While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 28

There was no immediate official word on a possible motive for the gun violence. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Woman shoots dead 3 children, 3 adults at Christian school in Tennessee

A 28-year-old woman armed with several guns opened fire on Monday at a private Christian school she once attended in Tennessee’s capital city, killing three children and three adult staffers before police killed her, authorities said.

There was no immediate official word on a possible motive for the gun violence, which unfolded on a warm spring morning not long after classes began at The Convenant School, whose students consist mostly of elementary school-age children.

The woman was carrying at least two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, police said.

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Israeli PM agrees to delay judicial overhaul until next parliament session

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night paused a judicial overhaul which triggered a general strike, political division and mass protests in the country’s most severe domestic crisis in years.

After nearly three months of increasing tensions, Netanyahu said in a broadcast: “Out of a sense of national responsibility, out of a will to prevent a rupture among our people, I have decided to pause the second and third readings of the bill.”

His comments came a day after he sacked his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, who had called for a halt to the legislative process citing national security concerns.

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Hungary parliament backs Finland’s Nato accession, Swedish bid pending

Hungary’s parliament approved a bill on Monday to allow Finland to join Nato once its application has been ratified by all 30 members of the alliance, ending months of foot-dragging by the ruling Fidesz party on the matter.

Finland and Sweden asked to join the trans-Atlantic military alliance last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the process has been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Although Finland’s bid has now been approved, the Swedish bill is still stranded in the Hungarian parliament.

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EU money facilitated migrant torture, sex slavery in Libya: UN

EU funding is facilitating the commission of abuses against migrants in Libya, who are being systematically tortured and forced into sexual slavery, a United Nations investigation said Monday.

The probe voiced alarm at the deteriorating human rights situation in the conflict-torn North African country, warning that the European Union was supporting some of the organisations perpetrating abuses against migrants.

“We’re not saying that the EU and its member states have committed these crimes,” investigator Chaloka Beyani told reporters, adding though that “the support given has aided and abetted the commission of the crimes.”

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Walt Disney Co begins 7,000 layoffs

Walt Disney Co on Monday began 7,000 layoffs announced earlier this year, as it seeks to control costs and create a more “streamlined” business, according to a letter Chief Executive Bob Iger sent to employees and seen by Reuters.

Several major divisions of the company - Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and corporate - will be impacted, according to a person familiar with the matter. ESPN is not touched by this week’s round of cuts, but is anticipated to be included in later rounds.

The entertainment industry has undergone a retrenchment since its early euphoric embrace of video streaming, when established media companies lost billions as they launched competitors to Netflix Inc.

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