Daily Archives: February 25, 2017

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration

U.S. News | Indians

Man kills two Indian-born engineers in Kansas hate attack
  • Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both employees at the tech company Garmin, were shot and killed by Adam Purinton in Olathe, Kansas as anti-immigrant sentiment surges in U.S.
  • Eyewitnesses reported that the killer believed the men to be of Middle Eastern descent and shouted “go back to your country” before the attack.
  • A third man, Ian Grillot, was injured after being shot while attempting to defend the men.
Read

“Hate Crime Is Feared as 2 Indian Engineers Are Shot in Kansas” (The New York Times | February 2017)
“Man charged with killing Indian said to have shouted ‘go back to your country’” (The Guardian | February 2017)
“After this, do we really need to go and work in the U.S., asks father of Indian injured in Kansas shooting” (The Hindu | February 2017)

(Image Credit: Amy Stroth/The New York Times)

Gender

India News | Women

Pro-choice advocates push to expand abortion window in India
  • Indian women can currently obtain an abortion up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy, after which termination procedures are legally permissible only on a case-by-case basis in cases of danger to maternal health.
  • Advocates argue that many victims of sex crimes do not report pregnancies until late, leaving a very small window of time to abort the pregnancy.
  • Advocates are now pushing to extend the window to 24 weeks and to equip doctors with the legal power to grant abortions rather than forcing women to pursue permission through law enforcement and the courts.
Read

“Victims of sex crime race strict Indian abortion deadline” (The Thomson Reuters Foundation | February 2017)

Related Reading

“India’s population surges as men remain reluctant to use contraceptive measures” (The Hindustan Times | February 2017)
“US abortion funding cuts hit Indian NGOs” (The Economic Times | January 2017)

Nationality + Migration

Interregional News | Migrants & Asylum-Seekers

Italy rescues almost 2,500 asylum-seekers in Mediterranean over three days as trips and deaths surge
  • The Italian Coast Guard pulled 1,100 from nine vessels in one day following the rescue of 1,360 in the previous two days as migrant deaths are up by more than 330% over 2016.
  • More than 10,700 have crossed the Mediterranean in the first months of 2017, an increase of a third over 2016.
  • Recently, Italy and the U.N. agreed to fund migrant camps, Coast Guard training, and anti-smuggling efforts in Libya to stem the flow of migrants into southern Europe, a move criticized by humanitarian groups because of Libya’s political insecurity and harsh treatment of migrants.
Read

“Italy says 2,500 boat migrants rescued at sea in three days” (Reuters | February 2017)
“Migrant Fatalities Surge on Libya-Italy Mediterranean Route” (Voice of America | February 2017)
“Can E.U. Shift Migrant Crisis to the Source? In Libya, the Odds Are Long” (The New York Times | February 2017)

(Image Credit: Reuters, via Voice of America)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Slovenia News | LGBT

Same-sex marriages commence in Slovenia
  • The first lesbian wedding was scheduled in the country’s second-largest city, Maribor.
  • The law establishing marriage equality in the country was passed in December 2015 after a contentious debate over same-sex adoption, although it was subsequently repealed by referendum.
  • While able to marry, same-sex couples cannot jointly adopt a child or, for lesbian couples, undergo artificial insemination.
Read

“Slovenia allows same-sex marriage, but not adoption” (Reuters | February 2017)
“Slovenia allows same-sex marriage” (POLITICO | February 2017)
“Slovenia will expand civil partnership rights after gay marriage defeated in referendum” (Gay Star News | March 2016)

(Image Credit: Jure Makovec/AFP, via POLITICO)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Estonia News | Ethnic Russians

Estonian government reaches out to Russian Estonians to counter Kremlin influence
  • Anxious about a repeat of Ukraine in their country, government officials have begun learning Russian and conducting outreach to increase the integration of ethnic Russians in Estonia.
  • Russian speakers comprise roughly 25% of Estonia’s population, with many concentrated on the country’s border with Russia where a mix of Estonian and Russian media provide differing views on regional geopolitics.
  • Although Russians have been in Estonia since pre-WWII times, many ethnic Russian immigrants in Estonia lack Estonian citizenship after post-Soviet language tests left many holding Russian passports.
Read

“Wary of divided loyalties, a Baltic state reaches out to its Russians” (Reuters | February 2017)
“Nervous in Narva: a town caught between East and West” (The Irish Times | February 2017)
“Baltic Russians: Are They Sudetendeutsche?“* (Forbes | February 2017)

* Commentary/Opinion

Nationality + Migration

South Africa News | Immigrants

New anti-immigrant wave rolls over South Africa, leading to violence and arrests
  • Pretoria stood at the center of a new wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, where anti-immigrant protesters took part in marches and others looted at least 20 immigrants’ shops.
  • At least 136 people were arrested during a march after police used tear gas and other dispersal tactics.
  • Protesters have accused immigrants of bringing crime and sex work to South Africa as the nation experiences high levels of unemployment.
Read

“South African police break up anti-immigrant protests” (Reuters | February 2017)
“Pretoria brought to a standstill during anti-immigrant march” (News24 | February 2017)
“20 shops belonging to immigrants looted in South Africa” (The Guardian (Nigeria) | February 2017)

(Image Credit: James Oatway/Reuters)

Religion + Belief

Egypt News | Christians

Hundreds of Christians flee as Islamic State violence increases in Egypt
  • Dozens of families and more than 200 students fled the province of North Sinai as the Islamic State warned of more attacks against Christians in the country.
  • Seven Christians have been killed over the last month in the provincial capital Arish, where the Islamic State is making an insurgent push.
  • Militants circulated “death lists” online, forcing Christians to choose between flight or death.
Read

(Image Credit: Ahmed Aboulenein/Reuters)