Nation & World Glance
UN envoy says ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct. 7
united NATIONS — The u.n. envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict said in a new report monday that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe hamas committed rape, “sexualized torture,” and other cruel and inhumane treatment of women during its surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
There are also “reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing,” said Pramila Patten, who visited Israel and the West Bank from Jan. 29 to Feb. 14 with a nine-member technical team.
Based on first-hand accounts of released hostages, she said the team “found clear and convincing information” that some women and children during their captivity were subjected to the same conflict-related sexual violence including rape and “sexualized torture.”
The report comes nearly five months after the Oct. 7 attacks, which left about 1,200 people dead and some 250 others taken hostage. Israel’s war against hamas has since laid waste to the Gaza Strip, killing more than 30,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The u.n. says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation.
hamas has rejected earlier allegations that its fighters committed sexual assault.
France becomes the only country to explicitly guarantee abortion as a constitutional right
PARIS — French lawmakers on monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy
The historic move was proposed by President emmanuel macron as a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the united States in recent years, and the vote during a special joint session of France’s parliament drew a long standing ovation among lawmakers.
The measure was approved in a 780-72 vote in the Palace of Versailles. abortion enjoys wide support in France across most of the political spectrum, and has been legal since 1975.
many female legislators in the hall smiled broadly as they cheered. While a small group of protesters stood outside the joint session, there were jubilant scenes of celebrations all over France as women’s rights activists hailed the measure promised by macron within hours of the dobbs ruling by the u.s. Supreme court in 2022.
The u.s. decision has reverberated across europe’s political landscape, forcing the issue back into public debate in some countries at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence.
China’s economic growth target for 2024 is about 5%, on par with last year’s rate
BEIJING — china’s official growth target for this year is around 5%, Premier Li Qiang said Tuesday in an annual report on the government’s plans and performance that prioritized both security and the economy.
Li also said the government would issue 1 trillion yuan (about $139 billion) in “ultralong special treasury bonds” in 2024 and over each of the coming several years — a long hoped-for extra promise of government spending to help support flagging growth.
The ruling communist Party has been emphasizing the need to raise consumer spending to help drive the economy. But the consumer-led recovery it was counting on after anti-pandemic controls ended in late 2022 faltered midway through last year.
Falling housing prices and worries over jobs left many families either reluctant or unable to spend more.
Last year, the economy grew at a 5.2% pace, but that was after a very slow 3% annual growth rate in 2022, when the country was enduring the worst disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Settlement in Wisconsin fake elector case offers new details on the strategy by Trump lawyers
Two attorneys for then-president donald Trump orchestrated a plan for fake electors to file paperwork falsely saying the republican won Wisconsin in a strategy to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory there and in other swing states, according to a lawsuit settlement reached monday that makes public months of texts and emails.
under their agreements, Kenneth chesebro and Jim Troupis turned over more than 1,400 pages of documents, emails and text messages, along with photos and video, offering a detailed account of the scheme’s origins in Wisconsin. The communications show how they, with coordination from Trump campaign officials, replicated the strategy in six other states including Georgia, where chesebro has already pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the 2020 election.
The agreements settle a civil lawsuit brought by democrats in 2022 against the two attorneys and 10 republicans in Wisconsin who posed as fake electors. The republicans settled in december.
There is no admission of wrongdoing or liability in the agreements in which chesebro and Troupis promise to never participate in similar efforts involving future presidential campaigns. Troupis must also pay an undisclosed amount to the plaintiffs.