UN rights team warns Mexico of ‘crisis’ in journalists’ safety
Reuters, Mexico City
The United Nations said on Monday the Mexican government is struggling to keep journalists safe and prosecute their oppressors, after officials toured regions of the country that are among the most dangerous in the world for reporters.
Mexican federal prosecutors have yet to secure any convictions for crimes against reporters due to ineffective probes and scant resources, said the U.N.’s special rapporteur for freedom of expression, David Kaye, and his counterpart from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Edison Lanza.
‘Israeli airstrikes’ near Damascus
AFP, Beirut
Israeli fighter jets bombed areas near the Syrian capital Damascus late Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
“Israeli planes targeted the Jamaraya region near Damascus including a scientific research centre and warehouses where weapons and ammunition of the regime and its allies were stocked,” Rami Abdel Rahmane, director of the Britain-based monitoring group told AFP.
Tillerson meets EU, NATO leaders
AFP, Brussels
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets his EU and NATO counterparts in Brussels Tuesday to shore up ties, with allies insisting he still plays a “key role” despite doubts over his future. Tillerson will hold talks over lunch with European Union foreign ministers and the bloc’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini, before a two-day NATO meeting set to focus on North Korea’s missile programme and concerns over perceived hostility from Russia.
UN envoy bound for North Korea
AFP, Beijing
A senior United Nations envoy arrived at Beijing’s airport on Tuesday on his way to North Korea for a rare visit aimed at defusing soaring tensions over Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
The unusual trip by Jeffrey Feltman, which runs to Friday, comes less than a week after North Korea said it test-fired a new ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.
