Daily Archives: April 3, 2016

Age, Ideology + Affiliation

Portugal & Angola News | Activists & Dissidents

Protests over jailing of youth activists in Angola spread to Portugal
  • Advocates in Lisbon have expressed dismay that the Portuguese government has so far refused to condemn the jailing of 17 youth activists in its former colony.
  • Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos warned Portugal against stepping into what he considers to be an Angolan domestic matter.
  • Demonstrations in Lisbon castigated the conviction of the book-club activists as well as Angolan businessmen’s investment in Portugal’s news and telecommunications industries.

Read more:
“Anger as Lisbon fails to condemn jailing of Angola book club dissidents” (The Guardian)
“Tensions high after Angolan activists sentenced in ‘show trial’” (The Observers)

(Image Credit: Joao Relvas/EPA, via The Guardian)

Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Czech Republic | Iraqi Christian Refugees

Czech Republic expels Iraqi Christian refugees for attempting to cross into Germany
  • Interior Minister Milan Chovanec announced the 25 refugees have seven days to arrange their return to Iraq.
  • Chovanec accused the Iraqis of “abusing the country’s generosity” after they were caught at the German border and returned.
  • The Czech Republic agreed to accept 153 Christian refugees from Iraq in December, but only 89 have been resettled so far and Chovanec has suspended the relocation program.

Read more:
“Czechs to return Iraqi Christians who tried to move to Germany, interior minister says” (Reuters)
“Czechs To Repatriate 25 Iraqi Christians Who Tried To Cross Into Germany” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Age, Gender

Japan News | Women & Youth

Death from overwork on the rise among Japanese youth and women as non-regular contracts increase
  • Karoshi, or death by overwork, is a long-recognized phenomenon in Japanese society often associated with white-collar men, but labor and demographic changes have contributed to its expansion to youth and women.
  • For a death to qualify as karoshi, claimants—usually family members—must prove the victim died from work-related cardiovascular illness or suicide from overwork (including demonstration of significant overtime work).
  • Karoshi claims hit a record high of 1,456 in 2015, with labor analysts pointing to the rise of non-regular work in Japan (including temporary and temp-to-perm contracting) as a significant contributor to their growth.

Read more:
“Death by overwork on rise among Japan’s vulnerable workers” (Reuters)
“Abe administration looks to reduce limits on overtime work” (The Japan Times)
“Karoshi: Stroke, heart attacks and suicide attributed to overwork killing hundreds of Japanese employees” (ABC, June 2015)

(Image Credit: AP, via The Japan Times)