On Friday, July 3rd, a Turkish court convicted four human rights activists on terrorism-related charges (NYT). Taner Kilic, former chairman of Amnesty International Turkey, was sentenced to over six years in prison for charges of being a member of a terrorist organization (NYT). Three other human rights activists were convicted of assisting a terrorist organization, […]
Posted July 13, 2020
On Wednesday 1 July, posts started appearing on social media accusing an Egyptian man in his twenties of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment (Egyptian Streets). Within days, an Instagram page set up to expose him identified 93 credible accusers, some as young as 13, the campaign organizers said (NY Times). Lawyer Tarek Elawady said […]
Posted July 13, 2020
Russian and Chinese officials cast vetoes to block the UN Security Council from extending approval of aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey for a year (Reuters). Officials of the UN said this resolution is essential to save millions of lives in Syria (Al Jazeera). The UN approval of aid deliveries is authorized until Friday (Al […]
Posted July 12, 2020
On Friday July 3rd, members of the German Parliament passed a bill to eliminate coal and nuclear energy as power sources (Reuters). The legislation encompasses two main features, the first is the creation of a legal avenue to gradually reduce emissions by 2038 at the latest (DW). The second feature focuses on regional economies and […]
Posted July 12, 2020
The fight against AIDS has taken a backseat as global and regional health organizations focus their attention on the COVID-19 pandemic (Reuters). Progress against AIDS was already falling behind, but with the pandemic, the fight against HIV may be set back by at least 10 years (Reuters). The World Health Organization (WHO) created a modelling […]
Posted July 12, 2020
Tell us about yourself in a nutshell. What would you say makes your work unique? I am an interdisciplinary visual artist and UCF Associate professor of studio art. What makes my art unique? I move between disciplines -drawing, sculpture, video and live performance- to best get my points across instead of only working in one […]
Posted July 8, 2020
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to abandon annexation plans, warning the plans would threaten peace with Palestinians (Reuters 1). Guterres spoke of the longstanding goal to establish a two-state solution with an independent and contiguous Palestine (France 24). Various UN experts agree experts with Guterres, stating released a statement declaring “The annexation of occupied […]
Posted July 1, 2020
A deadly earthquake hit southern Mexico near Oaxaca on Tuesday, killing at least six people (Reuters). The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (NPR). Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that 147 aftershocks had occurred before noon (NPR). Additionally, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico in the same […]
Posted July 1, 2020
A special prosecutor’s office indicted Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci and nine others for war crimes, including murder, torture. The alleged crimes committed occurred during and after the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia (Reuters). The SPO’s statement said the suspects were “responsible for nearly 100 murders” of Serb and Roma people as well as Kosovar […]
Posted July 1, 2020
Nigeria has officially nominated Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the position of Director-General at the World Trade Organization (WTO) (CGTN). The current Director-General, Brazil’s Roberto Azevêdo, will step down in August (Reuters). So far, the West African regional group, ECOWAS, has endorsed Okonjo-Iweala, but Nigeria is having difficulty garnering the support of other African nations (Reuters). […]
Posted July 1, 2020
