Tag Archives: 1: Poor

Nationality + Migration

Philippines News | Foreign Visitors

Developing: Tourists in the Philippines abducted at gunpoint
  • Two Canadians, a Norweigian, and a Filipina were taken from the popular Holiday Oceanview Samal Resort near Davao City on the island of Mindanao Island.
  • Though the gunmen have not been identified, peace with Islamist rebels was reached only in 2014, leading to worries of renewed conflict.
  • Authorities indicated that the foreigners had been targeted rather than randomly taken, and police and coast guard operations have been activated to find the abductees.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

Gender

Afghanistan News | Girls

Afghan police investigate gas poisoning at girls’ school in Herat province
  • More than 100 girls were taken to the hospital in Herat province for toxic gas poisoning at their school in the village of Enjil.
  • While police investigate whether the incident was intentional, politicians suspect it was the work of conservative factions who oppose education for girls in the country.
  • Most of the girls were discharged the same day as their hospitalization.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Ideology + Affiliation

Turkey News | Journalists

VICE reporters face terrorism charges in Turkey
  • Four journalists affiliated with VICE News –two British, one locally based, and one unknown–were detained by Turkish anti-terrorism forces for covering the conflict between the government and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK).
  • The journalists had their equipment seized after they filming clashes between police and PKK supporters.
  • Because Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist organization, the government has obstructed the work of journalists attempting to contact or cover the group.

“It is completely proper that that journalists should cover this important story. … The decision to detain the journalists was wrong, while the allegation of assisting Islamic state is unsubstantiated, outrageous and bizarre.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

(Image Credit: Ilyas Akengin/AFP/ Getty Images)

Age, Health + Ability, Ideology + Affiliation

Azerbaijan News | Dissident Seniors

1 Comment
Senior Azerbaijani rights activists sentenced to prison terms despite ailing health
  • Leyla Yunus, 59, and her husband Arif, 60, were sentenced to eight-and-a-half and seven-year prison terms, respectively, after on charges including tax fraud, illegal entrepreneurship, and treason.
  • Rights advocates argue that the couple were targeted for their human rights advocacy, with numerous other activists and journalists having been recently imprisoned as well.
  • The Yunuses suffer from diabetes, hypertension, and kidney problems, worrying family and friends about their health prospects while incarcerated.

“If there were irregularities in [the] way Yunus ran her groups, the government could have pursued them through noncriminal measures. … But instead the authorities arrested them and went directly to criminal charges, despite their age and ill health.”

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

(Image Credit: Facebook, via BuzzFeed News)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Afghanistan News | Hazara Shias

Taliban suspected in kidnapping of 12 ethnic Hazaras and murder of 3 in Afghanistan
  • The kidnappings took place in the eastern province of Ghazni at the hands of unidentified gunmen, the latest kidnapping following the abduction of 30 Hazaras in February.
  • Around the same time four bodies were discovered, three of which were Hazara and the fourth Pashtun.
  • The Taliban are suspected of being behind the events as the community was a frequent target of anti-Shia campaigns during Taliban rule prior to the 2001 U.S. invasion.

Read the full story at the Daily Times.

Gender, Ideology + Affiliation

Iran News | Women Dissidents

Iranian human rights activist languishes in jail as sentence expires
  • Bahareh Hadayat, an activist who spoke out on women’s rights issues and government suppression, was in and out of jail before being sentenced to sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for threatening national security, insulting the supreme leader, and insulting then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
  • Many expected parts of Hadayat’s sentence to be commuted, but police threats and Hadayat’s continued activism from behind bars have diminished that prospect.
  • Hadayat’s husband reports health complications have exacerbated the effects of Hadayat’s stay at the Evin prison, where around 18 other female political prisoners are held.

“The authorities have put pressure on us because of speaking out about Bahareh’s situation in jail. … They’ve threatened us, and have told her in jail that they’ll arrest me if we keep speaking out. They want to keep us silent.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Facebook, via The Guardian)

Age

Pakistan News | Children

At least 12 men arrested in widespread child abuse scandal in Pakistan
  • The men are accused of sexually abusing 280 children and blackmailing their families.
  • Charges detail how the abuse was captured on film, which was then used to extort money from parents.
  • Families accuse the police of failing to act on information they had received, with some alleging a cover up.

Watch the Euronews report on YouTube.

Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Myanmar Feature | Rohingya Women

1 Comment

A Forked Path for Rohingya Women, with Both Roads Leading to Hell

Trapped in a desperate situation compounded by their gender, Rohingya women–already facing persecution as a Muslim ethnic group in Myanmar–find themselves forced into either marriage or prostitution by human traffickers in Southeast Asia. The New York Times profiles one of their stories and the efforts of one advocate to bring light to the issue.

View the New York Times feature on YouTube.

Ideology + Affiliation

Mexico News | Journalists

1 Comment
Protests follow murder of 7th journalist in Mexico this year
  • Several thousand gathered in Mexico City to protest the epidemic of journalist murders in the country, where photographer Ruben Espinosa was the latest victim.
  • Espinosa covered politics in Veracruz and spoke out against the harassment of journalists, but was found dead in a Mexico City apartment.
  • According to one media rights group, 41 journalists have been killed since 2010, with 13 having been killed in the state of Veracruz alone.

“I can’t put responsibility for his death on the government directly, but we can hold this government responsible for the climate of harassment and impunity that prevails in Veracruz.”

Read the full story at the New York Times.

(Image Credit: Alex Cruz/European Pressphoto Agency, via The New York Times)

Ideology + Affiliation

Brazil News | Journalists

1 Comment
Provincial journalist covering government corruption murdered in Brazil, at least the 4th this year
  • Gleydson Carvalho became the 16th journalist reported killed since 2011 after gunmen stormed his radio program in Camocim, Ceará.
  • According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 65% of those murdered had been covering government corruption, with government officials suspected of responsibility in 52% of cases.
  • The targeted killings have taken place outside of Brazil’s major cities, where fewer law enforcement resources have led to stalled cases.

Read the full story at The New York Times.

Class + Socioeconomics, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Sweden News | European Migrants

1 Comment
E.U. migrants in Sweden threatened by growing anti-immigrant sentiment
  • In addition to the more than 30,000 migrants of non-E.U. origin granted asylum in Sweden last year, the E.U.’s open migration policy has brought many Southern and Eastern Europeans to the country, including the highly vulnerable ethnic Roma.
  • Police estimate there are around 4,000 people begging on the street in Sweden, among whom at least 77 violent attacks have occurred in the last 18 months according to one charity group.
  • Many Roma live in tents outside major cities while saving money from begging and bottle-collecting, lacking access to adequate health care and basic living resources.

“The response has not been convincing from Sweden’s political leaders. … They have been hoping the problem will go away by itself — and it won’t.”

Read the full story at the New York Times.

(Image Credit: Moa Karlberg/The New York Times )

Ideology + Affiliation, Religion + Belief

Bangladesh News | Secular Atheist

Secular Bangladeshi blogger murdered in Dhaka
  • Niloy Chakrabarti was murdered in his home by hacking at the hands of a gang whose work was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.
  • Chakrabarti was the fourth secularist advocate against political Islam to have been murdered in the officially secular country this year.
  • Chakrabarti had reportedly requested police protection after being listed on a target list as groups called for the murder of atheists.

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: The Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Israel News | Palestinians

1 Comment
West Bank arson attack suspected to be work of Jewish extremists leaves Palestinian infant dead and family critically injured
  • Witnesses reported Israeli settlers firebombed two homes in the town of Duma around 2 a.m., leading to the infant’s death and the serious injury of his parents and 4-year-old brother.
  • The government was swift to condemn the violence as “an act of terrorism in every respect,” but Palestinian leaders called for the Israeli government to be held responsible as it continues to green-light Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank.
  • The act was the latest in a string of violent acts traded between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, where mosques have been burned and an Israeli man murdered in the last month.

“Your soul cries out and cannot find solace — the murder of a child by Jews and the burning of a house is the murder of Abu Khdeir all over again.”

Read the full story at The New York Times.

(Image Credit: Alaa Badarneh/European Pressphoto Agency, via The New York Times)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Israel News | LGBT

Assailant stabs six at Jerusalem Pride
  • Yishai Schlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, had been released from prison three weeks earlier for good behavior after having been imprisoned for stabbing three at 2005’s Jerusalem Pride.
  • Schlissel had released a threatening letter and railed against the celebration in an interview prior to the event, which is attended by thousands.
  • While politicians denounced the attack, attendees sharply criticized the police for the lack of security precautions given Schlissel’s release.

“We won’t allow a single excuse for violence of any kind. Jerusalem is a place for all, and we will continue to fight together with the Israel Police against all who attempt violence to harm another. … We will continue to support all groups and communities in Jerusalem and won’t be deterred by those who try perverse ways to prevent this.”

Read the full story at The Times of Israel.

(Image Credit: Screen capture/Channel 2, via The Times of Israel)

Nationality + Migration

Germany News | Refugees & Immigrants

German anti-immigrant protesters and their opponents lock horns as anti-refugee violence continues
  • Far-right demonstrators clashed with opposition in Frankfurt an der Oder and Dresden, leading to injuries and multiple arrests.
  • Ongoing anti-immigrant sentiment has led to violence against refugees throughout Germany, including arson attacks on shelters.
  • In Frankfurt an der Oder, resources have been strained as authorities struggle to build shelters and expand schooling capabilities quickly enough to accommodate the intake of refugees.

Read the full story at Reuters.