International
Cuba and Venezuela reject U.S. Human Rights Report
March 21 |
Cuba and Venezuela rejected on Tuesday the most recent report on Human Rights of the United States Department of State (US) while denouncing that Washington uses the issue of human rights as a tool for political expediency.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said through a statement that the U.S. nation “despite maintaining a permanent aggression against the rights of the Venezuelan people, seeks to qualify the actions of other governments”.
The document denounces that the White House “exactly 20 years ago launched one of the most brutal wars in the history of humanity against the Iraqi people, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, implementing torture methods and using weapons of war against civilians”.
“This only goes to show that, for the U.S. government, human rights are simply a tool it uses for its political expediency, based on distorted narratives.”
In turn, Venezuelan diplomacy affirmed that “once again this report is published to attack sovereign countries, whose decisions are not made with Washington’s consent, while the United States, internally, fails to contain the growing poverty”, among other issues that Caracas denounced.
Likewise, the ministry highlighted that the U.S. has not signed or ratified important agreements such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Rome Statute; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; among others.
Finally, the communiqué concludes by expressing that Venezuela, despite the aggressions of the US and its accomplices “continues to defend the economic, political and social rights of the entire population and will continue to comply with its multilateral commitments to guarantee a dignified life for all its citizens”.
For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the unacceptable slander against his country in the U.S. government’s Human Rights 2022 report.
He added on his Twitter account that with the shameful record of violations and abuses to its own citizens, the northern nation should refrain from stigmatizing others.
“It tries in vain to disguise its interventionist and interfering behavior,” the Caribbean country’s foreign minister added.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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