Israeli strikes in Gaza may be war crimes: UN rights chief
The UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet stated that in the 11-day war with the military group Hamas in Gaza, Israeli forces may have committed war crimes. She also called Israel to allow an independent probe of military actions. The deadly violence was the most significant escalation of hostilities since 2014. The death toll comes to 248 people including 66 children and 39 women in Gaza, and 12 people including 2 children in Israel. Bachelet also stated that the airstrikes on densely populated areas resulted in a high level of civilian fatalities and injuries, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Such actions, she said, may make up war crimes and urged Israel to ensure accountability, as required under international law. She further stated that indiscriminate use of rockets in civilian areas is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. She also expressed contempt regarding the tactics of Hamas locating their military assets in densely populated civilian areas and firing rockets from them. She cautioned that unless root causes of the violence are addressed, it is only a matter of time before the next round of violence begins.
Tragic discovery in Canadian residential school for indigenous children
The remains of 215 indigenous children, some as young as 3 years old, have been found buried on the site of Kamloops Indian Residential School, which was once Canada’s largest indigenous residential school. It operated between 1890-1969 when the government took the reins of the school from the catholic church and operated it as a day school until its closure in 1978. It is one of the several institutions that housed children taken from their families across the nation. From the 19th century until the 1970s, it required indigenous children to attend state-funded Christian schools as a part of a program to assimilate them into Canadian society. They were forcefully converted to Christianity and not allowed to speak their native languages. Many were physically and sexually abused, and as many as about 6000 are said to have died. In 2008, the Canadian government admitted the rampant physical and sexual abuse in the residential schools and apologized in Parliament. The tragic discovery highlights the violence and legacy of genocide towards indigenous people by the residential school system.
Change in electoral law of Hong Kong curbing direct vote of the public
Hong Kong’s legislature has passed a Bill amending electoral laws that reduces the public’s ability to vote and increases the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions. The new law also empowers the city’s national security department to check the backgrounds of potential candidates for public offices and sets up a new committee that ensures that the candidates are ‘patriotic’. The Bill was passed by a 40-2 vote, with little opposition since the pro-democracy members resigned en masse last year protesting the removal of four lawmakers who were not considered loyal to Beijing. Further, under the new Bill, the number of seats in Hong Kong’s legislature will be expanded to 90, out of which 40 will be elected by an election committee that is largely pro-Beijing. Moreover, Hong Kong voters will be directly able to elect only 20 legislators compared to the previous number of 35.
Origins of the Covid-19 virus
Leading UK and Us scientists including Indian-origin Cambridge University immunology and infectious disease expert Ravindra Gupta have called for an investigation to determine the origin of the Covid-19 virus as well as the theory that the virus was accidentally released from a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan. In a letter published in the journal “Science”, experts from leading universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and MIT have observed that knowing the origin of the virus is critical to mitigating the risk of any future outbreaks. They also stated that hypotheses about both natural and laboratory spillovers must be taken seriously until there is sufficient data.
In this connection, a US media report has stated that three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care in November 2019, weeks before China disclosed the Covid-19 pandemic. It cited a previously undisclosed American intelligence document that could provide weight to the growing calls for a full-scale probe into reports of the virus being an accidental lab release. Further, the Wall Street Journal also reported that several researchers at the Wuhan lab fell sick with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.
New US legislation to address hate crimes against Asian-Americans
In a bid to address the rising hate crimes against the Asian-American community in the US, President Biden has signed new legislation to address the rising hate crimes and assured that such crimes will be accurately counted and reported. The legislation will provide resources to create specialized hate crime units, and create hotlines at local and state levels that will be accessible to people with limited English proficiency. It will also provide resources for training local and state law enforcement to identify, investigate, and report any such hate crimes.
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