DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Massive genocide trial reopens old wounds in Guatemala, 40 years after indigenous slaughter
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Tara John | Ivonne Valdés | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

In 2018, a Guatemalan court ruled that the army committed acts of genocide, but no one was convicted. Lucas García, 91, was meant to face trial this year with former military intelligence chief Manuel Callejas y Callejas. Robert Nickelsberg/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesBurt said this “expression of racism is extremely profound,” and its knock-on effects are evident in Guatemala today. Survivors from the civil war gather outside the Supreme Court, prior to a hearing in the Ixil Genocide trial, in Guatemala City, Guatemala March 25, 2024. When the trial was due to start at the end of March, Lucas García’s lawyers announced their resignation.

Persons: CNN — Juan Brito López, Brito López, Manuel Benedicto Lucas García, Lucas García, Benedicto Lucas Garcia, Johan Ordonez, Lucas García’s, AJR, Fernando Romeo Lucas García, “ Lucas García, Manuel Callejas y, Callejas, Jesús Silvio, Romeo Lucas García’s, ” Jo, Marie Burt, ”, Robert Nickelsberg, Burt, Efrain Rios Montt, Tiziano Breda, Claudia Paz y Paz, CICIG, ” Silvio, ” Will Freeman, Cristina Chiquin, Bernardo Arévalo, Public Ministry –, Consuelo Porras , hasn’t, Michelle Liang, “, Brito López’s, Catarina Chel, tormenter, Silvia, ” CNN’s Tara John, Ivonne Valdés Organizations: CNN, United, Getty, Association for Justice, Reconciliation, Human, Washington Office, UN, Guatemalan Army, “, Central American, International, Commission, Council, Foreign Relations, Reuters CNN, Public Ministry, US, Network, Solidarity, ” CNN Locations: Pexla, Guatemala City, United Nations, Guatemalan, Guatemala, America, ”, Santa Cruz de Quiche, of Guatemala, New York, Mexico City

“Continuation of hostilities can, in no way, protect them,” she said. She told the council that the 134 hostages still in captivity and the more than 2 million civilians in Gaza “share a common fate. For their common sake, there must be a humanitarian cease-fire now.” Israel's ongoing offensive against Hamas has killed over 30,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he came to the council “to protest as loud as I can against the crimes against humanity” committed by Hamas in order to deter and scare Israeli society. Patten told the council that when she visited the West Bank she didn’t receive any reports of rape, but instances of sexual violence during the detention of both Palestinian men and women were raised.

Persons: ”, ” Pramila Patten, ” Patten, Israel Katz, Katz, Ramadan Kareem, ” Katz, ” Riyad Mansour, Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t, Mansour, “, Patten’s, Israel “, Patten Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, . Security, Hamas, Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s, Security Council, Palestinian, Independent International Commission of, West Bank Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, United Kingdom, France

Myanmar sank into civil war after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. At least 107 religious buildings — including 67 churches and five Buddhist monasteries — have been destroyed by the military since the 2021 takeover in Chin state alone, the Chin Human Rights Organization said. Myanmar Witness cross-checks evidence such as photos, videos and witness accounts found on social media with satellite photo analysis and other methods to try to verify human rights abuses. Many human rights activists believe that the military aims for religious buildings. "I can think of 10 that I’ve already seen in ruins or big holes in them, direct airstrikes," Eubank said.

Persons: Chin, Aung, Suu Kyi, Matt Lawrence, ”, Benedict Rogers, Salai Mang, Lian, ” Lian, “, Ngun Thawng Lian, —, Karenni, Dave Eubank, I’ve, Eubank Organizations: Burman, United Nations, Assistance Association for Political, Information Resilience, Human Rights Organization, International Commission of Jurists, Myanmar Air Force’s, East Asia, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, “, Myanmar, Free Burma Rangers, U.S . Special Forces Locations: BANGKOK, Myanmar, Suu, United Kingdom, Chin, “, Rakhine, Bangladesh, Australia, Thantlang, Philippines, Philippine, Kayah, Demoso, Karenni

☆ Sri Lanka to Continue Drug Crackdown Despite Rights Group Concerns - Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Uditha JayasingheCOLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka vowed to continue an anti-narcotics campaign that has seen more than 35,000 people detained over the last few weeks despite concerns raised by multiple rights groups, top officials said on Thursday. Sri Lankan police have detained 38,525 people since the operation - code-named "Yuktiya" or "Justice" - began in December. Thirty-three rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and International Commission of Jurists, this week expressed concerns over what they call "drastic intensification" of anti-narcotics operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations. There is no reasonable suspicion, the kind of people arrested have a lower marginalised economic status," said Thiyagi Ruwanpathirana, a researcher for Amnesty International Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had over 97,000 drug-related arrests in 2020 with 53% of arrests for heroin and 42% for cannabis including possession offences, according to latest data from state-run National Dangerous Drugs Control Board.

Persons: Uditha Jayasinghe, Tiran, Thiyagi Ruwanpathirana, Ruwanpathirana, Deshabandu Tennekoon, Sri, Toby Chopra Organizations: Reuters, Sri, Public, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Drugs, Board Locations: Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's

☆ Maine votes to keep investor-owned electricity companies in charge of the energy grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It is not the first time that Mainers' push for a publicly owned energy grid has failed. In 1973, voters struck down the creation of a Maine Power Authority, which would have put the power supply in the state's hands. Janet Mills vetoed a bill from the state legislature to establish Pine Tree Power. In New York, the Long Island Power Authority has run the power grid of Long Island since 1986. Despite having a roughly 70-year-old public power grid, Nebraska still relies heavily on coal.

Persons: Janet Mills, Willy Ritch, Judy Long, Lucy Hochschartner Organizations: Carver, Voters, Maine Power Authority, Democratic Gov, Central Maine Power, Public, Maine Affordable Energy, Versant, CNBC, Pine, Power Authority, Cooperative, Hawaiian, Publicly, London Economic, Maine's Public Utilities Commission Locations: South Shore, Plymouth, Avangrid, Maine, . Nebraska, Los Angeles, Seattle, Kauai, New York, Long, Nebraska, Pine

☆ Nipah virus outbreak in India renews calls to protect bat roosts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Sreekanth Sivadasan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +15 min

Because spillover risk is concentrated in lower income countries in the tropical south, the cost of preventing another pandemic falls squarely on nations that can least afford it. To that end, federal and state officials say they are talking about ways to protect bat habitats in areas where spillover risk is high. Investigators still don’t know precisely how the virus jumped from bats to people in each of the four Kerala outbreaks dating back to 2018. BAT MAGNETS: Bananas and areca nuts grow on land that was home to the first patient who died in a recent Nipah outbreak in Kerala, India. The state would need to act to protect trees and bat roosts, they said.

Persons: Subrat Mohapatra, ” Mohapatra, coronaviruses, Bhupender Yadav, Veena George, ”, Nigel Sizer, Biden, Sizer, Pamela Hamamoto, Muhammad Ali, Pinarayi Vijayan, Sreehari Raman, “ I've, ” Raman, Kerala Agricultural University Dean P.O, Nameer, Sajith Kizhakkayil, “, ” Vijayan, Unni Vengeri, Francisco Pérez, Sreekanth Sivadasan, Rupam Jain, Deborah J, Nelson, Ryan McNeill, Allison Martell, Sam Hart, Simon Newman, Janet Roberts, Feilding Organizations: World Health Organization, Reuters, WHO, Bank, Fund, European, European Union, BAT, Kerala Agricultural University, Research, United, Coalition, European Commission Locations: INDIA, India’s Kerala, India’s, Asia, Kerala, Kozhikode, Geneva, U.S, European, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, United Nations, Maruthonkara, Changaroth, Kerala’s midland, Berlin

☆ UN-Mandated Investigation Into Ethiopia Atrocities Lapses
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - A U.N.-mandated investigation into continuing atrocities in Ethiopia faces closure after a U.N. website on Wednesday showed that no motion has been received to renew it. Both sides accused each other of atrocities, including massacres, rape and arbitrary detentions, but each denied responsibility for systemic abuses. The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, created by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2021 after a motion submitted by the European Union, said last month that war crimes and crimes against humanity were still being committed in Ethiopia. "Having no resolution is scandalous in the face of the report of the experts that was just published," said Lucy McKernan from Human Rights Watch, responsible for advocacy work at the Human Rights Council and other UN human rights mechanisms. Ethiopia, which denies committing widespread abuses, has strongly opposed the probe and tried to cut its work short.

Persons: Lucy McKernan, Emma Farge, Aaron Ross, William Maclean Organizations: International Commission of Human, Human Rights, European Union, Human Rights Watch Locations: GENEVA, Ethiopia, Tigray, Amhara

☆ Russia tortured some Ukrainian victims to death, UN inquiry says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russia's torture methods in parts of Ukraine it occupied have been so brutal that it tortured some of its victims to death, the head of a U.N.-mandated investigative body said on Monday. "In some cases, torture was inflicted with such brutality that it caused the death of the victim," he said. Møse's commission visited parts of Ukraine formerly held by Russian forces such as in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The commission has previously said that violations committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including the use of torture, may constitute crimes against humanity. Russia was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations at the council hearing but no Russian representative attended.

Persons: Jasminka Dzumhur, Erik Mose, Pablo de Greiff, Denis Balibouse, Erik Møse, Møse's, Emma Farge, Peter Graff Organizations: Independent International Commission of, United Nations, REUTERS, Rights, Human Rights, Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Geneva, Switzerland, Russian, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Russia

☆ UN experts say war crimes committed in Ethiopia despite formal end to conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

GENEVA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - War crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed in Ethiopia nearly a year after government and regional forces from Tigray agreed to end fighting, U.N. experts said in a report published on Monday. Thousands died in the two-year conflict, which formally came to an end in November last year. "I must admit the worst of this was that perpetrated by Eritrean forces in Tigray. Though, of course, Ethiopian forces were also responsible," she said, adding that Tigrayan forces had also perpetrated sexual violence in Amhara. Authorities from the Ethiopian region of Amhara have also denied that their forces committed atrocities in neighbouring Tigray.

Persons: Thousands, Mohamed Chande Othman, Yemane Ghebremeskel, spokespeople, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Andrew Heavens, William Maclean Organizations: International Commission of Human, Eritrean Defence Forces, EDF, Ethiopian, Reuters, Eritrean, Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Hereward, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Ethiopia, Tigray, Eritrea, Amhara, Ethiopian, Geneva, Hereward Holland, Nairobi

GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed human rights experts say war crimes continue in Ethiopia despite a peace deal signed nearly a year ago to end a devastating conflict that has also engulfed the country's Tigray region. The violence has left at least 10,000 people affected by rape and other sexual violence — mostly women and girls. The violence erupted in November 2020, centering largely — though not exclusively — on the northern Tigray region, which for months was shut off from the outside world. Citing consolidated estimates from seven health centers in Tigray alone, the commission said more than 10,000 survivors of sexual violence sought care between the start of the conflict and July this year. The commission said it knows of only 13 completed and 16 pending military court cases addressing sexual violence committed during the conflict.

Persons: — U.N, Abiy Ahmed, Mohamed Chande Othman, ”, ” Othman, Radhika Coomaraswamy Organizations: GENEVA, Human Rights, Ethiopian Locations: Ethiopia, Tigray, Amhara, Eritrea

LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - France's radiation watchdog has banned sales of Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone 12 after tests that it said showed the smartphone breached European radiation exposure limits. Apple disputes the watchdog's conclusions, saying the iPhone 12 was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards. The ANFR said it recently carried out random tests on 141 phones, including iPhone 12, bought from shops. Smartphone radiation tests have so far led to 42 imposed sale stops in the country, it said. The ANFR said the iPhone 12 had failed to meet European Union standards, raising questions over whether more sales bans could be coming elsewhere.

Persons: Jean, Noel Barrot, Le, ANFR, Rodney Croft, Apple, Martin Coulter, Jennifer Rigby, Elizabeth Pineau, Mark Potter, Josie Kao Organizations: Agence Nationale des, Apple, Digital Minister, Reuters, International Commission, EU, WHO, International Agency for Research, Cancer, APPLE, Union, Germany's Federal, for Radiation, Thomson Locations: France

☆ Canadian lake sediments reveal start of Earth's Anthropocene age, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Presence of plutonium and other evidence was found in core samples of the Crawford Lake sediments. The Anthropocene epoch is proposed as a chapter in Earth's history reflecting the transformation of the planet's climate and ecology as a result of human activity. The Anthropocene epoch has not yet been formally recognised by a scientific body called the International Commission on Stratigraphy. The scientists obtained core samples of sediment at Crawford Lake and sediments, soils, corals and ice samples at the other 11 sites. Crawford Lake sediments provided a record of accelerating changes that have unfolded in the past few decades, including traces of fly ash produced by burning fossil fuels.

Persons: Crawford, Colin Waters, we've, Waters, Francine McCarthy, Andrew Cundy, Bill Laurance, David Stanway, Will Dunham Organizations: University of Leicester, International, Crawford Lake, Brock University, Industrial, University of Southampton, James Cook University, Thomson Locations: Crawford, Canada's Ontario, Toronto, Britain, Canada, Australia, Singapore

☆ Anthropocene: Scientists say they’ve found a site that marks a new chapter in Earth’s history
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Scientists have identified the geological site that they say best reflects a proposed new epoch called the Anthropocene — a major step toward changing the official timeline of Earth’s history. “We’ve moved into this new Earth state and that should be defined by a new geological epoch,” Waters added. On Tuesday, the scientists announced the geological site — Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada — that best captures the geological impact of the Anthropocene, according to their research. Annual sediment samples from the Crawford Lake site have revealed geochemical traces of nuclear bomb testing, researchers have confirmed. The alpha spectrometry output shown on the screen indicates the presence of plutonium in a Crawford Lake drill core sample.

Persons: ”, Colin Waters, “ We’ve, Waters, eon, James St, Andrew Knoll, “, ” Knoll, Crawford, AWG, Crawford Lake, Francine McCarthy, Andrew Cundy, Stan Finney, it’s, Paul Crutzen —, Finney, It’s, stratigraphers, ” Waters, they’re, Andrew Mathews, We’ve, ’ ” Organizations: CNN —, Environment School, University of Leicester, Geologists, Wales, Harvard University, University, Southampton, Brock University, UK’s University of Southampton, International, International Union of Geological Sciences, Geological Congress, California State University, University of Southampton “, University of California Locations: Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada, Flinders, South Australia, Jura, Crawford, Southampton Crawford, Sudeten, Lake, California, Baltic, Japan, China, Australia, Gulf of Mexico, Busan, South Korea, Long, Santa Cruz

☆ UN experts arrive in Honduras to explore anti-corruption mission installation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TEGUCIGALPA, July 9 (Reuters) - A UN mission of experts arrived in Honduras to examine the establishment of an international anti-corruption mission in the Central American nation, which is plagued by widespread corruption that exacerbates poverty and immigration, Honduran authorities announced Sunday. Leftist President Xiomara Castro pledged during her campaign to install an anti-corruption commission known as the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (CICIH). The length of the mission's stay in Honduras to meet with various sectors was not specified. The CICIH would be the second anti-corruption commission to operate in Honduras. The mission left Honduras in 2020 after the OAS failed to reach an agreement with the Hernandez government to extend its stay.

Persons: Xiomara Castro, Eduardo Enrique Reina, Obama, Juan Orlando Hernandez, Hernandez, Gustavo Palencia, Anna, Catherine Brigida, Leslie Adler Organizations: UN, Central, Honduran, International, Corruption, United Nations, Honduran Foreign, Organization of American States, Thomson Locations: TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Central American, Honduran, United States

☆ Analysis: Emergence of Guatemalan anti-graft champion shakes up election
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Presidential candidate for the Semilla party Bernardo Arevalo holds a rally at the Parque Central a day after the first round of Guatemala's presidential election, in Guatemala City, Guatemala June 26, 2023. Underlining voter frustration with the status-quo, nearly a quarter of ballots counted were either spoiled or left blank. Arevalo, who has called corruption a "cancer eating away" at Guatemala, will face former first lady Sandra Torres in the run-off. Torres, running in her third presidential contest, won 15.8% of the first-round vote to Arevalo's 11.8%. Aldana later sought asylum in the U.S., while current President Alejandro Giammattei himself became embroiled in corruption allegations, which he denies.

Persons: Bernardo Arevalo, Juan Jose Arevalo, Arevalo, Thelma Aldana, Otto Perez, Semilla, Bernardo, Nicol Estrada, Carlos Pineda, Will Freeman, Hugo Novales, Sandra Torres, Torres, Freeman, Semilla's, Aldana, Alejandro Giammattei, Juan Jose, Giammattei, Ivan Velasquez, Julia Esquivel, Jimmy Morales, Sofia Menchu, Dave Graham, Stephen Eisenhammer, Rosalba O'Brien, Leslie Adler Organizations: Parque, REUTERS, GUATEMALA CITY, Council, Foreign Relations, of, Guatemala's, U.S, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Parque Central, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Josue, GUATEMALA, Arevalo, U.S, Guatemalan

☆ Guatemala will vote for new president but critics say many anti-corruption candidates were weeded out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

One of the expelled candidates, the rightwing Roberto Arzú, was a vocal critic of President Alejandro Giammattei. Employees of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) arrange ahead of the general elections in Guatemala City on June 20, 2023. Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s not the first time that Guatemala’s electoral tribunal eliminates presidential hopefuls, but this year’s cycle is happening in rapidly shrinking civic space. Failing battle against corruptionRights groups say graft and impunity accelerated in the country after former President Jimmy Morales dissolved a United Nations-backed anti-corruption commission in 2019. The candidatesThe US and Western allies have raised concerns about the exclusion of presidential candidates in Guatemala.

Persons: CNN —, Sandra Torres, Thelma Cabrera, Carlos Pineda –, ” Will Freeman, Roberto Arzú, Alejandro Giammattei, Cabrera, Pineda, Tik Tok, ”, Johan Ordonez, we’ve, Caren, Jimmy Morales, Consuelo Porras Argueta, Antony Blinken, José Rubén Zamora, Moises Castillo, Porras, –, Kevin López, Giammattei, Freeman, Biden, “, ” Freeman, Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols, Guatemalans, Maria Consuelo Porras, Mulet, Carin, Edmont, Ríos, Torres, Rios, El, Nayib Bukele, Álvaro Colom, Colom, Efraín Ríos Montt, CICIG Organizations: CNN, Council, Foreign Relations, Twitter, “ Corruption, Constitutional, ” CNN, Getty, Americas Society, United, International Commission, Washington Office, Guatemala Human Rights, USA, Prosecutors, US, State, José Rubén Zamora –, . Press, Patrol, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Public Ministry, United Nations, Agence, France Presse, Analysts Locations: Central America’s, Guatemala, America, Guatemala City, Americas, United Nations, Guatemalan, Central America, American, Washington, United States, Haiti, Nicaragua, France

☆ Fact Check-Pregnancy ultrasound does not cause the DNA damage of ‘250 chest x-rays’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The text in one post sharing the claim (here) reads, “A Single Exposure to Ultrasound Causes DNA Damage Similar to 250 Chest X-Rays” overlayed on an ultrasound image of a fetus. A URL printed across the fetus image leads to an article (here) that makes unfounded claims about the risk of fetal ultrasound, and cites a 1981 study for the “250 chest x-rays” figure. The 1981 study did not draw any such conclusion. In response to a request for comment, the author of the article Jeanice Barcelo said she stands by her claim about the 1981 study. A 1981 study of mouse cells in test tubes did not conclude that ultrasound caused DNA damage equivalent to that of hundreds of x-rays, and extensive research finds ultrasound to be safe for use during pregnancy.

Persons: RAY, “, ”, Safwan, Ann, Robert H, Lurie, Ken Karipidis, Karipidis, Halabi, Jeanice Barcelo, Barcelo, Read Organizations: grays, Reuters, RAY Ultrasound, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago Institute for Fetal, Australian Radiation Protection, Nuclear Safety Agency, International Commission, American Institute of Ultrasound, International Society of Ultrasound, Gynecology, Health Organization Locations: mSv

☆ 1.5-degree climate threshold won't prevent 'significant harm,' scientists report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —For years, the world has been focusing on a key climate change threshold: limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. But even at that threshold – which could begin to be breached within the next five years – millions of people will still face “significant harm,” including death, displacement and food and water scarcity, an international commission of researchers reported Wednesday. In a study published in the journal Nature, the panel of more than a dozen researchers integrated environmental justice – the idea that climate thresholds should minimize significant harm – with climate science. And they said that the key climate threshold nations pledged to meet in the Paris Agreement in 2015 – one that would ensure a “safe and just” world – should have been 1 degree Celsius. “We argue that there is no safe planet without justice,” Gupta said, underscoring that incorporating justice to the Earth system’s boundaries reduces significant harm to communities and individuals.

Persons: ”, Johan Rockström, Joyeeta Gupta, “, ” Gupta, Kim Cobb, ” Cobb Organizations: CNN, Potsdam Institute, Climate Impact Research, Earth Commission, University of Amsterdam, Brown University Locations: Paris

☆ Fact Check-UN is not calling for decriminalization of sex with children
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It does not advocate for adult sex with children or with other vulnerable individuals, independent legal experts told Reuters. “The 8 March Principles do not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor do they call for the abolition of a domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex,” the statement reads in part. The ICJ report “did not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor did it call for the abolition of the age of consent,” Dujarric said. “The International Commission of Jurists report set out legal principles to guide the application of the international human rights law to criminal law across a range of issues. The report does not call for the overall decriminalization of sex with children, as claimed online.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a press conference during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 24, 2022 in New York City. Stephanie Keith | Getty ImagesUNITED NATIONS — When Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes the helm of the United Nations Security Council on Monday it will be against a backdrop of mounting allegations of Russian war crimes reported across Ukraine. Since then, the war has claimed the lives of more than 8,500 civilians, led to nearly 14,000 injuries and displaced more than 8 million people, according to United Nations' own estimates. Lvova-Belova told the Security Council on April 5 that the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia was part of a humanitarian campaign. In some cases, the commission found that Ukrainian forces committed war crimes against Russian troops, though those incidents were less frequent.

☆ Nuclear workers describe beatings, detention, and looting by Russian soldiers to force them to keep a Ukrainian power plant running
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former workers at a Ukrainian nuclear power plant have spoken about mistreatment by Russian soldiers. They described being shot with rubber bullets, beatings, and detention and witnessing murders. The UN says that "the use of torture by Russian authorities, may amount to crimes against humanity." It included, a source told The Times, being shot with rubber bullets, beatings, and detention — and, if they continued to show support for Ukraine — murder. Earlier this week, a Ukrainian woman delivered harrowing testimony to US lawmakers, recounting scenes of torture, physical abuse, and mock executions.

☆ Amazon Union President Chris Smalls Seen Fighting Worker in Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

On the night of December 5, the president of the Amazon Labor Union pummeled another union member. Some longtime Amazon Labor Union organizers decided to begin organizing on their own, without Smalls. All three said they believe in Smalls' mission and support the goals of the Amazon Labor Union, but worry about Smalls' ability to lead. Amazon Labor Union members consoled each other after the union lost the vote at its second warehouse, LDJ5, last April. One purpose of the organization appears to be to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation.

☆ Putin berates US and EU ambassadors at Kremlin ceremony
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday told the new U.S. and EU ambassadors in blunt language that their countries were responsible for a dramatic deterioration in relations since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine last year. The ambassadors were among 17 who formally presented their diplomatic credentials to Putin at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin. Putin told new U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy that U.S. support for a revolution in Ukraine in 2014 had led to the current situation where Russia and Ukraine were in conflict. Putin took a similar line with the new EU ambassador, Roland Galharague, who took up his position in September, telling him that "the European Union initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia". Russia says it was forced to intervene in Ukraine to stem Western interference that was becoming a threat to its security.

☆ Putin berates US and EU envoys, top official says US aid fuelling Ukraine war's 'hot phase'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The ambassadors were among 17 who presented their diplomatic credentials to Putin at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin. Putin told new U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy that U.S. support for a revolution in Ukraine in 2014 had led to the current situation where Russia and Ukraine were in conflict. Putin took a similar line with the new EU ambassador, Roland Galharague, telling him "the European Union initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia". In his opening remarks, Putin said Russia was open to constructive partnership with every country and would not isolate itself.

☆ Paleontologists explain the most glaring errors in Adam Driver's new dinosaur film '65'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Erin Heger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Adam Driver stars in a new film "65," which takes place 65 million years ago. But like other Hollywood portrayals of dinosaurs, "65" gets several dinosaur facts wrong, according to paleontologists. The film's title is off my a million yearsThere were probably no dinosaurs around 65 million years ago. SonyLet's start with the title: "65" — named for when the film takes place 65 million years ago. It's a movie, not a science lectureThe film "65" has a 64% audience score on rotten tomatoes, so even if it got the science wrong, it managed to entertain some folks.

Search resuls for: "International Commission"

25 mentions found