Explosive German child abuse investigation reveals 200+ perpetrators, 300+ victims in Catholic Diocese of Cologne
After five months of investigation, hundreds of alleged child abusers and victims have been identified in an 800-page independent report on abuse in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany, spanning decades. According to the investigation, as many as 243 members of the clergy and laity were identified as abusers of minors, with around 50 percent of the incidents—between 1946 and...
Settlement reached in Jamaican nationals suit against ultra-rich United States club
BILLINGS, Mont.—Dozens of Jamaican citizens recruited to work as cooks, servers and housekeepers at a Montana ski resort for the ultra-rich have reached a $1 million class action settlement over allegations they were discriminated against and paid less than other employees to do the same work. About 90 Jamaicans workers will receive checks ranging from less than $1,000 to more...
Dominica fights to save Creole forged by slaves in Caribbean
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—The elementary school student stood up, pulled down her face mask and leaned into the microphone. She swallowed hard before trying to spell the word “discover” in French Creole. “D-E-K-O-V-I” she tried as she clasped her hands behind her back while standing in front of a row of gleaming trophies. Seconds later, the teacher announced: “Sorry, that’s incorrect.”...
‘Journey of torture’: ‘Ugly’ interrogation welcomes re-arrested Palestinians in Israeli jails
Lawyers for the Palestinian prisoners, who were recently rearrested by Israeli troops after staging a daring escape from a maximum-security Israeli jail, recount the horrifying situation that has come to face them back in Israeli captivity. The hair-raising accounts were given by Mohammed and Mahmoud al-Ardah, two of the four inmates, who were recaptured by the Israeli forces earlier in...
Moroccans take to streets, call for end to Rabat’s normalization with Israel
Anger and resentment is brewing in Morocco against the butchers of the Palestinian children and those normalizing the savagery in the garb of lucrative military deals. Demonstrators in late November took to the streets in several cities across Morocco to protest Rabat’s normalization of ties with the Israeli regime and recent military agreements signed between the two sides. Moroccans, including activists and ordinary people,...
Belgian court convicts ringleader in 2019 smuggling tragedy
BRUSSELS—A local court on Jan. 19 convicted 18 people who were involved from Belgium in the 2019 deaths of 39 people from Vietnam whose bodies were found in the back of a container truck in southeastern England. The Bruges correctional court found what it called a Vietnamese ringleader in Belgium guilty and imposed a 15-year jail term. Others were given...
UN children’s agency says children in Afghanistan ‘cannot be held hostage to politics’
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says children in the crisis-hit Afghanistan “cannot be held hostage to politics,” as the UN food agency has warned that 95 percent of people in the country do not have enough to eat. UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell made the comment on Feb. 25 at the end of her three-day trip to Afghanistan. “This is no...
Killers of African revolutionary Sankara finally convicted in Burkina Faso after 35 years
(GIN)—In what appeared to be a “cold case” after a standstill of over 30 years, a military tribunal has finally ruled in the case of Thomas Sankara, one of the youngest presidents in modern African history, whose life was brutally ended in 1987 by a one-time close friend and ally. Blaise Compaoré, who grabbed power upon Sankara’s death, was sentenced...
UN report: Over one million displaced in Myanmar amid violence
BANGKOK—The United Nations’ humanitarian relief agency says the number of people displaced within strife-torn Myanmar has for the first time exceeded one million, with well over half the total losing their homes after a military takeover last year. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says in a report that an already critical situation is being exacerbated by...
Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee publishes report on UK prisons
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), in a new report, highlights deleterious effects of chronic overcrowding and poor living conditions in prisons across Britain. The report published by the CPT following a targeted visit to the country in June 2021 notes that the underlying structural causes of overcrowding and violence...