Ukrainian drone strike kills 1 in as fighting rages ahead of a planned Trump-Putin summit
Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Gleb Nikitin said in an online statement that drones targeted two 'industrial zones' that caused unspecified damage along with the three casualties.
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, with the highest number of cases in the Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' annual report said more than 4,600 people survived sexual violence in 2024, with armed groups carrying out the majority of the abuse but some by government forces. He stressed that the U.N.-verified figures don't reflect the global scale and prevalence of these crimes. The report's blacklist names 63 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict, including Hamas militants, whose attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza. Over 70% of those listed have appeared on the report's blacklist annex for five years or more without creating steps to prevent the violence, the U.N. chief said. U.N. warns Israel and Russia about allegations For the first time, the report includes two parties that have been notified the U.N. has 'credible information' that could put them on next year's blacklist if they don't take preventive actions: Israel's military and security forces over allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinians primarily in prisons and detention, and Russian forces and affiliated armed groups against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, who circulated a letter Tuesday from Guterres about the country's forces being put on notice, said the allegations 'are steeped in biased publications.' 'The U.N. must focus on the shocking war crimes and sexual violence of Hamas and the release of all hostages,' he said. Russia's U.N. mission said it had no comment on the secretary-general's warning. The 34-page report said 'conflict-related sexual violence' refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced marriage and other forms of sexual violence. The majority of victims are women and girls. 'In 2024, proliferating and escalating conflicts were marked by widespread conflict-related sexual violence, amid record levels of displacement and increased militarization,' Guterres said. 'Sexual violence continued to be used as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression, while multiple and overlapping political, security and humanitarian crises deepened.' The toll of sexual violence in conflict The U.N. says women and girls were attacked in their homes, on roads and while trying to earn a living, with victims ranging in age from 1 to 75. Reports of summary executions of victims after rape persisted in Congo and Myanmar, it said. In an increasing number of places, the report said armed groups 'used sexual violence as a tactic to gain and consolidate control over territory and lucrative natural resources.' Women and girls perceived to be associated with rival armed groups were targeted with sexual violence in the Central African Republic, Congo and Haiti, it said. In detention facilities, the report said sexual violence was perpetrated 'including as a form of torture,' reportedly in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. 'Most of the reported incidents against men and boys occurred in detention, consistent with previous years, and included rape, threats of rape and the electrocution and beating of genitals,' the report said. U.N. report details where abuse is occurring The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic documented cases of rape, gang rape, forced marriage and sexual slavery affecting 215 women, 191 girls and seven men. In mineral-rich eastern Congo, the peacekeeping mission documented nearly 800 cases last year, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, 'often accompanied by extreme physical violence,' the report said. The number of cases involving the M23 rebel group, now controlling the main city Goma, rose from 43 in 2022 to 152 in 2024, it said. In Sudan, where civil war is raging, the report said that groups providing services to victims of sexual violence recorded 221 rape cases against 147 girls and 74 boys since the beginning of 2024, 'with 16% of survivors under five years of age, including four one-year-olds.' ___
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Delaware ex-Gov. Mike Castle, who championed 50 State Quarters Program while in Congress, dies at 86
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Former Delaware Gov. Mike Castle, a Republican moderate who championed creating the popular 50 State Quarters Program of commemorative coins while he served in Congress, has died. He was 86. The Delaware Republican Party announced that Castle died Thursday in Greenville but shared no other details. Castle was among Delaware's most successful politicians, never losing a race until his stunning upset in a 2010 primary for the U.S. Senate seat that Democrat Joe Biden held before becoming vice president. During his 18 years in Congress, Castle became a leader of centrist Republicans, earning a reputation as a fiscal conservative and social moderate not afraid to challenge the party line on issues ranging from government spending to environmental protection and abortion. As Delaware's lone representative in the U.S. House from 1993 to 2011, he supported a pay-as-you-go policy for both spending and tax cuts. Castle played roles in improving child nutrition programs and establishing the No Child Left Behind education reform program. His signature issue in Congress was the commemorative quarters program that featured coins honoring each state, starting with Delaware. He was dubbed by coin collectors as 'The Coinage Congressman.' The quarters boosted federal revenues as they were taken out of circulation. He also helped establish a similar program honoring U.S. presidents with dollar coins, beginning in 2007, and an 'America the Beautiful' quarter program honoring national parks, monuments and nature areas starting in 2010. 'The Honorable Michael Castle embodied the best of public service — moderation, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to all Delawareans,' Delaware GOP Chairman Gene Truono said in a statement Thursday. Castle had been a state lawmaker and lieutenant governor before becoming governor in 1985. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer ordered flags flown at half-staff for the next week in Castle's honor. 'During his time as governor, Mike Castle visited every single school in our state, including mine, where he spoke to my high school class with the same warmth, humility, and commitment to public service that defined his career,' said Meyer, a Democrat.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Upgraded charges filed against Minnesota man accused of killing lawmaker, wounding another
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man accused of killing a top Democratic state lawmaker and wounding another while pretending to be a police officer is now facing new and upgraded state charges under a fresh indictment announced Thursday, just a week after he pleaded not guilty in federal court. Vance Boelter now faces two charges of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and charges of impersonating a police officer and animal cruelty for shooting one family's dog. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the charges 'reflect the weight of Mr. Boelter's crimes.'
