International
Ghana parliament hears testimony on law curbing LGBT+ rights
AFP
Ghana’s parliament began hearing testimony Thursday on a bill that will further curb gay rights in a proposal widely condemned by the international community.
The committee-level hearing of testimony for and against the draft law titled “Promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values” is the initial stage of debate over the bill.
Gay sex is already illegal in the deeply religious West African country, but the law would toughen sentences for same-sex relations and make LGBT+ advocacy a criminal offence.
The committee on constitutional, legal and parliamentary affairs is expected to hold public hearings on the bill for 15 weeks before debate begins in the house.
Apostle Abraham Ofori Kuragu of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council was among the first to testify on Thursday.
“LGBTQI+ activities pose a great threat to Ghanaian culture and values,” he said.
“The bill seeks to protect children from the dangerous activities of LGBTQI+ community. The bill before us is a proper vehicle to integrate sound cultural values into our body politic.”
While condemned by rights groups, the bill is widely supported in Ghana and by local church organisations which dismiss LGBT+ community as against Ghanaian culture.
“The bill violates virtually all the fundamental human rights of people. It stigmatises the LGBTQ+ community as inhuman,” said Akoto Ampaw, who heads the Concerned Ghanaian Citizens group.
“This is not the republic that Ghanaians fought for,” added the human rights lawyer who has served as the Ghanaian president’s counsel.
Presented by opposition lawmakers, the draft law criminalises LGBT+ advocacy, requires that “suspects” be denounced, advocates for conversion therapy and imposes longer jail sentences.
President Nana Akufo-Addo faces a difficult decision over whether to veto or sign the bill as it is condemned overseas but widely supported at home.
Already the proposed law has caused a rift between Britain’s Bishop of Canterbury and the former British colony’s Anglican Church which strongly supports the bill.
More than half the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have laws against homosexuality, with some carrying the death penalty, although no executions are known to have been carried out in the modern era, according to Human Rights Watch.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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