In The News

Defectors Launch Anti-NK Leaflets: Korea Herald

Ahn Sung-mi June 23, 2020
Both North Korea and South Korea agreed to stop cross-border distribution of goods and leaflet distribution since a 2018 summit between the two leaders. “A group of North Korean defectors claimed Tuesday it had sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, continuing an activity that has enraged the North regime, which cited it as the reason it wrecked a liaison office with the South,” reports...

Paying Migrants to Go Back Home Fails: Euronews

Lillo Montalto Monella and Sara Creta June 20, 2020
Migration from Africa to Europe is treacherous, yet many are still desperate to flee poverty, repression, conflict and hunger. Euronews describes one man’s experiences traveling through multiple countries, endurig a Mediterranean shipwreck, a gunshot wound, and two years of abuse and torture in a Libyan detention center. Families and friends shun some who return home and failing to send...

Mining Firm Set to Destroy Artifacts: The Age

Charlotte Grieve June 16, 2020
The economic slowdowns imposed to contain Covid-19 contribute to a glut in energy markets. “China Shenhua Energy, the world's largest thermal coalminer, is planning to construct an open-cut mine next to the Liverpool plains near Gunnedah in the ‘food bowl’ of the state,” reports Charlotte Grieve for the Age. The Gomeroi people maintain the project will ruin Aboriginal sites and artifacts...

Media Under Attack in Philippines: Rappler

Ryan Macasero June 16, 2020
Numerous non-profit organizations in the Philippines accuse the Duterte administration of using the Covid-19 pandemic to attack the press freedoms and block scrutiny of corruption and human rights abuses. A Manila court convicted Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa and former researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. of cyber libel for a 2012 report. One group said “the verdict delivers a ‘chilling effect’ to other...

UNHRC to Debate Systemic Racism: AFP

June 15, 2020
Burkina Faso’s ambassador to the UN, Dieudonné Desiré Sougouri, wrote a letter for 54 African countries calling for “urgent debate” from the UN Human Rights Council on systemic racism, police brutality, human rights violations against people of African descent and the attacks against peaceful protesters. The UNHRC, after a disruption due to Covid-19, resumes its 43rd session today. “The call came...

K-Pop Fans Use Internet for Black Lives Matter: Vox

Aja Romano June 8, 2020
The video of George Floyd, pleading for his life, handcuffed and his neck under a police officer’s knee, has moved the world to denounce unequal justice and police abuses. “Across the internet, supporters of Black Lives Matter are weaponizing tweets, posts, and hashtags to spread information, protect protesters, and derail racist rhetoric,” reports Aja Romano for Vox. Originating in South Korea...

Protests Grow Over US Man’s Death: Washington Post

William Booth and Loveday Morris May 31, 2020
When crisis hits a community, some police officers escalate tensions while others show skill in de-escalation. Protests, some peaceful and others violent riots, broke out after four Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd on May 25 for forgery, restraining him next to a police vehicle. With Floyd prone, one officer pressed a knee against the back of his neck for more than 8 minutes....