Gisele Pelicot, the 72-year-old victim of mass rape whose ordeal has shocked the world, told a trial in southern France on Wednesday that she was determined that making her case public should help other women and change society.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, has admitted to inviting dozens of strangers over nearly 10 years to their house to rape her after he had drugged her. Fifty other men also stand trial, accused of raping her.

Gisele Pelicot, her voice often shaking with emotion, told the court she was destroyed by what happened to her. She said how “unbelievably violent” it was for her that many of the accused in the trial, which started on September 2, said they thought she agreed to the rapes or was faking sleeping.

“I’ve decided not to be ashamed, I’ve done nothing wrong,” Gisele Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence, told the court in Avignon.

She said she had insisted the trial be held publicly, and not behind closed doors, as is often the case to protect rape victims, in the hope it would help other rape victims.

“They (rapists) are the ones who must be ashamed,” she said, adding that having videos, filmed by her husband, of some of her rapes, shown during the trial, was “very difficult but necessary.”

“I’m not expressing hatred or hate, but I am determined that things change in this society,” said Gisele Pelicot.

Protests have been organized across France to show support for Gisele Pelicot, with many women expressing admiration for her courage.

“It’s not courage. It’s determination to change things,” she said. “This is not just my battle, but that of all rape victims.”

Most of the accused told the court they have been manipulated by Dominique Pelicot, rejecting the blame on him. Only a few have admitted to raping Gisele Pelicot.

Some have apologized.

“I hear those apologies, but they are inaudible,” she told the court. “By apologizing, they are trying to excuse themselves.”

Saying her husband’s betrayal of her trust was beyond measure, Gisele Pelicot told the court: “I’m a woman who’s totally destroyed.”

She had thought he was the perfect husband, she told the court, before adding: “My life has tumbled into nothingness.”

Every year, thousands of South Koreans – mostly middle-aged men – die quietly and alone, cut off from their family and friends. It sometimes takes days or even weeks before their bodies are found.

These are the country’s “lonely deaths,” known as godoksa in Korean. It’s part of a larger problem of loneliness and isolation across the country, an issue so pressing the government is pulling out all the stops to fight it.

In the bustling capital Seoul, city authorities announced this week they would spend 451.3 billion won (nearly $327 million) over the next five years to “create a city where no-one is lonely.”

Their new initiatives include loneliness counselors available on a 24/7 hotline, an online platform for similar counseling, as well as follow-up measures including in-person visits and consultations, according to the metropolitan government.

“Loneliness and isolation are not just individual problems, but tasks that society must solve together,” Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon said in a news release. The city will “mobilize all of our municipal capacity” to help lonely people heal and “return to society,” he added.

The city also plans to introduce expanded psychological services and green spaces; nutritional meal plans for middle-aged and elderly residents; a dedicated “search system” to identify isolated residents who need help; and activities to encourage people to venture outside and connect with others, such as gardening, sports, book clubs and more.

Experts have welcomed the measures but say more needs to be done – partly because loneliness in Korea is tied to certain unique parts of Korean culture that are difficult to change.

“Loneliness is a significant social issue right now, so efforts or policies to address it are absolutely necessary,” said An Soo-jung, a psychology professor at Myongji University – cautioning, however, that “there needs to be careful consideration about how effectively these measures will be implemented.”

Thousands of lonely deaths

The problem of loneliness has gained national attention over the past decade as the number of related issues increased – such as young people who withdraw from the world and spend their days isolated at home, often for months at a time. The phenomenon, known by the Japanese term “hikikomori,” has become increasingly common; South Korea had up to 244,000 such recluses in 2022 by one estimate.

The number of lonely deaths has also been rising – reaching 3,661 last year, up from 3,559 in 2022 and 3,378 in 2021, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s latest figures released last week.

Part of that increase could be the ministry’s new, broader definition for “lonely death.” While in previous years the body had to be found only after “a certain amount of time” to qualify as a “lonely death,” the term now applies to anyone who lives in social isolation, cut off from family or relatives, and dies due to suicide or illness.

Another factor behind the uptick could be the country’s demographic crisis. An aging population and declining birthrate mean there have been consistently more deaths than births in recent years. South Korea’s overall death rate is rising – and that includes lonely deaths.

But the figures still speak to a larger problem that seems to impact middle aged and elderly men the most.

More than 84% of the lonely deaths recorded last year were male, more than five times the number of female deaths, according to the ministry. Men in their 50s and 60s made up more than half the total group, making them “particularly vulnerable to the risk of dying alone.”

What makes Koreans so lonely?

Loneliness isn’t unique to South Korea, and “it’s difficult to say that Koreans are particularly lonelier than others,” said An, the psychology professor. However, when asked about what makes them feel lonely, “there are some differences compared to other countries,” she said.

In some cultures, loneliness is seen as a feeling that happens “when relationships are not fulfilling,” An said. “In Korea, people say they feel very lonely when they feel they’re not worthy enough or lack purpose.”

A study from June this year found that the epidemic of loneliness reflects nuances in Korean culture, which “emphasizes relational orientation” – or people defining themselves in relation to others around them. As a result, South Koreans may feel deep loneliness or a sense of failure if they feel they’re not “making a significant impact on others or society,” the study said.

This is a major difference from other countries, according to An. Koreans may have a thriving social life and close connections to others, but they may still feel lonely “when they compare themselves to others and question whether they are useful, contributing enough to society, or falling behind.”

The study also identified other factors such as the rise in single-person households, decline in social interactions outside work and family, the dominance of social media and how it fosters feelings of inadequacy, and South Korea’s competitive, “achievement-oriented” culture, which drives feelings of loneliness among those falling short of their own goals.

“When we all pursue the same values excessively, we end up losing ourselves,” An said. “Our society demands highly collective social living but often fails to respect the individual” – meaning people struggle to deal with solitude or the feeling of failure.

Government efforts

South Korean authorities have launched various initiatives over the years to combat the problem, including the Lonely Death Prevention and Management Act which ordered the government to compile a comprehensive preventative plan and a five-yearly situation report.

And in 2023, the government passed an amendment making some reclusive youth eligible for financial support, including up to 650,000 won ($475) per month for living expenses, to help them “re-enter society.”

South Korea isn’t alone in fighting this battle.

Japan, where the hikikomori trend was first recognized and studied in depth, appointed a Minister of Loneliness and Isolation in 2021. The following year, the government released an intensive plan of countermeasures including a 24/7 consultation service and the expansion of counseling and social work programs.

Other countries, including the United Kingdom, have similarly appointed ministers of loneliness. The United States Surgeon General warned of an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” in a 2023 advisory, urging measures such as building stronger social infrastructure and regulating online platforms.

Even the World Health Organization launched a commission to fight loneliness in 2023, calling it a “pressing health threat.”

But An said she had “doubts about whether simply expanding physical connections will fundamentally solve the problem of loneliness … It’s not something that can be easily changed by a single policy.”

Because there are complex, culturally-specific factors at play, a larger shift may be needed so individuals can “develop the strength to be alone and face themselves,” she said.

“We need to cultivate the ability to care for both ourselves and others. But our life in society is so tough, so it feels like we lack the time to even care for ourselves.”

Dinosaur fossils have been discovered for the first time in Hong Kong, on a remote island in the financial capital’s countryside.

The fossils were found on Port Island, an uninhabitable expanse of rocks in the northeastern waters of the city, by Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in March, the government said in a statement Wednesday.

Researchers have determined that the bone fossils likely originated from a “large aged dinosaur” from the Cretaceous period –– an era more than 145 million to 66 million years ago that followed the Jurassic period.

Hong Kong’s Secretary of Development Bernadette Linn said that “the discovery is of great significance and provides new evidence for research on palaeoecology in Hong Kong,” the statement read.

Since 1979, Port Island has been designated as a site of special scientific interest and is also part of Hong Kong’s UNESCO Global Geopark –– a cluster of islands protected by an international framework and primarily used for education and sustainable development.

“Further studies will have to be conducted to confirm the species of the dinosaur,” officials said, adding that Port Island and the wider country park will be closed for further excavations and research. The dinosaur fossils will also be on public display at Hong Kong’s Heritage Discovery Centre from Friday onwards.

Experts in paleontology say the landmark discovery is a big deal for Hong Kong, a city with a complex geological history and ever-changing weather patterns.

The only “dinosaur-era things” Hong Kong has found so far are plants and fish, he said.

Pittman also noted that the discovery of body fossils is rare regionally, as skeletal remains are not typically found in southern China, known instead for its dinosaur eggs.

Since 2020, however, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found dinosaur remains buried shallowly across nine localities in the southwestern province of Yunnan and have carried out excavations.

Earlier this year, paleontologists in China discovered the fossils of a Gandititan cavocaudatus at a construction site in Jiangxi province. The fossils, estimated to date back 90 million years, were part of a new dinosaur species previously unknown in East Asia.

It’s unclear how long Port Island will remain closed to visitors.

“If they end up finding a whole skeleton of a big dinosaur or two dinosaurs, they might have to go back next summer, and the summer after that,” Pittman said.

Widespread flooding and landslides set off by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines on Thursday left at least 24 people dead, swept away cars and prompted authorities to scramble for motorboats to rescue trapped villagers, some on roofs.

The government shut down schools and offices – except those urgently needed for disaster response – for the second day on the entire main island of Luzon to protect millions of people after Tropical Storm Trami slammed into the country’s northeastern province of Isabela after midnight.

The storm – known as Kristine in the Philippines – was blowing over Aguinaldo town in the mountain province of Ifugao after dawn with sustained winds up to 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts up to 160 kph (99 mph). It was blowing westward and was forecast to enter the South China Sea later on Thursday, according to state forecasters.

At least 24 people died, mostly due to drowning in the hard-hit Bicol region and nearby Quezon province, but the toll was expected to rise as towns and villages isolated by flooding and roads blocked by landslides and toppled trees manage to send out reports, police and provincial officials said.

Most of the storm deaths were reported in the six-province Bicol region, southeast of Manila, where at least 20 people died, including 7 residents in Naga city, which was inundated by flash floods as Trami was approaching Tuesday, dumping more than two months’ worth of rainfall in just 24 hours at high tide, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon and other officials said.

While thousands of villagers, who were trapped in floodwaters, have been rescued by government forces, many more needed to be saved Thursday in the Bicol region, including some on roofs. About 1,500 police officers have been deployed for disaster-mitigation work, Dizon said.

“We can’t rescue them all at once because there are so many and we need additional motorboats,” Dizon told The Associated Press by telephone. “We’re looking for ways to deliver food and water to those who were trapped but could not be evacuated right away.”

Flash floods swept away and submerged cars in some parts of Naga city while mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s 24 active volcanoes, in nearby Albay province, engulfed several vehicles, Dizon said.

Stormy weather remained in the region, hampering relief efforts, officials said.

The government’s disaster-mitigation agency said more than 2 million people were affected by the storm, including 75,400 villagers who were displaced from their homes and are sheltering on safer ground.

About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and flattened entire villages.

The Israeli military has forced Palestinians to enter potentially booby-trapped houses and tunnels in Gaza to avoid putting its troops in harm’s way, according to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier and five former detainees who said they were victims of the practice.

The soldier, who said his unit held two Palestinian prisoners for the explicit purpose of using them as human shields to probe dangerous places, said the practice was prevalent among Israeli units in Gaza.

“We told them to enter the building before us,” he explained. “If there are any booby traps, they will explode and not us.”

It was so common in the Israeli military that it had a name: “mosquito protocol.”

The exact scale and scope of the practice by the Israeli military is not known. But the testimony of both the soldier and five civilians shows that it was widespread across the territory: in northern Gaza, Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah.

The soldier explained that, at first, his unit, which at the time was in northern Gaza, used standardized procedures before entering a suspect building: sending in a dog or punching a hole through its side with a tank shell or an armored bulldozer.

But one day this spring, the soldier said an intelligence officer showed up with two Palestinian detainees – a 16-year-old boy and 20-year-old man – and told the troops to use them as human shields before entering buildings. The intelligence officer claimed they were connected to Hamas.

When he questioned the practice, the soldier said one of his commanders told him, “‘It’s better that the Palestinian will explode and not our soldiers.’”

“It’s quite shocking, but after a few months in Gaza you [tend not to] think clearly,” the soldier said. “You’re just tired. Obviously, I prefer that my soldiers live. But, you know, that’s not how the world works.”

The soldier said that he and his comrades refused to carry on with the practice after two days and confronted their senior commander about it. Their commander, who first told them not to “think about international law,” saying that their own lives were “more important,” ultimately relented, releasing the two Palestinians, the soldier said.

The fact that they were released, he said, made it clear to him that they had no affiliation with Hamas, “that they are not terrorists.”

International law forbids the use of civilians to shield military activity, or to forcibly involve civilians in military operations. The Israeli Supreme Court explicitly banned the practice in 2005, after rights groups filed a complaint about the military’s use of Palestinian civilians to knock on the doors of suspected militants in the West Bank. Justice Aharon Barak at the time called the practice “cruel and barbaric.”

Israel has long accused Hamas of using civilians in Gaza as human shields, embedding military infrastructure in civilian areas – allegations Hamas has denied. There is ample evidence for it: weapons located inside homes, tunnels dug beneath residential neighborhoods and rockets fired from those same neighborhoods in the densely packed territory.

The Israeli military frequently cites those practices in blaming Hamas for the extraordinary civilian death toll in Gaza, where Israel has dropped bombs on those same residential areas. Israeli attacks have killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October last year, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The United Nations says that most of the dead are civilians.

“We saw Hamas using Palestinians as human shields,” the soldier said. “But for me it’s more painful with my own army. Hamas is a terrorist organization. The IDF shouldn’t use terrorist organization practices.”

‘Mosquito protocol’

Interviews with five Palestinian former detainees in Gaza tally with the soldier’s account. All describe being captured by Israeli troops and forced to enter potentially dangerous places ahead of the military.

Israeli airstrikes earlier this year forced Mohammad Saad, 20, from his home in Jabalya, in northern Gaza. From his makeshift home near Khan Younis, between blankets strung from rafters, Saad explained that he was picked up by the Israeli military near Rafah, while attempting to get food aid for him and his younger brothers.

“The army took us in a jeep, and we found ourselves inside Rafah in a military camp,” he said, adding that he was held there for 47 days, and during that time was used for reconnaissance missions to avoid putting Israeli soldiers at risk.

“They dressed us in military uniforms, put a camera on us, and gave us a metal cutter,” he said. “They would ask us to do things like, ‘move this carpet,’ saying they were looking for tunnels. ‘Film under the stairs,’ they would say. If they found something, they would tell us to bring it outside. For example, they would ask us to remove belongings from the house, clean here, move the sofa, open the fridge, and open the cupboard.”

The soldiers were terrified, he explained, of hidden explosives.

“I usually wore the military uniform, but for the final mission, they took me in civilian clothing,” Saad said. “We went to a location, and they told me I had to film a tank left behind by the Israeli army. I was terrified and scared to film it, so they hit me on the back with the butt of a rifle.”

Not all the Palestinians used were adults. Mohammad Shbeir, 17, said that he was taken captive by Israeli soldiers after they killed his father and sister during a raid on their home in Khan Younis.

“I was handcuffed and wearing nothing but my boxers,” he recalled. “They used me as a human shield, taking me into demolished houses, places that could be dangerous or contain landmines.”

Dr. Yahya Khalil Al-Kayali, 59, was like so many others displaced over and over after being forced from his home in Gaza City. He eventually found himself living near Al Shifa Hospital, once Gaza’s largest medical complex, joining thousands of internally displaced civilians who took up shelter there.

In March, the Israeli military laid siege to that medical complex for a third time, alleging that Hamas was using it as a command center – something that Hamas denied. Huge numbers of men were swept up in the two-week-long raid, which left the hospital destroyed and inoperable. Al-Kayali was among them.

“The leader of this group, the soldier, asked me to come,” Al-Kayali recalled from the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, by a beach tent encampment. “He was talking to me in English. And he asked me to go out of the building to find any open holes or tunnels under the ground.”

Along a row of apartment buildings, again and again, the soldiers told Al-Kayali to enter every room of every apartment and check for militants and booby traps. The canons of Israeli tanks stood ready to fire, he said, should Hamas fighters be uncovered.

“I was thinking that I would be killed or die within minutes,” he recalled. “I was thinking about my family. Because there is no time to think about many things. But I was worried also about my kids, because my kids and my family were in the building.”

To his relief, the buildings were empty, and he was released. In the end, he said, he was forced to check as many as 80 apartments.

But after the soldier left Gaza, he said he heard from his comrades that the so-called “mosquito protocol” had resumed in his unit.

“My own soldiers who refused it in the beginning were back to using this practice,” he said. “They have no strength like they had in the beginning.”

Tareq Al Hilou and Mohammad Al Sawalhi in Gaza contributed to this report.