NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Human rights: The U.N.’s human rights chief says China’s Communist Party has taken a “hostile position” on the universality of human rights and that “the rhetoric from the White House” is heading in the same direction. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein also told French Catholic daily La Croix in an interview published Monday that Europe faces a “crisis of identity and integration policy.” Zeid said he’s “worried about the tendency of authorities in Europe to overreact after terrorist attacks.”
2 Romania protest: Hundreds of judges and prosecutors protested around Romania on Monday over planned modifications to the legal system they say will hamper prosecutions. In a joint statement, prosecutors in Constanta said the proposals “don’t just hamper the anti-corruption fight, but (also) the fight against all crime.” Among the proposed changes are a move to ban public statements about investigations and trials. Another would allow suspects to be present when witnesses are giving testimony. Thousands of Romanians have protested the proposals, saying they will make it harder to punish high-level corruption.
3 Terror trial: A closely watched trial in Belgium involving the only surviving suspect in the 2015 attacks in Paris has been postponed to give a newly appointed lawyer time to prepare. Salah Abdeslam’s trial in Brussels was to begin Monday but the defense requested a delay. The new start date is Feb. 5. Abdeslam is accused of attempted murder for a shooting in 2016 in Brussels, four months after he fled the scene of the Paris attacks in November 2015. Abdeslam is also expected to face trial in France in the coming years for the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people and were claimed by the Islamic State group.
4 Syria talks: Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday that three years of U.N.-brokered peace talks have yielded “nothing.” Assad spoke after the latest round of talks in Geneva ended last week without making any progress toward ending the nearly seven-year civil war. The U.N. envoy to Syria has criticized the government, which refuses to discuss anything besides fighting terrorism. The opposition has long called for a transitional period in which Assad would have no role, something the government refuses to even consider. Assad has portrayed the opposition delegation in Geneva as a proxy of hostile foreign powers.
5 Britain fire: An official heading an investigation into London’s Grenfell Tower blaze that killed 71 people said Monday that she has been shocked by poor construction practices and inadequate fire safety regulations that allow some builders to cut corners. In an interim report, Judith Hackitt said current regulations are too confusing and accountability for compliance is poor. The fire engulfed Grenfell Tower, a high-rise residential building in west London, in June. The flammable exterior cladding installed on the tower’s facade has been blamed for the rapid spread of the blaze. 6 Deadly stampede: At least 10 people were killed and 40 others injured in a stampede Monday at a crowded religious ritual in Bangladesh for an ex-mayor who died last week, police said. About 8,000 people were at a community center, one of 11 sites where the ritual was being held for Mohiuddin Chowdhury, a three-term mayor of the port city of Chittagong popular for his many welfare activities. Many attendees were pushing to get in.