NATION & WORLD BRIEFS
UN rights chief: ‘Unprecedented’ rights abuses in Haiti
GENEVA – Haiti is witnessing an unprecedented level of human rights abuses amid a state of chaos caused by gang violence, the United Nations human rights chief said Tuesday.
In the absence of a functioning government, Volker Turk noted there had been a “shocking rise in killings and kidnappings” as well as pervasive sexual violence he warned was very likely to have reached levels not seen before.
“The scale of human rights abuses is unprecedented in modern Haitian history,” Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a video message to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Haiti has been plunged into worsening conflict as gangs vie for control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, attacking police stations and the international airport among other acts of violence.
More than 27 dead in Istanbul nightclub fire
Authorities in Istanbul are investigating a daytime fire that broke out at a nightclub closed for renovations, killing at least 27 people Tuesday and leaving more badly injured.
First responders on Tuesday surrounded the charred and smoking entrance to the club, which is located on two floors underneath a 16-story residential building in the central part of the city.
Istanbul Gov. Davut Gul said the victims were believed to be involved in the renovation work, the Associated Press reported. One injured person was in critical condition at a hospital, the governor’s office said.
Five people were ordered to be detained, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said, including managers of the club and one person in charge of the renovations, the Associated Press reported.
ATM skimming theft in Calif. highlights rise in scams across US
A Romanian man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for running an ATM skimming crew aimed at using electronic surveillance methods to steal bank information from low-income victims – a problem that is growing across the country, the Department of Justice announced this week.
The ringleader, Marius Oprea, 38, secretly installed “skimming” devices, including pinhole cameras and card readers, on ATMs in California, according to a federal criminal complaint. The ring used the skimming technology to clone debit cards of participants in antipoverty programs to steal unemployment benefits from needy people, prosecutors said.
The groups were targeted because the cards they use through the public programs were easier to duplicate, said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.
Data analytics firm FICO tracked a sharp rise in skimming scams across the nation in 2023, with a 96% jump in compromised debit cards.
At least 12 killed, 15 children missing in South Sudan attack
JUBA, South Sudan – Youths attacked a village in eastern South Sudan and shot dead at least 12 people while 15 children are missing, officials said on Tuesday, as local conflicts continued to increase ahead of elections late this year.
A civil war from 2013 to 2018 caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and although the main belligerents have since been at peace, clashes continue among armed groups.
Activists believe the recent rise in violence is at least partly connected to the elections to choose leaders to succeed the present transitional government.
Uvalde mayor abruptly resigns after 3 months in office
The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, abruptly resigned Monday after only three months in office, citing unspecified health concerns.
Cody Smith previously served as Uvalde’s mayor from 2008 to 2012. He was reelected in a special election in November, defeating a gun control advocate whose 10-year-old was killed last year in the Robb Elementary School mass shooting.
Smith thanked community members “for their thoughts and prayers during my ongoing recovery from unexpected medical issues I have experienced in recent weeks.” He added: “It has been a great honor to serve the city and community I love.”
Thai activists celebrate vote that brings marriage equality closer
BANGKOK – Thai LGBTQ+ activists celebrated another victory on Tuesday after a marriage equality bill overwhelmingly passed a first reading in the upper house, a key step bringing the country closer to becoming Asia’s third territory to legalize same-sex unions.
“It’s like we’ve been embraced and accepted by the people in the entire country,” said Waaddao Chumaporn, 40, an LGBTQ+ activist and spokesperson for the parliamentary committee for the bill, calling it the “best gift of our lives.”
“It sends a signal to the Southeast Asian region, where the fundamentals are deeply rooted in conservative views.”
Wis. governor vetoes bill aimed at trans and nonbinary athletes
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have banned transgender and gender nonconforming youths from participating on school athletic teams that align with their gender identity.
The bill would have forced transgender and gender nonconforming students to instead play on teams that match the gender they were assigned at birth. It is the latest veto from Evers as he receives bills approved by the state Senate and Assembly before the end of the legislative session last month.
Evers has promised since the introduction of the bill last year that he would veto it, along with another bill that would ban gender-transition treatment for minors.
The bills were contentious, drawing hours of testimony from both supporters and opponents. Republicans said the bills aimed at protecting children and girls participating in athletics.
“This type of legislation, and the harmful rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our LGBTQ kids,” Evers said in his veto message.