International
More than 20 % have suffered violence, harassment at work: UN
| By AFP | Christophe Vogt |
More than one in five people in employment worldwide have experienced some form of workplace harassment or violence, according to a survey released by the United Nations on Monday.
“Violence and harassment at work is a widespread phenomenon around the world,” the UN’s International Labour Organization said following a joint study by the ILO, Lloyd’s Register Foundation and pollsters Gallup.
The survey was a first attempt to produce a global overview of the magnitude and frequency of the problem, and the barriers that prevent people from talking about it.
It found that 22.8 percent — which would amount to 743 million people in employment — have experienced “at least one form of violence and harassment at work during their working life”, according to data collected last year.
Nearly a third of victims (31.8 percent) said they had been subjected to more than one form of violence and harassment, and 6.3 percent had experienced it in all three forms — physical, psychological and sexual — during their working life.
The survey was mainly conducted by telephone and the questions were formulated so they could be understood by as many people as possible.
The study found that the perception of what constitutes violence or harassment is not the same around the world: in some places, pushing someone could be seen as rude behaviour, but nothing further than that.
Psychological violence and harassment at work was found to be the most common, with 17.9 percent, or 583 million people experiencing it in their working life.
The survey found that 8.5 percent (which would amount to 277 million people) had experienced physical violence and harassment.
While women are more likely to have suffered psychological violence, men are more often the victims of physical violence, the study found.
Sexual violence
Violence and harassment of a sexual nature has affected 6.3 percent — approximately one person in every 15 in employment — with women “particularly exposed”, the ILO said.
Of the three forms of violence and harassment, it has the biggest gender gap: more than eight percent of women are victims, compared to five percent among men.
“Young women were twice as likely as young men to have experienced sexual violence and harassment,” the ILO added.
The study found that people who have experienced discrimination on the basis of gender, disability status, nationality, ethnicity, skin colour or religion in their lives were also more likely to have experienced violence and harassment at work.
Youth, migrant, and wage and salaried workers were more likely to face violence and harassment at work, particularly women, the study found.
The survey found that violence and harassment at work could be recurrent and persistent: more than three in five victims said it had happened to them multiple times.
It also found there were several barriers preventing people from disclosing incidents, with “waste of time” and “fear for their reputation” being the most common.
International
Suspect Armed With Shotgun and Knives Detained at White House Correspondents Dinner
U.S. authorities confirmed Saturday that the suspect who stormed into the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while President Donald Trump was attending acted alone, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public following the incident, which left one Secret Service agent injured.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference that the suspect was carrying “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” when he attempted to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint inside the hotel lobby at approximately 8:36 p.m. local time.
“At this point, everything indicates that this was a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Carroll stated, adding that investigators have found no preliminary evidence suggesting the involvement of additional suspects.
During the exchange of gunfire inside the hotel corridors, the suspect was not struck by bullets but was subdued by law enforcement officers and later transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
A member of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was shot during the incident, though the bullet was stopped by the officer’s ballistic vest, preventing serious injuries. The agent was taken to a hospital and is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Carroll.
The shooting prompted the immediate evacuation of President Trump, Melania Trump, and several senior officials attending the event after multiple gunshots were heard outside the hotel’s main ballroom.
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
International
U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico
The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.
According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.
“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.
In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.
In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.
The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.
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