Uganda, Mexico, Iran.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jan 03, 2024

Uganda

A well-known LGBTQ+ rights activist was stabbed in the stomach in Uganda today in what his organization said was a hate crime. Steven Kabuye was attacked by unidentified assailants on his way to work on Wednesday morning. A graphic video posted on one of Kabuye’s social accounts showed him writhing in pain with a large knife sticking out of his abdomen. Uganda’s government, long hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, last year passed one of the world’s most draconian anti-gay laws.

Mexico

Mexican police are engaged in an intensive search for 31 migrants who were kidnapped from a bus by armed men on Saturday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has said. The victims, who are reported to have been traveling to the US border to claim asylum, are believed to mostly be from South America, the majority of them Venezuelan. Migrants on their way to the border are often targeted by criminal gangs who snatch them in order to demand ransoms from their families.

Iran

You will likely have read about this one elsewhere. More than 100 people have been killed in a near unprecedented attack in Iran. Twin explosions took place at a packed memorial ceremony for top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a U.S. drone in 2020. Iranian authorities blamed the attack on “terrorists” without elaborating. No group has yet claimed responsibility. Iran has seen attacks from armed groups in the past, including ISIS, whose most recent attack was last year.