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‘I wanted to scream’: Growing conflict in Congo drives sexual assault against displaced women

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

BULENGO, Congo (AP) — A hooded man burst into the 42-year-old woman’s tent while her children were out searching for food, then raped her in the displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo.“I wanted to scream (but) he took my mouth and he threatened me with death,” said the mother of four, who was abandoned by her husband after she became disabled in a motorcycle accident several years ago.Now, she says, she lives in fear and hesitates to let her children leave her side.Sexual violence by armed men against displaced women is increasing rapidly in eastern Congo as yearslong conflicts continue. The trend underscores the disproportionate consequences for women and girls in the region’s perpetual state of war. The Associated Press is not identifying survivors who spoke to journalists in the Bulengo displacement camp.In Bulengo and other displacement sites nearby, an average of 70 sexual assault victims each day visit clinics run by Doctors Without Borders, also...

Eye of Hurricane Otis makes landfall near Mexico’s Acapulco resort as catastrophic Category 5 storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Otis slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane early Wednesday, bringing 165 mph (270 kmh) winds and heavy rain to Acapulco and surrounding towns, stirring memories of a 1997 storm that killed dozens of people.The hurricane was expected to weaken quickly in Guerrero state’s steep mountains. But the five to 10 inches of rain forecast, with as much as 15 inches possible in some areas, raised the threat of landslides and floods.Otis had strengthened rapidly, going from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours Tuesday. Residents of Guerrero’s coast scrambled to prepare, but the storm’s sudden intensity appeared to catch many off guard.“We’re on maximum alert,” Acapulco Mayor Abelina López said Tuesday night as she urged residents to hunker down at home or move to the city’s shelters. Otis could be more devastating than Hurricane Pauline that hit Acapulco in 1997, destroying swaths of the city and k...

Japan’s top court strikes down required removal of reproductive organs to officially change gender

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a law requiring transgender people to have their reproductive organs removed in order to officially change their gender is unconstitutional.The decision by the top court’s 15-judge Grand Bench was its first on the constitutionality of Japan’s 2003 law requiring the removal of reproductive organs for a state-recognized gender change, a practice long criticized by international rights and medical groups.The decision now requires the government to revise the law, which paves the way for transgender people to have their gender changed in official documents without surgery.The case was filed by a plaintiff whose request for a gender change in her family registry — to female from her biologically assigned male — was turned down by lower courts.The decision comes at a time of heightened awareness of issues surrounding LGBTQ+ people in Japan and is a major victory for that community.Kyodo News said the judges unanimously ruled that ...

EU and China meet during 26th Competition Week to discuss competition policy and enforcement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

Officials and experts from the EU and China met online from 23 to 25 October 2023 to discuss their cooperation on competition law and enforcement.The sessions focused on competition law enforcement in the EU and China, particularly on the approach to vertical mergers, as well as on competition law enforcement and trade associations. Participants also discussed the new regulation on the Fair Competition Review System in China, which aims at promoting a competitive and unified market by preventing public policies from distorting and restricting competition, and EU state aid procedures, with a focus on the co-operation between the EU and its member states. The EU-China Competition Week takes place biannually and is part of the Competition Co-operation project, a five-year EU funded programme offering technical cooperation to competition authorities in Asia. It provides a platform for exchanges on competition policy between the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition and...

Harriette Cole: Should I tell this man why I won’t get serious about him?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I met a guy last year who was in my extended group of friends. We always got along, and I could tell that he liked me, but he had a bit of a reputation.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I’ve been extremely on edge, and I need a quiet solution Advice | Harriette Cole: My best friend asked to date my crush, and I don’t know what to say Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m not cut out for this class, and the professor isn’t making it any easier Advice | Harriette Cole: She came to my photoshoot, and I’m sure she made a bad impression Advice | Harriette Cole: My boyfriend freaked out in the haunted house. Am I dating a coward? I went on a couple of dates with him last year before we went back home for summer. We had a lot of fun, but I could not take it seriously.Last week he asked me to go on another date, and I said yes. I had not seen him since the end of April...

Miss Manners: We’re afraid they’ll try to raid his house after the funeral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Next week is the funeral of a very dear friend. My husband had held his power of attorney for several years.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I want to abandon this ‘Mom’ business after my mother-in-law’s bad behavior Advice | Miss Manners: The bride’s dress code for wedding guests strikes me as pretentious Advice | Miss Manners: I tried to take the edge off her short-notice cancellation, and she blew up at me Advice | Miss Manners: A stranger sent a letter blasting me. Must I respond? Advice | Miss Manners: How do I bring up the problem of the neighbor’s cats? This friend was a widower and an only child who never had children of his own. He has a few cousins, with whom he’d had little contact over the past several years, and he did not name these relatives in his will.If anyone should come to us after the service to ask if they may drop by the ...

Dear Abby: My church group leader badmouthed my husband and disrupted my home life

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married nine years. We are active in our church. I am very involved with our women’s ministry, but my husband has an issue with our leader, “Nedra.”Nedra has badmouthed my husband to my face. I went to my pastor with the issue, and I am, basically, waiting on God to fix it.Our WM team meets multiple times a week, which means I leave my husband home alone for dinner on those nights. (I always make sure he has dinner when I’m not home.) Our meetings can go on for an hour and a half to two hours, and my husband is always upset when I get home from them.I don’t know what to do. He’s not upset that I’m going to the meetings; he’s upset at how long they last.Nedra doesn’t like him, and he doesn’t like her, especially since he knows what she said about him.I feel stuck in the middle. What do I do?— LADY OF FAITH IN TEXASDEAR LADY: If these meetings occur more than twice a week, your husb...

After a solid first season at Maryland, Kevin Willard wants the Terps to play better on the road

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

FILE -Maryland head coach Kevin Willard directs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Minnesota at the Big Ten men's tournament, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Chicago. The Terps open the season against an in-state opponent when they face Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)(AP/Charles Rex Arbogast) FILE -Maryland head coach Kevin Willard directs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Minnesota at the Big Ten men's tournament, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Chicago. The Terps open the season against an in-state opponent when they face Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 7. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)(AP/Charles Rex Arbogast) ...

Celebrate Día de los Muertos at DC’s Smithsonian American Art Museum this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

Kids aged 12 and younger can get their faces painted, as well as decorate paper calaveras (decorative skulls), marigold flowers and lanterns. (Courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum/Bruce Guthrie)While Día de los Muertos isn’t for another week, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C. is inviting families to celebrate early on Saturday, with kid-friendly crafts and musical performances.Kids aged 12 and younger can get their faces painted, as well as decorate paper decorative skulls, or calaveras, marigold flowers and lanterns. Visitors of all ages can go on an art scavenger hunt through the museum’s Many Wests exhibition.There will also be live performances by Ballet Folklorico Mi Herencia Mexicana and Mariachi Aguila DC among others.The lively holiday, known in English as Day of the Dead, is celebrated widely in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage. (Courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum/Norwood Photography)“It’s a celebration of folks who have d...

Australia wins the toss and will bat first against the Netherlands at the Cricket World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:17 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Australia won the toss and decided to bat first in its Cricket World Cup match against the Netherlands in the Indian capital on Wednesday.Batsman Travis Head was again missing from Australia’s team. He suffered a fracture on his left hand while touring South Africa last month but re-joined the squad earlier this week.All-rounder Marcus Stoinis is also sidelined with a calf problem so Cameron Green comes into the side.Star batsman Steve Smith will be under the spotlight. He has only managed 72 runs in four games in this tournament, with a highest score of 46 against India.Australia sits in fourth place in the standings with a 2-2 record, including a win last Friday over Pakistan. Australia and Pakistan are level on points but the Australians have a better net run- rate and have played one game fewer.The Dutch side is 1-3, its only win coming in a huge upset victory over South Africa last week.It is seventh in the standings, equal on two points with Sri Lanka, d...