following public outrage about the lack of legal consequences. The 24-year-old gynecology student at UZ Leuven was found guilty of raping an intoxicated woman after a Halloween party on November 8, 2023, but received no prison sentence. The court cited his young age, clean criminal record, and promising career as mitigating factors, leading to the decision to keep his record clean and impose only a €3,800 compensation payment to the victim. 

The lenient sentencing has prompted student protests under the banner “Enough is enough”, advocating for stricter measures against sexual violence. Sexual harassment being a relevant and insufficiently addressed issue at many universities, the court’s verdict, instead of setting an example, further perpetuates the impression that rapists face few to no consequences. We stand in solidarity with the victim and students of UZ Leuven, who are demanding justice.  

An Israeli airstrike on a school in Northern Gaza has killed at least 33 Palestinians, mostly children. Israel’s genocide in Gaza has claimed at least 55,669 lives so far, including the ones of eight Palestinian medics, six Civil Defence first responders, and a UN staff member killed on March 23. New video footage contradicts Israel's claims to have targeted suspicious vehicles, showing that the rescue worker’s vehicles did have their headlights and emergency signals turned on. This is not the first time Israel has been accused of deflection and disinformation. 

Meanwhile, environmental disasters continue to affect people all over the world. The death toll in Myanmar has risen to 3,300, prompting the government to issue a rare call for international humanitarian aid with China, Russia, and India being the first to respond. In both Iceland and Indonesia, volcano eruptions have necessitated evacuations. While Mount Marapi in Indonesia required a 3-kilometer exclusion zone, Icelandic authorities evacuated tourists and residents from the Reykjanes Peninsula, where the famous Blue Lagoon spa is located. The volcano’s eruption has opened a huge crack in the ground, which has grown to 1.2km long. The US has not been spared by nature with deadly tornadoes hitting cities in the South and Midwest.  

On a happier note, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been officially removed from power, sparking nationwide celebrations among his critics. Yoon was impeached in December 2024 for imposing martial law and violating people’s rights to protest, a move declared unlawful and unconstitutional by South Korea’s Constitutional Court. The court’s decision sets a clear example of the Asian nation’s commitment to uphold its citizens’ democratic rights.

Finally, KidFlix has been busted after year-long efforts by Europol in cooperation with 38 national authorities to crack down on the world’s largest pedophile network. 79 suspects have been arrested for sharing and distributing child sexual abuse material, some also standing accused of child abuse. Let’s hope that justice also finds the almost 2,000,000 users of the platform and that operations targeting child sex offenders continue to be successful (although, I do wish that they weren’t necessary in the first place).