NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Mass graves: Syrian workers have exhumed more than 500 bodies from one of the largest mass graves near the northern city of Raqqa, once the capital of the Islamic State’s self-styled caliphate, and are still uncovering remains, a local official said Tuesday. The exhumation of mass graves is being undertaken amid concerns about the preservation of bodies and evidence for possible war crimes trials. A devastating U.S.-backed air and ground campaign drove Islamic State from Raqqa more than a year ago, but recovery teams continue to locate mass graves in and around the city. At least nine graves have been found, and the bodies that have been recovered are a mix of victims of U.S.-led coalition air strikes, Islamic State fighters and civilians.
2 Female army chief: Slovenia’s government on Tuesday appointed a female officer as the head of the army, a first for the small country that is a member of NATO and the European Union. Maj. Gen. Alenka Ermenc, 55, will formally take up her post as the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces at a ceremony on Wednesday, when she will also become the only woman to currently hold the top army post among the NATO countries. An Alpine nation of some 2 million people, Slovenia has about 7,500 soldiers, including both active and reserve troops.
3 Nuclear plants: French President Emmanuel Macron says the country will move more slowly than promised to cap the amount of energy it derives from nuclear energy. Amid popular discontent about high energy prices, Macron said Tuesday that France will shut down 14 nuclear reactors by 2035 out of 58 now in order. Yet he said France would cap the amount of electricity it derives from nuclear plants at 50 percent by 2035. That is a delay compared with the goal of 2025 set by his predecessor, Francois Hollande.
4 Euthanized woman: Belgian officials are investigating whether doctors improperly euthanized a woman with autism, the first criminal investigation in a euthanasia case since the practice was legalized in 2002 in the European nation. Three doctors from East Flanders are being investigated on suspicion of having “poisoned” Tine Nys in 2010. The 38-year-old had been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, two months before she was euthanized by a doctor in an apparently legal killing that she had asked for. Belgium is one of two countries, along with the Netherlands, where the euthanasia of people for psychiatric reasons is allowed if they can prove they have “unbearable and untreatable” suffering. Among Belgians euthanized for mental health reasons, the most common conditions are depression, personality disorder and Asperger’s.
5 Isolated tribe: A rights group that works to protect tribal people has urged Indian authorities to abandon efforts to recover the body of an American who was killed by inhabitants of an island where outsiders are effectively forbidden by Indian law. The group, Survival International, said the islanders could be exposed to deadly diseases if rescuers set foot on North Sentinel Island, where John Allen Chau of Washington state was killed earlier this month. Chau traveled to the island by paying fishermen to smuggle him. The fishermen told authorities they saw the Sentinelese bury Chau’s body on the beach. Notes that Chau left behind say he wanted to bring Christianity to the islanders.