Prince Philip dies at 99
On Friday, April 9, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died in Windsor Castle at 99 years of age. The Palace had stated that Philip underwent a heart operation and spent 28 days in the hospital before returning on March 16. Until his death, Philip was the longest-serving consort in British history. He was also the oldest partner of a reigning monarch. Phillip was a great grandfather of 10 and was married 73 years to Queen Elizabeth.
New COVID-19 record in Brazil
On Tuesday, April 6, Brazil surpassed a new record of 4,200 deaths in a day due to COVID-19. In total, as of April 11, Brazil has had more than 13.4 million confirmed cases of the virus and over 350,000 fatalities according to The New York Times. According to John Hopkins data, Brazil’s death toll from COVID-19 is only second to the U.S., with a daily death toll of 4,476 recorded on Jan. 12. Many other South American countries are blaming Brazil’s outbreak as their own numbers rise. Several countries have closed borders, imposed lockdowns and suspended flights to Brazil in an effort to control the outbreak.
Belgium protests result in injuries and arrests
On Thursday, April 1, the Belgian police clashed with a large crowd of protesters using a water cannon. According to Brussels police spokesman Ilse Van de Keere, 22 people were arrested and several police officers were injured. There has been an uproar of protests in Belgium for urgent police reform after a series of high profile deaths occured. Video footage shows buildings on fire and officers causing harm to individuals of minority ethnic backgrounds. No officers have been arrested. Although the Belgian police force has not commented due to ongoing investigations, unions told the BBC that the police were not institutionally racist. However, protestors believe the police to be acting with impunity.
Protests in Ireland
On Friday, April 9, Protestant and Catholic youths in Belfast, Northern Ireland hurled bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at police and each other. The crowds included children as young as 12 and clashed across a concrete wall, separating a British loyalist Protestant neighborhood from an Irish nationalist Catholic neighborhood. Police fired rubber bullets at the crowd while a nearby city bus was hijacked and set on fire. No one has been seriously injured, but since this violence has been ongoing since 1998, more than 3,000 people have died.
