Poland’s step to exit domestic violence treaty divides public
WARSAW, Poland — Poles are bitterly divided over steps being taken by the right-wing government to leave a European treaty against domestic violence, claiming it promotes gender “ideology” and links violence to religion.
Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said Monday he has formally asked the Ministry of Family to start preparations for Poland’s exit from the Istanbul Convention — an initiative of the Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights organization. It was not clear when an official withdrawal notice would be filed.
Ziobro said he was taking the steps of his own accord and was ready to discuss their timing with other government members.
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric has said Poland’s intentions to withdraw from the convention are “alarming” and encouraged a “constructive dialogue” to clarify any misunderstandings.
Also the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said Monday that Poland’s move toward withdrawal form the convention were “reason for serious concern.”
In Poland, critics expressed outrage on social media, saying the rightwing government of the conservative Law and Justice party was ready to sacrifice women’s safety for its own views based on Roman Catholic traditions.
Last week, thousands protested the government’s plan in rallies across Poland.
The treaty is based on the premise that women are targeted with violence just because they are women.
The convention, which came into effect in 2014, has been signed by 45 European countries and the European Union, but 10 countries and the EU have yet to ratify it.
White House project: First lady Melania Trump has announced plans to redo the White House Rose Garden to make it more in line with the original design implemented during the 1960s Kennedy administration.
Plans described by the first lady include returning the Rose Garden to its original 1962 footprint with improved infrastructure and drainage and a better environment for plants and flowers.
The renovation also includes making the space more accessible for people with disabilities, and improvements for audiovisual and broadcasting needs, she said.
The project will be paid for using private donations, the White House said.
Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia: Muslim pilgrims have started arriving in Mecca for a scaled-down hajj, as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom’s oversight of one of Islam’s key pillars and the safety of visitors in the face of a global pandemic.
The hajj, which begins Wednesday, normally draws around 2.5 million people for five intense days of worship in one of the world’s largest gatherings of people from around the world.
This year, Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Ministry has said 1,000 to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage.
The kingdom has one of the Mideast’s largest outbreaks of the coronavirus, with nearly 269,000 reported infections, including 2,760 deaths.
Warning in Philippines: President Rodrigo Duterte warned would-be criminals Monday that “bodies will pile up” if they turn to robberies and other crimes during the coronavirus pandemic and urged that the death penalty be restored for illegal drugs.
Duterte touched on a range of issues in his annual state of the nation address before Congress, at times turning combative.
Duterte acknowledged that his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic was “far from perfect” and but gave assurances that “we will not stop until we get things right and better for you.”
He sought congressional passage of a bill that will again grant him emergency powers to realign government budgets for use in the continuing health crisis. The Philippines remains a Southeast Asian hot spot for the virus, with more than 82,000 confirmed cases, including nearly 2,000 deaths.
Presidential debate: The University of Notre Dame has become the second university to withdraw as the host of one of this fall’s three scheduled presidential debates amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The university was to host the inaugural face-off between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on Sept. 29. The first debate will now be hosted by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday.
The University of Michigan was scheduled to host the second presidential debate but withdrew last month. That debate will now be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.
Ky. senator’s attacker: U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s former neighbor was resentenced
Monday to an extra seven months behind bars and six months in home detention for tackling and injuring the Kentucky lawmaker over a lawn care dispute.
Rene Boucher originally was given a 30-day sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting a member of Congress. Federal prosecutors argued the sentence was too lenient, describing the 2017 attack outside Paul’s home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as “vicious and unprovoked.” They sought at least 21 months for Boucher.
On Monday, another federal judge ordered Boucher to serve eight months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for the assault.
Paul suffered multiple broken ribs and later underwent lung and hernia surgeries that he linked to the attack.
War anniversary: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a national cemetery and handed out commemorative pistols to army officers, state media reported Monday, as he pushes to muster public support for efforts to contain a potential coronavirus outbreak.
On Sunday, North Korea said Kim had put a city near the border with South Korea under lockdown and declared a state of emergency after a person with suspected COVID-19 symptoms was recently found there. If the person is diagnosed with the coronavirus, it would be North Korea’s first officially confirmed case, though many experts believe the virus has already spread to the country.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim visited a cemetery on the outskirts of Pyongyang where Korean War dead are buried to mark the 67th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 war.
A 1953 armistice that ended the war has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war. North Korea considers the armistice signing as a victory and often uses the anniversary as a chance to promote nationalism.