8 NEWS The world at a glance ...
The Hague, Netherlands
War crimes fight: The Trump administra-
tion denounced the International Criminal
Court last week after it authorized an inves-
tigation into allegations of war crimes by
U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “This is a truly
breathtaking action by an unaccountable
political institution,” said U.S. Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo. The ICC overturned a previous decision to
block the investigation and will now examine alleged crimes com-
mitted by the Taliban, the Afghan government, and U.S. troops
since May 2003. Prosecutors say they have evidence that U.S.
interrogation techniques were used in Afghanistan—“torture, cruel
treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape”—that
amount to war crimes. The U.S. is not a member of the ICC.Caracas
Voting machines up in smoke: A
fire ripped through the main ware-
house for Venezuelan electoral equip-
ment this week, incinerating some
50,000 voting machines and 600 com-
puters. Elections for the opposition-
controlled National Assembly are
due later this year, a vote that could
further consolidate President Nicolás Maduro’s power. Pro- and
anti-Maduro groups blamed the blaze on one another. “If there
are groups who think that they’re going to stop electoral processes,
constitutionally established, they are very wrong,” said Tibisay
Lucena, president of Maduro’s handpicked National Electoral
Council. “It’s the dictatorship who must give us answers,” said Juan
Guaidó, head of the National Assembly. “Why did they store the
nation’s sensitive material in a single security zone?”Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Kidnappings soar: The U.S. State Department last week raised its
Haiti travel advisory to Level 4—Do Not Travel—following the
kidnapping by criminal gangs of at least nine Americans and one
French national in the past three months. Dozens of Haitians have
also been abducted, and some killed when their relatives couldn’t
muster the ransom. The gangs ask for exorbitant sums, $1 million
or more, but some settle for much less after negotiation. Haitian-
American Giscard Borgard said that when he was kidnapped, vil-
lagers in the slum of Village de Dieu just ignored the armed men
who marched him through the streets. “Everyone knew what was
happening,” said the U.S. Navy veteran, whose uncle paid his ran-
som. “Even the little kids, they are immune to it by now.”Mexico City
Day without women: Thousands of Mexican women withdrew
from public life this week in a daylong protest to draw atten-
tion to the thousands of women who are murdered each year in
Mexico. In the capital, subway cars reserved for women were
nearly empty, and many businesses were sparsely staffed and lack-
ing in customers. Femicides in Mexico have risen 137 percent
over the past five years—four
times more than the general
homicide rate—and about
10 women are killed there every
day. The strike came one day
after the International Women’s
Day march, which drew 80,
people onto the streets of
Mexico City. Protesters brought
signs reading “Fight today so
we don’t die tomorrow.”Rome
National shutdown: Faced
with more than 10,000 corona-
virus cases and a death toll above
600, the Italian government
this week placed the country’s
entire population of 60 mil-
lion people on lockdown. Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte initially
announced a quarantine for the
northern region of Lombardy, the
epicenter of the crisis. But after news of the coming border closures
caused thousands of people to flee southward, Conte extended the
moratorium on travel to the whole country. Public gatherings are
canceled, theaters and cinemas shuttered, and tourist attractions
closed. The influx of Covid-19 patients has caused a shortage of
intensive-care beds and essential equipment such as ventilators.
Doctors have been told to prioritize treatment of younger patients,
who are more likely to survive. Riots broke out in multiple prisons
after authorities banned visitors, and at least six people were killed.Dublin
St. Patrick’s Day canceled: Ireland has canceled parades and
other celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day—its single-biggest tourism
draw—because of fears of spreading the coronavirus. More than
half a million revelers come to Dublin each March for the multi-
day festivities, and the cancellation is expected to hit the city’s
economy hard. So far, Ireland has only a few dozen confirmed
cases, and the focus is on slowing the rate of transmission. Prime
Minister Leo Varadkar announced an aid package of nearly
$3.5 billion for health services, businesses that suffer losses, and
workers in quarantine. Coronavirus patients, including the self-
employed, will receive $340 a week in sick pay.Re
uters,
AP(^3
)^A quarantine checkpoint in Rome
Investigating the U.S.An artist’s protest against femicideAfter the blaze