NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Human rights: China, Russia and Cuba won seats on the U. N.’ s premiere human rights body Tuesday despite opposition from activist groups over their abysmal human rights records, but another target, Saudi Arabia, lost. Russia and Cuba were running unopposed, but China and Saudi Arabia were in a fiveway race in the only contested race for seats on the Human Rights Council in the U. N. General Assembly voting. Despite announced reform plans by Saudi Arabia, Human Rights Watch and others strongly opposed its candidacy saying the Middle East nation continues to target human rights defenders, dissidents and women’s rights activists and has demonstrated little accountability for past abuses, including the killing of Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two years ago.
2 Tariffs approved: International arbitrators said Tuesday that the European Union can impose tariffs and other penalties on up to $ 4 billion worth of U. S. goods and services over illegal American support for plane maker Boeing. The move further sours transatlantic ties at a time when the coronavirus has doused trade and savaged economies. The ruling by the World Trade Organization arbitrators, which could inflame Trump administration criticism of the Genevabased body, amounts to one of the largest penalties handed down by the WTO. It comes a year after another ruling authorized the United States to slap penalties on EU goods worth up to $ 7.5 billion over the bloc’s support for Boeing rival Airbus.
3 Thailand protest: Police in Thailand arrested several political activists who planned to camp out at the site of a rally scheduled for Wednesday in Bangkok that is along the route the country’s king is expected to travel for an unrelated royal ceremony. Wednesday’s protest has been called by a coalition of mostly studentled groups that several months ago adopted three core demands: new elections, changes in the Constitution to make it more democratic and an end to intimidation of political activists.
4 Farmers rally: Thousands of angry farmers chanting antigovernment slogans protested Tuesday in Warsaw against draft legislation that would ban fur farms, religious slaughter for export and the use of animals for entertainment and in circuses. Towing a lifesize figure of a cow, the farmers gathered before the parliament building, where the Senate is debating the draft that has divided the ruling camp as well as the opposition. It has also angered farmers, who until now have been devoted supporters of the conservative government. Critics of the bill say it threatens the livelihoods of farmers breeding mink and other animals for fur as well as for ritual slaughter. The government has since proposed to ease some of its restrictions, offer compensation for closed farms and to delay the bill.
5 Mexico slayings: At least 14 suspected gunmen were killed and three police officers were in stable condition after a massive shootout in the central Mexico state of Zacatecas. The state police said their officers were on patrol Monday when they came under fire by a group of armed attackers. One officer was shot and two others suffered bulletfragment injuries. After the shooting near the town of Calera was over, police found 14 bodies and one wounded suspect. Police also said they collected eight assault rifles at the scene of the shootings, one of which was equipped with a grenade launcher, along with three vehicles. The state is being fought over by several drug cartels, including those from the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco and remnants of the old Zetas cartel.