South Africa in electricity crisis, nationwide blackouts
JOHANNESBURG—South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had an urgent meeting scheduled with his Cabinet on September 21 to discuss the country’s electricity crisis, which has led to unprecedented levels of nationwide power blackouts in Africa’s most developed economy. The troubled state-owned power utility Eskom, which produces about 95 percent of the country’s electricity, is implementing scheduled, rolling blackouts in an attempt...
Rohingya flee Myanmar, land by boat in Indonesia
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia—More than 100 Rohingya Muslims traveling in a boat for more than a month were found along the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province on November 15, the latest group of refugees believed to be making hazardous sea voyages from Myanmar. Local fishermen saw the 110 Rohingya early in the morning at a beach in Meunasah Baro village. They...
UN rights chief appeals for end to arbitrary detention
Arbitrary detention must end “once and for all,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Jan. 3 in an appeal to governments everywhere. “At the start of this year—the 75th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—I call on governments and all detaining authorities, globally, to amnesty, pardon or simply release all those detained for exercising their rights,” he said...
Brazil delegation visits Amazon region where pair were killed
ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil—A high-level delegation of the Brazilian government traveled on Feb. 27 to the remote corner of the Amazon rainforest where British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were murdered last year, to demonstrate just how much Brazil’s new government differs from that of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The group was led by Sônia Guajajara,...
Indigenous communities fear toxic leaks from Canada oil industry: Report
A recent string of leaks from Canada’s oil sands tailings ponds has contaminated water, sowing mistrust among the local First Nations people. Recently, the energy giant Suncor announced a large leak from a sediment holding facility, the Guardian newspaper reported on April 23. The regulator said the leak “is not processed water from tailings, it is drainage from surrounding landscape” and doesn’t contain tailings. But...
Nicaragua takes complaint to UN over U.S. refusal to pay compensation for backing death squad
Nicaragua has lodged a complaint with the UN against the U.S. for its refusal to comply with a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering it to compensate Managua for its support of a notorious death squad in the 1980s. The announcement was made by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega at a ceremony in Managua commemorating the 37th anniversary...
Hundreds of thousands trafficked into online criminality across Southeast Asia
Criminal gangs in southeast Asia are using torture and abuse to force hundreds of thousands of people into an online scam operation that generates billions of dollars per year, the UN Rights Office (OHCHR) said on August 29. OHCHR said that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may be held in situations where they are forced to...
‘A perfect storm’: Canada facing growing homeless crisis
Canada is grappling with a growing homelessness crisis, forcing an increasing number of people into life on the streets, shelters, or substandard living conditions. A recent report by Quebec’s public health institute (INSPQ), commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, reveals a 44 percent surge in homelessness in Quebec compared to 2018. In a 2016 State of Homelessness report, Canada...
African, Caribbean nations agree to push for slavery reparations
African and Caribbean nations have agreed to seek reparations for slavery, urging their former colonialists to pay for their “historical mass crimes.” The global movement was forged recently in a summit in Ghana, with the 55-member African Union partnering with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) of 20 countries. They announced that the African Union would explore “litigation options” and work with the...
In the Amazon, Indigenous women bring a tiny tribe back from the brink of extinction
JUMA INDIGENOUS TERRITORY, Brazil—At night, in this village near the Assua River in Brazil, the rainforest reverberates. The sound of generators at times competes with the forest, a sign that there are people here. Until recently, the Juma people seemed destined to disappear like countless other Amazon tribes decimated by the European invasion. In the late 1990s, the last remaining...