Bahrain: Policeman’s death divides bloggers · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Earlier this week a Bahraini policeman, Majid Asghar Ali, 27, was killed after a patrol car was attacked and set on fire near a village called Karzakan. Bahrain's bloggers have been quick to comment.
SoulSearch is in shock:
What happened last night? What provoked a gang of 30 to 40 hooligans to do what they did last night? What's happening to Bahrain? When folks just want to get a good night's sleep to be able to go to work the next day and earn an honest living?
Does violence solve anything?
Majid Asghar Ali from the Police Force is dead. And for what? Does this help Bahrain in any way? Does this violence serve any cause?
It was a total shock to read the papers this morning. I almost choked on my coffee and sandwich!
God help us. Where are we going?
Peace people. You don't want to turn into another Lebanon. Trust me.
Peace for Bahrain.
So is Naz:
I am angry. Angry, shocked, Stunned that any kind of person find this kind of behaviour acceptable, or even worse, justifiable!
What is wrong with people?
Now I consider myself quite politically illiterate, and I’m happy to admit it, but surely there are better ways to make a point than throwing tantrums like 6 year olds? ways other than burning, hurting, sabotaging? better than violence?
Is it just me that wants home to remain home? To be able to see a happy future for my country and countrymen (and women)?
Butterfly remembers the death of a demonstrator, Ali Jassim Makki, in December, and blames both deaths on sectarianism:
Manama Republic compares the lives of the demonstrators in Karzakan to the policeman, who came originally from Balochistan:
However, not all Bahrainis are convinced by the official story of Majid Asghar Ali's death. Ebtihal Salman has her doubts:
Haythoo, a political activist, also expresses his disbelief at the government's story:
And in another post he says:
But Mahmood is fed up of the conspiracy theorists:
Who benefits from violence? … And the thing that beggars belief is that we find people condoning this activity or are in complete and utter denial. Putting “their side” on a pedestal and who can do no wrong whatsoever; while on the other hand, they blame the government for all ills without recognising a single positive aspect of its creation. Yes, we do have problems, but the line must be drawn in our own psyche to ensure that we actually do recognise wrong when we see it, regardless of who perpetrates it. And we should also drop those continuous conspiracy theories which some use to justify wrongs. In this particular instance; can anyone come up with a valid scenario in which we see elements in our government would actually sponsor people to throw Molotov cocktails on their own occupied police vehicles and sacrifice a human life while putting others in jeopardy simply to score a point? What insanity is this? […] Enough is enough. On both sides. We want to live with a semblance of harmony for goodness’ sake. These vandalism and criminal acts are not helping one little bit. Everybody, even who are called the opposition should come out and unambiguously condemn these criminal acts.


While UIDAI requests States not to deny benefits to those without Aadhaar, it’s easier said than done
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 30, 2017
The UIDAI issued a circular requesting states not to deny benefits to those without an Aadhaar and laid down an exception handling mechanism. But the task is easier said than done.
After a 11-year old girl passed away in Jharkhand allegedly due to denial of rations because their Aadhaar card was not linked, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issued a circular to all the state governments & various departments/ministries about exception handling in the Public Distribution System (PDS) & other welfare schemes. The circular talks about non-denial of benefits in case the beneficiary does not have an Aadhaar  and that the benefit/subsidy should be extended based on an alternate identification document as per the relevant notification issued by the department. A cursory look at the notifications issued by various departments reveals that it is easier said than done.
What does the UIDAI circular say?
The UIDAI circular refers to Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act 2016 which says that the central government or any state government can use Aadhaar for authentication for extension of subsidy or benefit. It also says that for those without an Aadhaar, they have to furnish proof of having applied for Aadhaar enrollment. The section also states that individuals will be offered alternate means of identification for delivery of benefit or subsidy till the time Aadhaar is not assigned The circular then talks about the exception handling process in case the Aadhaar authentication fails or if the individual has no Aadhaar. In the case of PDS, the circular says that any member of the family can authenticate and receive the benefit.
What is the issue then?
While the circular lists the exception handling mechanism, it is easier said than done if one looks at the notification issued in February 2017 by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution. The notification makes possession of Aadhaar or authentication mandatory for individuals who are eligible to receive subsidised food grains under the National Food Security Act. In cases where an individual does not have an Aadhaar, the notification states that the following documents be produced for providing food grains.
The notification further says that the above documents will be checked by an officer designated by the State government. This is where it gets problematic. In states where there are lakhs of PDS transactions in a single day, it is very difficult for states to designate officers for this purpose. Most PDS dealers simply refuse to provide food grains to the beneficiary instead of going through the exception handling mechanism.
Huge fluctuation in the number of PDS transactions in Jharkhand
Data on number of PDS transactions in Jharkhand points to this trend. Ever since Aadhaar was made mandatory for availing the food grains under the PDS in Jharkhand late last year, the number of monthly transactions has been fluctuating without any set pattern as per the data available on the Jharkhand government’s PDS portal. From just 8.68 lakh transactions in August 2016, the number of transactions slowly increased to 47.55 lakh in December 2016. In April 2017, there were only 37.65 lakh transactions. In August 2017, the transactions reached an all-time high of 52.41 lakh. The number of transactions in October 2017 (till 28th October) was down to 34.66 lakh. This fluctuation was seen across products (Rice, Wheat, Kerosene, Salt & Sugar). As on date, there are about 56.34 lakh cardholders in Jharkhand. While the exact reasons for such fluctuation are not known, authentication failures & denial of food grains to individuals like Koyla Devi could very well be one of the causes.
Authentication failure rate still high
While the authentication failure rates at an All-India level are not available, the data from the Pension disbursement scheme in Andhra Pradesh shows that both biometric & IRIS authentication failure rate is close to 10% every month (the data for October 2017 is accessed on 29th October from the website). This would mean that the authentication of more than 3 lakh pensioners is failing every month.
The UIDAI circular is supposed to lay down the exception handling mechanism in cases mentioned above. But with the kind of documentation required as per various notifications, it’s easier said than done.
Featured Image: Public Distribution System Aadhaar Card


Myanmar: “Worst violator of Internet freedom” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Myanmar is the worst place in the world to be a blogger.


Bold Film About an Indian Woman’s Sexual Awakening Accused of Pardoning Pedophilia · Global Voices
Rezwan

Independent director Shailaja Padindala's short film “Memories of a Machine,” which is available on YouTube, is making waves in India.
In the 10-minute movie, a woman, played by Malayalam actress Kani Kusruti, talks about her first sexual experience — with an adult at her school — when she was only eight. “Memories of a Machine” has received positive reviews from Seattle South Asian Film Festival (SSAFF), Bangalore Queer Film Festival (BQFF) 2016, and other film festivals.
However, a section of Indians think that YouTube should take down the movie because in their opinion it doesn't condemn pedophilia.
‘Memories of a machine’ is a short film directed by&acted in by sensitive souls, but @YouTube should take it down as it pardons paedophelia.
— N.S. Madhavan (@NSMlive) November 24, 2016
“Memories of a Machine” was filmed in one continuous shot, where lead actress Kani narrates on camera her character's experiences of discovering herself as a sexually curious young girl as well as being shamed by a boyfriend when she is older for wanting to be sexually intimate with him.
Of what happened when she was eight, the character says in the film:
I don't know if it was right or wrong. At that point it was sexual exploration for me. I liked the way he touched me and he stopped when I did not want it. I'm not concluding that it's right or even wrong for that matter. I don't think it is wrong. That's all.
Published on YouTube on November 20, 2016, the film has already been viewed more than half a million times in a week.
Memories of a Machine – Director Shailaja Padindala
A new perspective of a girl's life
Watch and share guys! https://t.co/oUuFH8h7OK
— Anand Varadaraj (@anandvaradaraj) November 21, 2016
#MemoriesofaMachine is oddly funny yet a relevant film by Shailaja Padindala. Watch and share :) https://t.co/aWedKwVq4l
— Kino (@CharlesBritto) November 21, 2016
Shailaja Padindala ????? it's simply Truthful and Bold! Kani Kantari Kanmani Kusruti this is meaningful! https://t.co/wuV0z7YUhA
— saran (@saranram) November 21, 2016
Although India is the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, in conservative Indian societies sexuality has been considered something to be discussed in muffled voices and discovered behind closed doors. In Indian culture, talking about sex is deemed a taboo, having sex before marriage is unacceptable and educating youngsters about sex is something many adults don't do. But there are a number of people in India who want to change this.
Filmmaker Shailaja Padindala is a graduate of LV Prasad Film and TV Academy. She denied that she supports child abuse or rape as alleged by many reviewers of her movie. In an interview with the Daily Thanthi Next, she described the film:
The movie is a culmination of several personal experiences and stories of women we come across on a daily basis. I’ve attempted to explore the complexity surrounding sex and sexuality and how the society views it. […]
I didn’t want to moralise or demoralise the issue. I wanted the audience to form their own perspective and which is also why I’ve named it Memories of a Machine.
However, some think otherwise. Here is one response shared by the actress Kani Kusruti herself on Facebook made by her friend:
While it’s true that when kids start exploring sex, they are often attracted to adults. This is quite a natural thing and happens to pretty much everyone. But an adult wanting to enter into a sexual act with a kid cannot be regarded as a natural thing. It is clearly an act of aggression. But the movie tries to place both these individuals as equals in the story. Which they certainly aren’t.
The movie also tries to normalize a pedophilic act by saying that the girl child liked it. It also tries to humanize the pedophile by saying how he was ‘gentle’ and took a ‘no’. In a country where women and kids are often subjected to violent crimes, this normalization of an aggressive act becomes even more problematic.
Sourabha Rao commented on the above:
Yes; the movie is a little too soft on the pedophile there, but I guess we shouldn't generalise that “some girls might ‘like it’ by listening to just one girl who might actually have. She was too young to even judge this on any intellectual or societal level; she was just a biological being exploring her body's reaction to something.
Some also took it to the extreme:
Memories of a Machine,short film by Shailaja Padidndale selling on You Tube as soft porn titled” My First Sex” “Orgasm” #Memoriesofamachine
— N.Madhavan Kutty (@nandeilath) November 25, 2016
And entrepreneur Sam Eapen thought that “diverse view and different perspective on same issue may help one to have a better understanding on a subject”.
Director Shailaja Padindala defended the film as encouraging important conversations about sex and sexuality:
Conversations about these subjects must be encouraged and brought out of closed walls. When an individual is able to speak about it without feeling awkward or uncomfortable, it paves for a better understanding of it and thereby creating a healthy environment. The more you forbid something, more negative will be the repercussions.
She even posted a note on YouTube to explain her position:


Data: More Than 8000 Indian Prisoners Are in Foreign Prisons, More Than 55% of Them in Middle Eastern Countries - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 30, 2023
The government does not provide data on the number of Indians in foreign prisons on a periodic basis. However, often, such country-wise data is provided in response to questions in the Lok Sabha & the Rajya Sabha. As per data provided in March 2023, out of 8437 Indians in foreign jails, more than 55% are in Middle Eastern countries.
Recently, Pakistan released 198 Indian fishermen who were earlier arrested by Pakistani authorities for alleged illegal fishing in their waters. Authorities said that more Indian fishermen would be released in the next few months. Fishermen are among the most common group of people who are arrested by foreign authorities, many times owing to their ignorance on the boundaries of international waters.
Apart from fishermen treading into waters held in other countries, there are various other reasons why citizens of a country are held in custody by a foreign country. How many Indians are languishing in foreign jails? What are the trends over the years? Which country has the highest number of Indians in its prisons?  In this story, we analyse the data relating to Indians in foreign jails.
Data Methodology: Information on Indians in foreign jails is not centrally available in any repository or report published by the Government of India. However, the government has furnished this information in the parliament at various points in time. We have collated the information from the responses provided by the government in the parliament over the years.
The years mentioned in the story refer to the year in which the government provided the information in the parliament. Hence, there are gaps in the timeline with information not being furnished by the government every year.
More than 8 thousand Indians languishing in foreign jails as of 2023
As per an update provided by the Ministry of External Affairs on 24 March 2023, in the Lok Sabha, a total of 8,437 Indians are languishing in foreign jails as of that date. Based on the historical data that we collated from the various responses in the parliament, this is the highest number of Indians held as prisoners in foreign jails since 2007.
As per the response provided in Lok Sabha in 2007, there were 6277 Indians as prisoners in foreign jails. Except for a few years in which the information was provided in parliament, there has been a slight increasing trend in the number of Indian prisoners in foreign jails over the years. The status of the trial of these prisoners varies. While there is no comprehensive information available on the status of the trial of the various prisoners held, the government provided such information in the Lok Sabha on a few occasions.
In an update provided in 2022, a total of 156 Indians out of 8278 in prisons, were serving a life sentence. In an earlier update provided in 2016, the government stated that 354 prisoners had completed their sentences and were awaiting release and repatriation.
Most Indians held as Prisoners in Middle Eastern countries.
As per the response provided in March 2023, UAE accounted for 23% (or 1966) of the Indians held as prisoners in foreign jails. The next highest is in Saudi Arabia, where 1,362 Indians i.e., 16% of the total are held in prisons, as per the latest available information. India’s neighbouring country of Nepal currently accounts for the third-highest number of Indians in foreign jails.
Here is a snapshot of the trends for a few of the key countries:
Illegal Stay, fraud, Illegal activities are among the reason for arrest of citizens abroad.
There are various reasons why Indians were held in foreign jails. In the update provided by the government in Lok Sabha in 2019, country wise list of reasons for the arrests was provided. However, no information is provided on the number of persons in custody for a particular crime, which does not provide scope to ascertain the main reasons.
In the case of UAE, which even in 2019 has among the highest number of Indians as prisoners, the reasons include – Murder, Drugs, Alcohol, Cheque bounce, financial fraud, etc. Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries also have similar reasons for which Indians were arrested. It ought to be noted that a large number of Indians live in these countries, mostly for unskilled employment.
In the case of neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the case of illegal entry along with illegal trafficking is the main reasons. Drugs and smuggling activities are among the main reasons in Nepal & Bangladesh.  Illegal entry is also one of the reasons in countries like the USA & UK, which do present better employment and living opportunities.
Pakistan accounts for the highest share of Fishermen in foreign jails
As highlighted above, recently 198 Indian fishermen were released by Pakistan. 200 fishermen were planned to be released but 2 died due to sustained illness. Pakistan has made known its intentions to release 300 more Indian fishermen in two batches during July. This would substantially bring down the number of Indian fishermen being held captive in foreign jails. The latest available information on the number of fishermen in foreign jails is an update provided by the government in Lok Sabha in March 2022. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister for External Affairs stated that 637 Indian fishermen were imprisoned in foreign jails as of that date. The most were in Pakistan with 577. However, with the recent release and the ones proposed, there would be a substantial reduction in the numbers. Among the other countries which held Indian fishermen captive are – Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Indonesia, & Seychelles. All these countries share a maritime border with India across – the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea.
While a majority of fishermen get apprehended due to their ignorance in crossing the maritime borders, the same is not the case with the other Indians being imprisoned in foreign jails. Even major crimes are cited as the reasons for imprisonment.
The Government of India provides legal aid and assistance to those requiring the same, depending on the merit of the case. An update provided in 2018, states that the Indian government has spent around Rs. 2.71 crores towards various efforts to free Indian prisoners.


Barbados: Budget Speech  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground says that expectations are high for the Prime Minister's 2009 Budget Speech, adding: “There are times when political partisanship should give way to bi-partisanship in the interest of the national self. This is such a time.”


Japan: New Video Footage of Tsunami Tidal Surge · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Devastating tsunami tidal surges are quiet and quick, as a recently uploaded video shows. The video was recorded from inside a truck which got stuck in the rising waters more than 1 mile from the coast 1 hour after the March 11 earthquake. The driver was able to swim to safety.


OLT Give Final Approval to Three Tall Buildings at 310 Frances Avenue in Stoney Creek – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

July 17, 2023
The decade-long zoning saga at 310 Frances Avenue in Stoney Creek came to a quiet end on Monday with the Ontario Land Tribunal approving a settlement agreement to allow three tall towers of 34, 37, and 44 storeys atop a mutual podium of 4 to 5 storeys.
The approval allows for 1,390 residential units. The minimum number of apartment dwelling units will be 585.
The buildings will be constructed in phases.
The first phase will be the proposed 34-storey building with its own podium. The proposed 37 and 44 storey buildings will share a joint podium.
The City of Hamilton and New Horizon Development Group (NHDG) reached the agreement, presenting it to the Tribunal on May 25, 2023.
The local neighbourhood association, the Lakewood Beach Community Council, was not invited to the settlement talks and stated in May the City’s decision to settle was a “betrayal.”
The lands were rezoned in February 2010 with “no maximum building height” and “no maximum lot coverage” both added to the Mixed Use Commercial “MUC-4” Zone designation.
Then Ward 10 Councillor Maria Pearson voted in favour of the rezoning.
In December 2018, NHDG filed a site plan application to develop the site. The plan sought “three towers being 48, 54, and 59 storeys in height” with 1,836 dwelling units.
This began a series of contentious Council meetings, denial of minor variances, and a rare denial of site plan approval by the City.
The 2010 rezoning effectively determined the outcome at the Ontario Municipal Board.
The development will have 600 square metres of commercial space.
Ground-level “Apartment Dwelling Units” will be permitted “at grade within the four-storey podium of the building along Frances Avenue.”
Parking ratios will be 1.25 spaces per unit for Phase One and 1.1 spaces per unit for the remaining phases.
Commercial and residential visitor parking may be shared.
There will be “vehicular access from Frances Avenue and Green Road.”
The City will permit the developer to count “balconies and terraces” as amenities areas. The minimum amenity area of 18.0 metres squares per unit is reduced to 17 metres square, “which may include 1,000 square metres of amenity area internal to the building and balconies/terraces.”
Increased landscaped open space area to 45 percent. MUC-4 Zoning requires 50 percent. The developer initially sought 36 percent.
The ruling will be posted to the OLT website in the coming days.


Kuwait: Despite the Summer, it’s Never Quiet in Here! · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

It's still summer here. The mercury is rising but Kuwaitis still go for traditional activities during the summer.
Pepsi Guy blogs about his first boat trip and gives a warning.
After a long wait, I finally got to take my boat on it's 1st test drive. The weather was amazing, boat ride was cool (though we had to drive slowly to break down the new engines) and the dive was excellent.
Zdistrict goes to his cousin's Saturday Dewaniya (gathering place for men attached to homes), but this time there is a secret!
Then he pulled out one bag, then the other guy asked where was his, then he pulled out a second bag, then the third person asked where was his, and he pulled a third bag. All of that just like he was Santa Claus, I wanted him to pull out another bag just for the hell of it.
breezeey didn't take any precautions and got hit hard by the sun .
My face got burned from the sun and I didn't expect it to be like this but it's my fault. Is there someone who would go in the blazing sun of the noon and not apply creams or sun block?
I jumped into the sea and I didn't take it seriously. They told me that the sea is a backstabber but now I regret it because I can't go out or see people – burnt is an understatement about my face.
Forzaq8 found out that the sun got into someones head.
In an Interview with Alwatan Daily in Kuwait for the Week Topic (which was about blogging, more like attacking bloggers), the Secretary of the Kuwaiti Journalists Association said what is on his mind about bloggers, which is amazing what he think of blogs, and how many times he shows that he demands they be closed or controlled and that coming from a guy who is supposed to ask for more freedom of speech is priceless irony
Flugtag seems to be the new fad in Kuwait and there is more than one blogger entering it!  One of the teams is led by none other Nibaq and he is joined by three other bloggers!
ABNE & Co is proud to announce its first Red Bull-flugtag flying endeavor, Team Imperial27, in remembrance of Imperial Airways’ first Kuwaiti in 1927. The team will be composed of lead pilot and magician Nibaq (pilot), accompanied by conspiring engineering extraordinaries Marzouq, Mark and K.


Old video taken during COVID-19 lockdown in UP is now shared with a false communal narrative. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 3, 2022
A video is being shared widely on social media with a claim that it shows police beating Muslims in Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh). In the post, it is claimed that the police thrashed them as they made slogans after namaz. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of UP police beating Muslims who made slogans after the namaz in Saharanpur.
Fact: It is an old video. The video was taken in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. The police retaliated when they were attacked while enforcing the lockdown in Bareilly. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When the screenshots of the video were run through Google Reverse Image Search, many similar videos were found in the search results. The ‘Times Now’ has posted a video with similar visuals in April 2020 and wrote – “Coronavirus scare: Crowd attacks Bareilly Police for enforcing a lockdown”. The same news was also reported by News18 India, TV9 Bharatvarsh, and We for News in 2020. So, the posted video is an old one that was taken in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. The police retaliated when they were attacked while enforcing the lockdown in Bareilly.
The clarification from the Saharanpur Police regarding the recent incident can be seen here.
https://t.co/A4VICxJGsY
To sum it up, an old video taken during the COVID-19 lockdown in UP is now shared with a false communal narrative.


Bangladesh: Proud to be Muslim · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying on being Muslim and being proud of it. “This image of Muslims claiming their “moderate”ness and the incessant Muslim bashing that comes from the wingnuts is poisoning the well. It has led to the notion that unless Muslims jump every time some Muslim has done something horrible, they are not being patriotic or they are supporting the terrorists.”


TETFund boss warns against poor execution of intervention projects | EduCeleb
22nd March 2021
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, has warned the 226 public tertiary institutions benefiting from its interventions, against poor execution of projects, stressing that quality and effective service remains critical to actualisation of the mandate of the Fund.
He urged the institutions to inculcate efficient service delivery to ensure Nigerian higher institutions compete favourably with the best in the world.
Bogoro, spoke, on Monday, in Abuja at a workshop organised by the Fund for nodal officers and directors of quality assurance of the 226 beneficiary institutions with the theme: “Building skills for effective service delivery.”
He further warned that the desire to achieve results, in line with its mandate, could be jeopardised if beneficiary tertiary institutions render dysfunctional services.
Bogoro noted that the workshop being the first of its kind, was organised by the Fund to engender synergy between the agency and it’s beneficiary institutions.
“We want to achieve result as TETFund in line with our mandate; however, this could be jeopardised if there are dysfunctional in our beneficiary institutions.
“The hallmark of the fund is built on the bedrock of effectiveness and efficiency. This is because of the anticipated impact we seek to achieve in all our beneficiary institutions,” he said.
Represented by the Director, Office of the Executive Secretary, TETFund, Arc Uchendu Wogu, he said the theme of the workshop was crafted on the premise of building skills for effective skills in the benefiting institutions.
The TETFund boss said the training would equip participants with skill-oriented ideas in the face of global competitiveness, adding that key objectives of building skills for effective service delivery will be extensively delivered by experienced resource persons.
According to him, areas of interest in the training include “Quality assurance methods and enforcement in infrastructure and content abased interventions in the beneficiary institutions,” as well as “strategic planning, corporate objectives and call analysis; effective communication and efficient service delivery in the era of ICT,” among others.
Speaking on the expected outcome of the workshop, the National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Nnena Akajemeli, expressed confidence that the training will enhance better management of processes and systems, and would be monitored to also measure compliance.
According to Akajemeli, when processes and systems are monitored to measure compliance, satisfaction and quality service delivery would also be assured.
She further stated that quality and honest feedbacks are expected from the beneficiary institutions at the end of the training; as well as better engagement between the institutions and the service providers in TETFund.


Algeria: Floods in Annaba · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Nouri bin Ziri is asking us to put the city of Annaba and the surrounding area in our prayers, so that they may recover rapidly from the floods (French). Many schools, houses and other structures have been ruined or destroyed.


Baltimore Sun crime reporter to discuss race, police brutality | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Elisa Coghlan
February 17, 2016
Baltimore Sun crime reporter Justin George will discuss recent events involving race, police brutality and criminal justice in “Saving a City, Saving a Nation,” an event slated for Thursday, February 25, 12:00-1:00 p.m., at Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Libraries, Beaumier Suites B/C.
George, at the Baltimore Sun since 2012, reported from inside the police department’s headquarters during the Freddie Gray investigation and subsequent riots in Baltimore last April. In this discussion, George will touch on these experiences as well as as #BlackLivesMatter and other notable incidents in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Missouri, New York and South Carolina. Herbert Lowe, journalism professional in residence in the Diederich College of Communication, will serve as moderator.
Previously a contributor to the first series of the popular podcast “Serial,” George was recently featured on the recent CNN special report “Who Killed Freddie Gray?” He is spending the academic year at Marquette as a 2015-16 O’Brien Fellow in Public Service Journalism.
The event is sponsored by Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Libraries, Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.
EVENT DETAILS


Legislature, Judiciary: Presidential Committee Tasks State Governors On Autonomy - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
May 18, 2019
ThePresidential Implementation Committee on autonomy of state legislature and judiciaryhas tasked state governors on full implementation of autonomy for the two armsof government.
Thisis contained in a 12 point communique issued at the end a two-day retreat inAbuja on Friday.
Thecommunique was signed by the Attorney General of the Federation, AbubakarMalami, and Chairman of the committee, the Secretary, Ita Enang and 20 othermembers of the committee.
Thecommittee noted that following the assent by President Muhammadu Buhari to theConstitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fourth Alteration) inJune 2018, granting financial autonomy to state legislatures and judiciary, itwas observed that it was honored more in breach than in compliance.
TheRetreat was attended by a cross section of stakeholders from the Legislature,Judiciary, Representatives of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria, Representativesof Parliamentary Staff Union of Nigeria, Civil Society Organisations, amongothers.


Pakistan: Bhutto and the Emergency · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pakistan Policy on Benazir Bhutto's likely role in the current political scenario.


Côte d’Ivoire: Porn display in news stands · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Le blog de Yoro [Fr] shows a picture of a news stand in Abidjan, wondering why pornographic publications are displayed so prominently.


Philippines: Digital Media Wiki · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

A wiki page provides a rich source of information on the state of digital media in the Philippines.


Old video from Guatemala shared as Hindu woman lynched in MP for attending church prayer meet - Alt News
Arjun Sidharth
11th February 2019 / 4:30 pm / Last updated: 24th June 2019
A gruesome video of a woman burnt alive has resurfaced on social media with the claim – “Hindu girl burnt alive in Madhya Pradesh because she attended a Prayer meeting in a Christian Church.” A Twitter user @mani_isi was among the firsts to share the clip, however, it was later taken down after several people pointed out that it was “fake”.
The video was also viral in February this year with the same caption.
Several individual users had posted the video on their timelines. It had also likely been shared on WhatsApp, as suggested by the number of unconnected Facebook accounts which shared the video with an identical narrative. The message seeks to paint India as a place where the minority community is attacked with impunity in the absence of law and order.
This particular video has been circulating on social media for the past few years. Alt News had fact-checked it in 2017 and had found that it is from Guatemala in South America. The woman seen in the video was accused of having murdered a cab driver along with two male accomplices. She was apprehended by the mob and lynched. Her accomplices meanwhile had managed to escape. The incident had been covered extensively by the media when it had occurred in early 2015.
Alt News found that this claim i.e. a Hindu girl was burnt alive in Madhya Pradesh after she had attended a Christian prayer meeting, has been floating on social media since at least December 2016. Earlier, the same video had been shared with the claim that it represented a Marwari woman who had married a Muslim man and was lynched because she refused to wear a burqa.
Grisly videos which are available online are shared on social media with false narratives, in order to incite passions in a most diabolical manner. Social media users are advised to be extremely circumspect with regard to such content.
Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi recently performed aarti at the Narmada Ghat in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar…
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Mekong Eye - News, analysis and opinion focusing on the environment and sustainability of the Mekong region

20 July 2017 at 5:09
Dac Thanh and Vi Vu
Dismissing safety and environmental fears, Quang Nam’s chairman says a stable power supply is vital.
The local legislature in the central province of Quang Nam on Wednesday approved a plan to build four new hydropower plants in a district that has been constantly hit by earthquakes.
The four dams, with a combined capacity of 79 megawatts, are set to take up over 144 hectares (356 acres) in the mountainous district of Nam Tra My, adding to the province’s existing 42.
The proposal was approved despite ongoing environmental concerns.
Le Thi Thuy, a local legislator, said the province, which has the most hydropower plants in Vietnam, does not need any more.
She said the plants would have a negative affect on the environment and people’s lives.
“Destroying forests for the dams is just like peeling skin off your body, and the next generations will blame us,” she said.
Officials also pointed out that the district lies along an earthquake zone, aggravating concerns that further major construction could be dangerous, Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported.
Three quakes with a magnitude reaching 3.9 on the Richter Scale were recorded in the district over just five days in February, and another 2.7 magnitude tremor shook the area in May.
Around 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the north, multiple earthquakes have been recorded around a major dam since 2011, and some experts say this is due to increased pressure on fault lines.
However, these concerns were overruled by the district’s chairman, Ho Quang Buu, who said the area needs a stable power supply.
Buu said the community often suffers from blackouts in the evening and when it rains.
The new plants would cost much less than a connection to the national grid around 63 kilometers away, which would cost more than VND400 billion ($15.6 million).
He also said the projects would not affect agricultural land in the area.
Vietnam is mostly reliant on coal-fired and hydropower plants to meet its annual electricity growth demand of around 11 percent.
Quang Nam alone has 42 hydropower projects either in operation or about to start up. In 2009, the province received heavy criticism when a major dam released 150 million cubic meters of water during Typhoon Ketsana, adding to the floods that killed at least 163 people and caused over $786 million worth of damage.
Despite this, new power plants are still being planned across the country, causing major concerns among local communities and environmental activists.


Canada’s own ‘Trumps’ - New Canadian Media
NCM Anonymous
August 5, 2016
Canadians fully understand Donald Trump. That’s because they have three of their own – Preston Manning, Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney! For Canadians, Trump is a second viewing of a movie that they have seen before.
Manning broke away from the Progressive Conservative Party in 1987 to form the short-lived, right-wing Reform Party, which morphed into the Conservative Party led by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. While Manning and Harper have been sidelined for lack of support, the youthful political demagogue, Jason Kenney, with his federal conservative leadership ambitions dashed because of his closeness to Harper, is returning to Alberta hoping to lead a united right-wing party.
Read full story


Cuba: Church & State · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“At 75, Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega cannot complain about his lack of recognition”: Another perspective on the work and influence of the head of the Catholic Church in Cuba, by Havana Times.


Ecuador: New “Conectándonos” Blog Announces Gathering in May · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Ecuadorian version of the blog Conectándonos [es] (“getting connected”) announces the upcoming gathering in Loja, Ecuador on May 24-26. Rising Voices and a local university -the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja [es] (UTPL).- are co-organizing this event which aims “to promote [digital] integration and participation of groups and individuals from underrepresented sectors.” The first Conectándonos gathering was held in Bolivia in December 2011.


Three ABU law students kidnapped on Abuja-Kaduna road | EduCeleb
Ahmed Iyanda
28th August 2019
Not less than seven persons, including three final-year law students of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, were reportedly kidnapped along the Abuja-Kaduna road, about 40 kilometres away from the state capital on Tuesday evening.
This is appears to be the latest in cases of kidnapping recorded on the road in recent times.
According to a source, the incident occurred on Tuesday evening, noting, however, that no life was lost during the incident.
“There were seven kidnap cases including that of the three ABU students. There was no lost of lives . We are trailing the kidnappers,” said the source.
Meanwhile, the management of ABU Zaria has confirmed the abduction of three of its final year Law students on the Abuja -Kaduna highway.
According to a statement by the Director of Public Affairs , Dr Ismail Shehu , the students were kidnapped along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway.
The statement reads in part, “Three students of the Faculty of Law were kidnapped on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.
“Yes, it is true that our students, three of them, from the Faculty of Law, have been kidnapped.
“But efforts are being made by the university and parents of the affected students to secure their immediate release.”
The police authorities are yet to confirm the incident as at the time of filing this report.


Ministers sign secret deal to mine strategic water zone - Oxpeckers
Oxpeckers Reporters
15 Feb
Without any public notification, South Africa’s ministers of environment and mining signed off on a coal mining project in the critical Mabola water catchment in Mpumalanga. Mark Olalde investigates
A delegate at the 2017 Alternative Mining Indaba held in Cape Town in early February. Resolutions included encouraging communities to develop alternative environmental impact assessment reports to challenge those prepared by companies. Photos: Mark Olalde
Documents unearthed a week ago show Environment Minister Edna Molewa signed the approval for mining in the Mabola protected environment on August 20 2016, three months before Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane signed it on November 21.
The permission for Indian company Atha Africa Ventures to mine in Mabola, a critical water catchment area near Wakkerstroom, became effective on the date Zwane signed – although neither department publicised the decision.
The ministers sent a letter to Atha Africa, but it did not become public until the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) unearthed it among other documents the centre had requested from the government.
Explaining their decision in the letter, the ministers cited the fact that Atha Africa had obtained the legally required licences and permits necessary for a mine. The decision appears to set the same bench marks for mining in a protected environment as anywhere else, and critics are concerned about the precedent this sets.
“What we now have is apparently a situation where those two ministers can simply talk to each other, have no public consultation, not tell anyone about the request they’ve received, and then just allow mining to go ahead in any of our protected areas,” said CER executive director Melissa Fourie.
Mabola falls within a strategic water source area that feeds the catchments of the Vaal, Pongola and Tugela rivers
While the company held public participation meetings with affected landowners in early 2015 – a prerequisite for gaining mining-associated permits – neither the department of environmental affairs nor the department of mineral resources involved the public in the decision to grant approval to the mine.
The Protected Areas Act is ambiguous in terms of public notice, and affected parties continue to debate the necessity of such engagement.
After Oxpeckers reported in February 2015 that Atha-Africa planned to mine coal in the critical water catchment area, the proposal has faced court action from a coalition of civil society organisations led by the CER. Because Mabola is demarcated as a protected environment, mining could only proceed if approved by the ministers of both departments.
In October 2016 Oxpeckers reported that the mine had been granted a water use licence and environmental authorisation by the Mpumalanga provincial authorities – and that the only regulatory roadblock remaining was the go-ahead from the environment minister.
The approval letter that Molewa had already signed by then (see document below) cites the mine’s compatibility with the draft Mabola protected environment management plan and the Mining and Biodiversity Guidelines as reasons for giving it the go-ahead.
Atha-Africa holds an 8,360ha mining right over 12 farms, and plans to use 2,500ha of the right. Known as the Yzermyn underground coal mine, the operation would tunnel under veld currently used for grazing and could operate for 15 years.
According to Atha-Africa representatives, the company does not plan to expand the size of the mining area for at least a decade, if it does at all.
BHP Billiton held the prospecting right before transferring it to an outfit called Bunengi Mining in 2011. Atha Africa then bought the right from Bunengi.
Representatives from Bunengi were not available to comment on why they sold the right to Atha-Africa, part of one of the oldest mining companies in India, the Atha Group.
A representative from BHP Billiton said the reason behind its sale of the right would be difficult to track down, but it was likely to be part of the company’s broader downsizing in South Africa that included the spin-off of South32 in 2015.
In a statement sent to Oxpeckers, Atha Africa laid out its timeline for beginning operations: “Atha Africa Ventures intends to issue build contracts by May 2017 and construction is due to begin from the middle of June 2017.”
Covering 8,772ha, the Mabola catchment is identified as critical for both provincial and national biodiversity initiatives. It falls within a strategic water source area that feeds the catchments of the Vaal, Pongola and Tugela rivers.
“Atha Africa is confident that its mitigation plans will ensure that, by the time the life of mine ends, the wetland is at the same baseline condition, if not better,” the company said.
Yzermyn’s footprint on ground level will be contained to 22.4ha, about half of which will directly impact the wetlands, Atha-Africa said. The mine’s water use licence allows the use of 56,554 cubic metres of water a year, as well as the disposal of some treated effluent in wetlands.
The approval to mine in a protected environment came with minimal caveats aside from the stipulations in the water use licence, mining right and other documents that every mine must obtain.
Neither of the departments responded to repeated requests for comment clarifying why the ministers granted approval for the mine.
Opencast coal mines and other mining infrastructure dot the Mpumalanga countryside
Oxpeckers reported in May 2015 that Sizwe Zuma had presented himself at public meetings as a director of Atha Africa, and that the mine was being pushed through because of his ties to “the Zuma clan” in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
In the paperwork filed to form the associated BEE company, Sizwe Zuma was listed as a trustee and his residence was given as Bryntirion Estate, the presidential compound in Pretoria. The phone number listed to him on the same paperwork did not work.
Several trustees of one of Atha Africa’s BEE partners, Bashubile Trust, are believed to be relatives of the president, a claim Atha Africa denies.
In a last-ditch effort to halt the mine, the CER plans to take the ministers’ decision to override the Protected Areas Act to court.
“There is no internal appeal to the ministers’ decision, therefore any aggrieved party may approach a relevant court to review the permission in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act,” the approval letter states.
The company cannot begin work until several legal challenges and roadblocks are cleared.
Mauritz de Bruin: ‘As long as there’s still a battle to be fought, we will fight it.’ Photo © EWT
According to De Bruin, there have been several occasions where community members have had to intervene to keep equipment and workers off the site.
“As long as there’s still a battle to be fought, we will fight it,” De Bruin said, though he acknowledged that those opposing the mine are rapidly running out of options.
Atha Africa needs the area to be rezoned by the Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme local municipality, although the company’s statement said it “does not foresee any hurdles as the company has all the relevant mining and environmental approvals”.
The CER and its coalition have challenged both the provincial environmental authorisation and the water use licence, which effectively suspends the licence until it is reviewed.
On January 9, Praveer Tripathi, Atha Africa’s senior vice-president, sent an appeal to the department of water and sanitation asking for the suspension of its water use licence to be immediately lifted.
In his letter, Tripathi attacked the CER’s position as an interested and affected party in other mining disputes in the province and accused the NGO of “deliberately sensationalising and disseminating incorrect and/or ambiguous information”.
Tripathi called on the department to lift the suspension by threatening that further delays would be “putting hundreds of millions of dollars of investments and proposed investments at risk, as well as forego[ing] much needed job and community development projects”.
The area’s economy is based on agriculture and tourism. While some residents are in favour of the mine due to the roughly 500 direct jobs promised by Atha-Africa, De Bruin said the promise of local jobs for mines often does not materialise.
“The community members of Wakkerstroom are devastated,” De Bruin said. “They’re quite confused. They don’t understand why [the mine] is possible at all.”
Chief executive of WWF South Africa, Morné du Plessis, described the ministers’ go-ahead as “a worrying turn of events that does not bode well for other protected areas. We are increasingly aware of the trend of diminishing transparency in decisions relating to mining activities.” – oxpeckers.org
• Find Mabola’s location, licences and related documents on the #MineAlert app HERE
Related links:
• Oxpeckers breaks the Mabola story in February 2015
• Green light for Mabola water use licence
Read the approval letter from the ministers HERE:
• Update, 16 February 2017: Praveer Tripathi, senior vice-president of Atha Africa Ventures, takes issue with our headline:
“In terms of section 48 of the National Environment Management: Protected Areas Act (Act no. 57 of 2003), the Act is explicit where mining in Protected statuses are concerned. I extract the relevant section for your benefit below:
Part 4 Restrictions
48. Prospecting and mining activities in protected area
(1) Despite other legislation, no person may conduct commercial prospecting, mining, exploration, production or related activities –  (Words preceding paragraph (a) of section 48(1) substituted by section 12 of Act 21 of 2014)
(a) in a special nature reserve, national park or nature reserve; (Section 48(1)(a) substituted by section 18(a) of Act 31 of 2004)
(b) in a protected environment without the written permission of the Minister and the Cabinet member responsible for minerals and energy affairs; or
(c) in a protected area referred to in section 9(b), (c) or (d). (Section 48(1)(c) substituted by section 18(b) of Act 31 of 2004)
(2) The Minister, after consultation with the Cabinet member responsible for mineral and energy affairs, must review all mining activities which were lawfully conducted in areas indicated in subsection (1)(a) or (b) or (c) immediately before this section took effect.
(3) The Minister, after consultation with the Cabinet member responsible for mineral and energy affairs, may, in relation to the activities contemplated in subsection (2), as well as in relation to mining activities conducted in areas contemplated in that subsection which were declared as such after the commencement of this section, prescribe conditions under which those activities may continue in order to reduce or eliminate the impact of those activities on the environment or for the environmental protection of the area concerned.
(4) When applying this section, the Minister must take into account the interests of local communities and the environmental principles referred to in section 2 of the National Environmental Management act, 1998.
Please pay close attention to s48 (1) (b). The decision to grant written permission to mine within a Protected Environment by the Minister of Environment and the Cabinet Minister responsible for Minerals is an administrative decision.
There are no regulations stipulated in the Act which either call for a Public Participation Process or consultation with stakeholders. That process in terms of its regulations are binding in terms of the Environmental Authorisation applications and Water Use Applications, which Atha did at the widest scale possible before the EA and WUL were granted to us.
Section 48 of [the Act] has no such regulations to conduct a Public Participation process and there are no regulations which bind either the department or the applicant to publicise the decision.
Therefore when the two Ministers agreed to give written permission to Atha to mine within the Mabola Protected Environment in terms of s48(1)(b) of the Act, the administrative decision taken by both the Ministers was not a secret deal.
Please remember, the EA and WUL and the Mining Rights were already granted to Atha before the s48 approval was given. Atha could, if some parts of its Mining Rights were not in the Protected Environment, start mining immediately after the WUL was granted. The requirement of s48 approval was therefore an additional approval in writing in compliance with the complete spirit of the relevant sections of the Act.
Therefore, the headline that a secret deal was done to give permission is inaccurate to say the least. You have rightly pointed out in one instance that the Protected Areas Act is ambiguous in terms of Public Notice. While that is true, it does not necessarily mean that a “deal” was done.”
This investigation was sponsored by #MineAlert and Code for Africa.
Mark Olalde’s reporting is financially supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism, the Fund for Environmental Journalism and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.


Post From Community: Nominations now being accepted for 2023 Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs
February 1, 2023
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
The Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award is bestowed annually to recognize a female Milwaukeean who exemplifies Vel R. Phillips’ legacy of selfless service and trailblazing work toward improving the quality of life for residents in Milwaukee. Nominations for the 2023 Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award are now being accepted and are due by the close of business on Friday, February 24.
“There are countless people throughout Milwaukee who work to better our community, and the Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award is one avenue for us to recognize an individual who captures the spirit, dedication, and passion for Milwaukee that Vel Phillips demonstrated throughout her life,” said Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs. “If you or someone you know fits the description of a trailblazer, make sure to nominate them for this prestigious award.”
Nominations must include a description of the nominee’s work in the areas of social justice and/or civic engagement, challenges the nominee has overcome in these areas, and any other examples of the nominee embodying the spirit of Vel R. Phillips.
Nominees must be female City of Milwaukee residents who are not publicly-elected officials. Applicants may nominate themselves or others. The winner will be announced during the Girl’s Day @ City Hall program in March. For more information including detailed eligibility requirements and to secure a nomination form, please click here, or contact Joanna Polanco at<PHONE_NUMBER> or jpolan@milwaukee.gov.


Presidential Election: Tribunal Dismisses Coalition For Change Petition Against Buhari - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 2
June 10, 2019
ThePresidential Election Petition Tribunal on Monday dismissed the petition of theCoalition for Change, C4C against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari inthe February 23 election.
Thedismissal was sequel to an application by C4C for withdrawal of the petitionfiled on June 10, 2019.
Whenthe matter was called on Monday, lawyers to Buhari and the All ProgressivesCongress,APC Wole Olanipekun SAN and Lateef Fagbemi SAN informed the court thattheir clients were yet to be served with a copy of the petition.
Olanipekunsaid at the last adjourned date the panel had granted an application for substitutedservice but that up till this morning, the petitioners were yet to serve the processeson the first defendant.
Inhis response, counsel for C4C, Obed Aguh informed the tribunal that anapplication for the withdrawal of their petition against the election ofPresident Buhari was filed today but yet to be served on the respondents.
However,following the non-objection of the application, Chairman of the five-man panel,Justice Mohammed Garba, accordingly dismissed the suit.


A special Christmas gift · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Peruvian blogger Cyrano [es] from Columna 17 ends his five-part series of Christmas-related posts republishing an article by Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez and says [es]:
I hope you all like these words as much as I did and may them be my virtual present to all of you.
You can read the whole series here: one, two, three, four and five [es].


Afghanistan: Hazaras · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Is the success of the Hazara community in Afghanistan due to the international community “building it up” or actually due to the group's adaptability to change? Ronin has some thoughts.


Screen shot 2013-01-10 at 12.32.20 AM | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
January 10, 2013


Chile: El Mercurio and Google Earth · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Tomás Dinges of Chile From Within is skeptical about the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio's relationship with Google Earth.


Guadeloupe: Saluting “First and Only” Government · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Convention Pour Une Nouvelle Guadeloupe posts (Fr) a declaration made by its founding father Magloire Pelage after he and others ceased power from the French in October 1801. (The revolt was later quelled.) He then adds: “Convention pour une Nouvelle Guadeloupe salutes the constitution of the first and only government of Guadeloupe while reaffirming its will to continue the fight for a sovereign Guadeloupe, rid of all its chains.”


Lebanon: Maxime Chaya Reaches the North Pole · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The Lebanese adventurer, Maxime Chaya, whose exploits include climbing Mount Everest, reaching the South and North poles to plant the Lebanese flag, blogs about his quests and posts beautiful photos on his live blog The Three Poles.


Kaduna to conduct free entrance exams for public, private school pupils | EduCeleb
Ahmed Iyanda
23rd July 2019
The Kaduna State government is billed to conduct the Common Entrance Examination into JSS1 for the 2019/2020 academic year next Saturday, 27th July, 2019.
It said that registration is free for all candidates in both public and private schools in the state who would be resuming in Junior Secondary School 1 next academic session.
A statement from the State Ministry of Education made available to EduCeleb.com on Tuesday, 23rd July revealed that the papers would start at all public schools across the state.
“This is to inform the general public, especially parents of pupils in primary six of both public and private schools, that the State Ministry of Education, Schools Quality Assurance Authority will conduct the Common Entrance Examination for the 2019/2020 Academic year into Junior Secondary School One,” ministry spokesperson, Ibrahim Abubakar wrote in the statement.
He added that the candidates were to present a passport photograph and their birth certificate or declaration of age. They were to also go with a pencil and an eraser to the exam venues.
Parents are expected to guide their children through making the right choice of schools, Mr Abubakar added.


6 Nigerian Pilgrims Die, 30 Mental Cases Reported As Hajj Rites Begin - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
June 26, 2023
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, which started the airlift operations 25th May, concluded the exercise on 24th June.
The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had allocated 95,000 Hajj slots to Nigeria.
Of this figure, NAHCON gave 75,000 slots to 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and shared the balance of the remaining 20,000 among private tour operators.
NAHCON Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, while briefing stakeholders during the pre-Arafah conference in Makkah, said all the 95,000 pilgrims were successfully airlifted.
He also noted that every Hajj exercise was an experimentation in which new problems encountered were tackled and reviewed to prevent future occurrences.


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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

I cannot believe it has been four years since the Iraq war started. Has it ended? I don't know but it feels more like an a lifetime has passed. In one of the rare coincidences with large parts of the media, Iraq bloggers are commemorating another anniversary of the war. This post gathers their collective thoughts. But first…
If you read no other post this week, read this:
After five months (!) of self-enforced exile in her home, Chikitita decides to venture out into the Baghdad streets and feels somewhat like a tourist in her own city. Her initial inquiries about the outside world were not too hopeful: “it turned out that buses no longer pass by my once safe neighbourhood. It has even earned “The Frontline” label based on the fact that it has been teeming with cannibals lately.” Venturing out only confirmed the rumours:
A Tsunami has hit the area and nobody bothered to tell me. I could not recognize the new décor; what's that charred bus doing there? When did all those shops blow up? I'm running out of pens and notebooks and the only shop that sells stationery has been razed! Only now I could match the sounds I've been hearing with the pictures.
Feeling nostalgic she took the bus, but that proved sadly depressing.
“The atmosphere inside was so eerie; passengers are no longer exchanging chitchats as they used to do, not even smiles – except for the woman who passed my fare to the driver. People are no longer discussing politics … I could sense the apprehension and mutual mistrust, no one wants to venture be outspoken about anything or anyone that bugs them. I thought national mourning has been declared; none of the half a dozen vehicles I rode had a radio playing…
Tears kept streaming down my face until I reached the Jadriya Bridge. Only there I could smell life.”
She concludes: “Meeting fellow Iraqis in the streets of Baghdad used to inject a dose of hope within me. Yet, it's no longer the case. People are tired and fed up, smiling used to be an Iraqi trademark, and sure it has become a part of history!”
Four years on…
Imad Khadduri links to a set of graphs from the Brookings Institute Iraq Index showing how the situation has progressively deteriorated over the past four years. He writes: “As for Rumsfeld's metrics, the Iraqi saying goes: soak it in water and then drink the water for all the good it will do you.”
Neurotic Wife gives her review of the whole war:
Four years on and while the world listen to their Ipods, Ipods filled with their favour-te music, Iraqis listen to daily mortars, explosions, bombings and helicopters. Four years on while the children of the world play their Wii's, Iraqi children sleep the nights in fear. Will I live or will I die they think to themselves. Will the Americans come and get me or will the Iraqi baddies take me away. Yes Four years on…
She demands that Bush and Blair fix the mess they created:
You have been putting your hands in the devil's claws, for once Bush and Blair, just for once, before you leave your powerful chair, do something good, do something commendable. For once Bush and Blair, just this once, do something for the IRAQI PEOPLE, the Innocent Iraqi people. Support them in their times of need. HELP THEM. Give them a safe haven. Don't you think they deserve it? Don't you think that after all these years, these people's lives are worth saving???
Attawie continues in a similar vein:
Fourth year of misery and mysteries; Where are we now and where are we going. For how many more coming years? For what? Hope had abandoned the land which once wrote the very first letter ever. Logic seems bizarre on the land where the wheel was invented. Beauty disappeared. Nothing has left but hideous streets, which once were cloud nine; today they are spotted with innocents’ blood.
She left Iraq to exile in the Gulf but the attraction of her homeland remains strong:
We leave hoping to start a new life but still this land pulls us by the magic it once had. So I believe that magic still lingers on. It still pulls us by the memories we keep in our minds, by the dream of going back to our childish never land, the land that tries to be optimistic. …
It pulls us back by its very sweet sound, it's the precious Iraq.
Faiza publishes a letter from an American friend:
i can't believe in a few days will be the commemoration of the beginning of the war four years ago. Iraq is a survivor — and we will keep working against those who destroy the joys and beauties in life, and working for those who just want to relax and lay their head down on their pillow in comfort and peace, without having to worry desperately about the safety of everyone and everything dear to their lives.
After four years Khalid Jarrar has given up on any hope that American people can bring an end to the war:
for four years I have been pleading for peaceful ways of ending the occupation. Trying to cooperate with the peace movements here and in the states to find a way out, but as we can all notice, our efforts are in vein…
It sounds to me, that after 4 years of occupation, that America is a nation of selfish people, too busy with their lives and joys to care about how their own country is screwing the world, instead they really concentrate on getting fatter, rockin’ and rollin’, watching the Oscar night and reality shows… if it wasn't that the American army is losing by all means, most of Americans wouldn't have moved a hand, or a tongue to demand the withdrawal of the army from Iraq…
Sad fourth birthday hateful spiteful occupation, Sad fourth birthday dear beloved Iraq, i miss you, and i promise you that there will be an end, soon.
The woman i was runs through the ‘successes’ of the new Iraq: “more than 20% .. under poverty line, more than 700 000 civilians lost their lives; more than 4 million Iraqis became refugees.. more than 300 000 poor women were widowed; .. the Baghdad morgue receives more than 60 dead bodies on daily bases” and writes:
It is time to shout: enough is enough; Bush should try to change himself and the Americans should try to change their regime. Almost one million civilian Iraqis bloods is enough for giving the Americans safer world, more fuel for their cars and more prosperity. We should all shout put in mind that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said those who watch injustice silently are evils and Martin Luther King said that silence is betrayer
And 24 Steps to Liberty recalls how he braved almost certain execution to escape the front line as a soldier in the Iraqi Army in 2003. He recalls:
I don’t know how to use a weapon to defend myself. Even if I did, defend myself against whom? My brothers [that what I called the U.S. soldiers] or against the Kurds [I am half Kurdish]? I cannot do that.
I decided to end this stupid play and do it my way.
Between you and me it seems that nobody had anything good to say about the last four years how about you?


Iran:Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh will have some writing to do! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Omid Memarian writes that Hassan Haddad, Security Deputy District Attorney of Tehran stated that investigations about two Iranian-American jailed scholars, Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh, cases has completed. He added that these two will have some writing to do upon completion of which further decisions will be made about them.Omid adds In some cases, prisoners were made to sign book publication releases on confessions made under physical and psychological pressures inside their solitary cells and without access to their attorneys.


Colombia: Illegal mp3 on Police Website · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Camilo Uribe writes about an illegal downloaded MP3 file found on the Colombian police's website [es], after which they used a password to cover it up, but didn't remove the file. This is after they destroyed more than 70 thousand pirated dvds, cds and mp3s in the city of Medellin. A screen grab of the file is included.


Buhari Lauds Phenomenal Sports Achievement Under Minister Dare - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
March 23, 2023
The President’s spokesman Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja, said the president stated this when he received the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare.
Dare had recently received Special Recognition Award for Contributions to Sports Development in Nigeria and the Africa Region from President Mohammed Solih of Maldives.
Speaking after receiving the trophy from the Minister, the president thanked him for the honour to the country.
He recounted the exploits of Nigeria’s national football team, Super Eagles, at national and international stages, noting he still hasn’t forgotten Nigeria’s absence at the Qatar World Cup 2022.


Lagging immigration reform in U.S. good for Canada, says Kenney - New Canadian Media
Tamsyn Burgmann
August 8, 2014
Stalled immigration reforms in the United States are an opportunity for Canada to scoop up a wealth of young, “brilliant” foreign nationals and direct them into burgeoning tech-sector employment, the federal employment minister said Wednesday.
Minister Jason Kenney heartily endorsed his government’s efforts to entice educated immigrants north of the 49th parallel as a direct counter to American policy obstacles to settling down there after earning highly-prized degrees.
“We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system. I make no bones about it,” Kenney emphatically told reporters at a West Vancouver news conference, where he was announcing funding to help skilled newcomers get certified to work in Canada.
Kenney said the government has no concerns about aspiring to capitalize off the “super smart” graduates being produced in the U.S., where tens of thousands of young people from around the world attend prestigious schools like Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California.
“We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system. I make no bones about it.”
He said Canada will promote “very aggressively” the opportunities it provides, including its budding start-up visa program and incoming fast-track program to permanent residency, to entrepreneurs wanting to launch companies but finding themselves blocked from obtaining green cards.
Last month, federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander was in Vancouver to celebrate the 17-month-old visa program’s milestone of accepting its first two applicants. The government has said it will issue a maximum of 2,750 visas for each year of the five-year pilot, which is limited to entrepreneurs who already have the backing of a venture capital firm in Canada.
“If the United States doesn’t want to open the door to permanent residency for them, that door will be opened in principle for them to come to Canada,” Kenney said.
Just over a year ago, Kenney travelled to the San Francisco Bay area where Silicon Valley has already claimed an estimated 350,000 Canadians and campaigned for foreign talent. The federal government had just erected a massive billboard, emblazoned with a giant red maple leaf, advertising directly to foreign nationals saddled with visa troubles.
Kenney said on Wednesday the “Pivot to Canada” billboard mounted in California in May 2013 generated “massive interest and buzz” in the Silicon Valley tech sector.
Asked whether Canada might get any pushback from the U.S. for openly courting its grads in the face of impassioned U.S. debate on the issue, Kenney said he has raised the government’s objectives “very openly” in Washington.
“And the (U.S.) advocates for immigration reform have used Canada’s activity there and the Silicon Valley (scenario) as an argument for comprehensive immigration reform in Washington,” he said.
“We’ll leave that to the Congress and (U.S. President Barack Obama) to resolve, that’s their policy domain, not ours.”
Kenney’s enthusiasm to continue the drive for global talent he initiated while immigration minister came as he made another in a series of announcements aimed at improving recognition of foreign credentials.
The minister attended a library in West Vancouver to reveal a $3.3 million funding package for the British Columbia government, aimed at matching more skilled immigrants with work.
The cash is slated to fund more than 30 projects meant to remove barriers faced by newcomers who are trained overseas, with a particular focus in B.C. on the energy and resource sectors.
“Letting a group of people languish because their credentials are not recognized is not good for them, nor is it good for our province.”
Those projects include aiding employers to close obstacles for new Canadians entering the workforce, putting more information online that promotes the in-demand jobs in Canada and working with regulators to speed up the credential-recognition process.
B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton, who joined making the announcement, said the “renewal” of funding will assist the province fill an expected 1 million job openings expected by 2022, including in its developing liquified natural gas industry.
“Letting a group of people languish because their credentials are not recognized is not good for them, nor is it good for our province,” she said.
Re-published from iPolitics.ca with permission.


Czech tiger farm exposes illegal trade in heart of Europe - Oxpeckers
Oxpeckers Reporters
15 Jan
Gruesome discovery of transnational crime ring shows illegal tiger farms are not just a problem in south-east Asia, but are operating in the middle of the European Union. Tristan Martin investigates
The body of a tiger discovered in a house in Prague, next to a pot used to cook down tiger parts. Photo: Handout Czech customs authority
The first thing that hit the inspectors was the smell. It was a sweltering midsummer day in Prague, and they had just opened an unplugged freezer filled with the rotting remains of tigers, lions and cougars.
Pavla Rihova, the lead environmental inspector on the scene, said she had never seen anything like it.
“I have been working for the inspectorate 25 years… but the situation there was really horrible. If you can imagine: an old freezer, without electricity, full of meat and dead bodies, in the garden for two years. Absolutely incredible.”
In a shed next to the house they found a freshly killed tiger, shot through the neck so as not to damage its valuable pelt. In the same room was a heavy duty cooking pot on a gas hob, filled with the unidentified meat and bones of animals.
The raid was the culmination of five years of work carried out by the Czech police, customs authorities and environmental inspectorate, who said they uncovered an organised ring of Czech and Vietnamese criminals illegally killing and processing protected big cats for the traditional Chinese medicine market. Officials across Europe are beginning to realise illegal tiger farms are not just a problem in south-east Asia, but are also operating in the middle of the European Union.
Tiger remains stashed in a house in Prague. Photo: Handout Czech customs authority
The trail of evidence began in early 2013, when customs inspectors found a bag of tiger bones in the van of a Vietnamese man who claimed he had received them from a breeding facility in Slovakia. A few months later, the skeletons of two tigers were found concealed within a set of loudspeakers being exported to Hanoi.
As well as tiger remains, authorities were increasingly finding processed products such as tiger wine and broth, which seemed to have originated in the Czech Republic. Concerned about the source of these items, the environmental inspectorate conducted a full inspection of the country’s captive tiger population in 2015.
The movement of tigers across international borders is tightly controlled under international rules, while Czech laws go even further: each birth, death or sale of a tiger has to be recorded and the environmental inspectorate notified.
The inspectors soon realised the paperwork was a mess. Tigers were reportedly being exported multiple times, disappearing altogether, or not having their deaths recorded. Most worryingly, the mortality rate of tigers kept in private facilities was shockingly high.
In zoos or in the wild, tigers can live to well over 20 years. In the Czech Republic’s private breeding facilities they were consistently dying before they reached five.
The attention of the authorities turned to Ludvík Berousek, a member of a well-known Czech circus family, who runs the country’s largest breeding facility for tigers and lions. Officially, he breeds big cats to supply circuses, stage shows and petting zoos. Customs officials, however, believed he was also the likely source for the tiger products they were seizing en route to Vietnam.
It took almost two years, but eventually Czech customs and police unravelled the network. At the top was Le Xuan Vu, a Vietnamese trader who would place the orders for the tigers. Berousek would then deliver them to the house of the taxidermist, a Czech hunting enthusiast called Miloš Hrozínek. Together with Vu, Hrozínek would dismember and cook the tigers in his house and shed.
Through covert surveillance operations, the officers understood that the gang could sell cubes of tiger stock, which in Chinese medicine is widely believed to strengthen bones and alleviate arthritis, for €60 (£52) per gram.
The skins were worth from €2,000-€4,000 and the claws were worth €100 each. Though much of this product was clearly destined for Vietnam, authorities believe that a significant amount was also traded within the large Czech-Vietnamese community.
Between the Prague quarters of Písnice and Libus is the large Vietnamese TTTM Sapa marketplace, also known as ‘little Hanoi’. Photo: Tristan Martin
Though demand for tiger-based traditional medicine is driven by the Vietnamese population, many of whom arrived as guest workers during Czechoslovakia’s communist era, experts believe it is not the only factor at play. At the same time customs agents were starting to seize tiger products in 2013, there started to emerge a number of “kontaktni zoos” – small private zoos where children can cuddle baby tigers and lions.
“You can use the small tiger or lion cubs only for half a year, or one year, absolutely no longer. Because it is too dangerous for children,” Rihova said. In order to fulfil the growing demand for tiger and lion cubs, it is necessary to breed more and more animals.
When the cubs have outgrown the petting zoos, other businesses such as circuses and stage shows can make use of them for another few years. But once tigers and lions reach full sexual maturity, at four or five years old, they are too big and dangerous for any of these uses. At this point they are worth significantly more dead than alive.
Berousek, Hrozínek and Vu have all been charged with offences related to the illegal killing and trade of protected species. While Hrozínek remains in custody, Berousek and Vu are both out on bail. Berousek continues to operate his breeding facility.
Rihova believes the illegal tiger trade may also be active elsewhere in Europe, and urges the EU to take a more rigorous approach.
“The European commission believes that they have an overview of big cats in Europe. But it’s not true,” Rihova said. “Without some registration, some documents, the registered movement of animals from one breeder to another, you cannot have an overview.”
“The world has already lost more than 90% of its tigers,” said Kieran Harkin of the charity Four Paws. “We call on the European Commission to protect the endangered tigers and ban commercial trade in captive-bred tigers. Tiger traders and their cruel business should no longer have a place in the EU.”
This investigation appeared in The Guardian, and was supported by a grant from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network


Uzbekistan: President rejuvenated on photos · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nathan Hamm takes a critical view on recent pictures of Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov, who has been rumored to be on the verge of death from cancer for about the last decade. The latest photographs show a shiny happy person, “but it is somewhat striking how obviously fake these photos look”.


MSMES Clinics Making Big Impact On Nigeria’s Economy—Minister - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
February 26, 2020
Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment,Mariam Katagum, says the national Micro Small and Medium Enterprises MSMEsclinics are making a big impact on Nigeria’s economy.
Katagum spoke with State House correspondents afterthe first quarter meeting for the partners for MSMEs clinics presided over byVice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
MSME Clinics were introduced by the FederalGovernment to bring together key frontline government agencies and stakeholdersto interact together with a view of removing impending bottlenecks.
She said that meeting provided the stakeholders anopportunity to look at what had been done in the last year in concrete terms,the challenges and issues surrounding MSMEs.
She said there were deliberations on how to deliveron President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to take millions of Nigerians out ofpoverty and create jobs through the MSMEs.
The minister said that no fewer than 16 relatedagencies attended the meeting and made inputs on how to move forward.


UNILAG signs research MOU with Russian university | EduCeleb
1st July 2023
The University of Lagos and State University of Education in Moscow, Russia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the academic exchange of teachers and students, as well as the development of joint educational programmes.
The epochal event happened on Monday, June 26, 2023 at the office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Research), Professor Bolanle Oboh.
By signing the Memorandum of Understanding, both Parties agree to develop the areas of exchange of professorial staff and researchers, exchange of students and cooperation in research activities.
Other areas are in cooperation in the implementation of joint educational programmes, a joint launch of the “Centre for Open Education in Russian” and teaching Russian at the University of Lagos.
The Memorandum of Understanding will be valid for five (5) years, and comes into force from the date its signing by the Parties. It may be extended for an additional five-year period by the Parties’ mutual agreement.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Research), Prof. Bola Oboh and Rector for Science at the State University of Education, Dr. Kulikov Dmitry, signed the agreement for their respective universities.
The Director of Academic Planning, Professor T. Ilori; Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. O.A. Adeboye; and incoming Dean of Arts, Professor A.M. Ilupeju were some staff of the University of Lagos who were present at the signing.


China: Animal Cruelty · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A puppy owner in Beijing threw his pet out of 18-story building. The puppy miraculously survives and its owner was arrested for endangering public safety. Story curated by Beijing Cream.


Middle East: Internet Outage Enrages Bloggers · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

What is a blogger without access to the Internet? This was the dilemma facing tens of thousands of bloggers in parts of the Middle East and Asia, after a cable in the Mediterranean was damaged, crippling millions of Internet users. No surprise, some of the region's bloggers were fuming especially when they realised that it could take up to two weeks to fix the damage and have to deal with slow Internet in the meanwhile.
Qatar:
Thanks to slow Internet, Mohamed Nanabhay in Doha sends us a Twitter message saying:
Apparently some undersea cables have been damaged near Alexandria, Egypt and thus the 28.8k type internet speeds on my ADSL..
Bahrain:
Braving slow connections, Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif  says the fact that such a large part of the world depends on ‘one cable’ for its online communications is ridiculous and needs to be addressed. He adds:
The real question is, how is much of the fastest growing economies in the world dependent on a single undersea cable? Didn’t anyone think of a redundancy plan which covers just such an eventuality? One which would withstand such a technical disruption with complete transparency to the customers?
Ammar too was left scratching his head and after listing his country's achievements goes on a rampage saying:
It boggles the mind to think that a country on the scale of the above would actually be internetless for a full day. Yup, the internet was down EVERYWHERE today morning, probably for a good 8 hours or so, and we just got it back about 30 minutes ago. That's for people, companies, banks, institutions, schools, coffee shops, etc.
They are joined by Ali7, another disgruntled customer.  Meanwhile, Bint Battuta calls on bloggers to leave their frustrations at home and attend the country's Blogger's meeting instead. She notes:
Don't sit at home feeling frustrated by your slow internet connection!
Come and talk to people instead!
We're meeting on Saturday (2 February).
Kuwait:
In Kuwait, Forza blames Egypt for the cut, while Mark volunteers:
Slow internet is better than no internet
K The Kuwaiti says it may take two weeks to fix the problem and Fonzy describes life without Internet, saying:
I’m sure yesterday was a frustrating day for a LOT of people.  At around 11:00 a.m. the internet was down in the whole Middle East. Everything seems functional today but it is still a little slow, but I got to say that although it was cut for less than a day, it felt like eternity!
UAE:
Syrian blogger Dubai Jazz, who lives in Dubai, is also angry with an Egyptian fisherman for the breakdown of Internet communications in the region. He writes:
I couldn't do anything significant during the slow down. I couldn't even post comments on my own blog let alone others. Gmail was also down. Youtube? … forget about it.
All this was because some extra-witty Egyptian fisherman has decided to drop his anchor deep in the Mediterranean. Not only he'd dropped the anchor so deep and hurt one of the cables supplying bites to the Middle East and India, he had also dragged his anchor for 400 meters and cut another main cable in the process.
We could live with one cable cut, but two?
That, in my standard, is unprecedented.
And the fisherman is certainly demented.
Tunisia:
“Internet goes down, everything goes down…” writes Subzero Blue from Tunisia. He then takes the opportunity to reflect on our attachment to technology and its impact on everything we do. He notes:
This is what's so scary about technology; we quickly get so used to it, we integrate it into our everyday lives and work, we become dependent on it for everything we do, and then when it fails for one reason or another our lives stop, we're left crippled and helpless; we can't go back and we can't move forward; we just have to wait for things to be sorted out so we can go back to life as usual.
We're too dependent on technology, and we don't have a fail-safe plan; a major technological meltdown in the future could bring the whole world to a stand-still; and blow us back centuries into the past.


Policing: IGP Alkali Admits Shortage Of Personnel, Aims At Recruiting 60,000 Officers - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
September 17, 2021
Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Usman Baba Alkali, disclosed this during his working visit to Kwara State Police Command.
He said the Police high command would recruit no fewer than 10,000 personnel every year for six years.
He added that the personnel would be recruited from the 774 local government areas across the country, adding that upon completion of their training they would be redeploy to their various states of origin.
This, the Police boss said would enhance effective policing as only the people that understand a terrain or a society can man security effectively in such society.


Measles Vaccination Clinics opened by Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
May 8, 2019
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has opened appointments for measles vaccination at 23 of its primary care locations. Whether a child currently has a Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin primary care doctor or not, families can go online to chw.org/measles to schedule an appointment to receive the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella).
The clinics will provide the vaccine based on a child’s vaccination history in the Wisconsin Immunization Record.
“We want to keep kids healthy and out of the hospital, so we established these clinic appointments to make it as easy as possible for families to start or complete the measles vaccination process,” said Smriti Khare, MD, president of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Primary Care. “Measles was essentially eliminated in America, but we are now seeing cases across the country, including in neighboring states like Illinois and Michigan. We know that the vaccine will prevent the disease and we want to make it as easy as possible to get the vaccination.”
Families can check their child’s immunization record by going to chw.org/measles and following the link to the Wisconsin Immunization Record. If a child’s record includes a “Recommended Now” result for MMR, an appointment can be made online at a location convenient for the family.
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is also sending letters to patients of Children’s Medical Group who may be in need of one or both required doses of the measles vaccine. Letters have been mailed to these households encouraging them to make an appointment with the family’s primary care doctor or through Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin measles clinic online scheduling.
Vaccination efforts at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
In 2009, Children’s made a commitment to boost vaccination rates in our region. By collaborating with community partners, we have been able to increase the vaccination rates among 2-year-olds in our care and throughout the state. Dozens of children every year die in the United States from highly contagious diseases like the flu, measles, mumps and whooping cough. That is why Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is committed to promoting and increasing vaccination rates of kids in Wisconsin.


Councillors Appoint New Board Member Despite Reservations – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

December 11, 2021
The City of Hamilton has a number of municipal corporations which conduct business on behalf of the City, one of them is the Hamilton Enterprises Holding Corporation which oversees the City’s internet service provider and energy corporations.
Council members appointed to the HEHco Board receive extra pay.
During a Council meeting Friday, HEHCo requested to expand its board to seven members from six.
Councillors Brad Clark and Maureen Wilson both asked the reason for the expansion, noting that the staff report to Council did not provide reasons.
Ward 5 Councillor Russ Powers stated “You know, I don’t understand the rationale while but certainly from a governance standpoint, it’s advantageous to have an odd number of directors so that you don’t end up with tie votes. So that may be the rationale.”
Clr Wilson quickly replied “16”, a reference to the number of members of City Council.
Other councillors were heard chuckling in the background.
Hamilton General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services Mike Zegarac clarified there were previously seven members, which was reduced to six after a resignation, and the request from staff was to return to seven.
Staff recommended appointing Elizabeth DiDonato to the HEHCo Board. Neither staff nor HEHCo provided any information about their recommended appointee.
“I’m sure the person is extremely qualified, but there’s no CV or any identification offered,” stated Clr Wilson. “I’m just trying to understand what is our statutory or legislated responsibility on this”
“It’s consistent with past practice,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “We’ve always allowed the the boards to do the interview process and make the selection based on what they think their board requires and we’ve essentially for all intents and purposes have have approved without getting into the the application process”
GM Zegarac says it is the role of Council to confirm the appointees as the sole shareholder of HEHCo.
Council “must confirm the recommended board member and the role as shareholder is again to confirm the recommendation of the HEHCo board. And the HEHCo board has a responsibility of the recruitment and confirming the member and then they put forward a resolution to the shareholder for your consideration.”
Clr Clark questioned this approach. “In my mind, I say we trust but we verify. Right, and so I can’t verify here.”
HEHCo Chair Laurie Tugman responded, “It’s our responsibility as a Board to go through the selection process of finding directors but as shareholders from a good governance point of view, it’s the shareholders’ responsibility then to appoint those nominees that we put forward to the board.”
Clr Clark asked that in the future Council be provided some information about the nominated appointee.
Council unanimously approved Elizabeth DiDonato without any further information beyond her name and that she is a resident of Hamilton.
Clr Clark briefly raised the question of whether the Council is even allowed to appoint a person after the Office of the City Clerk declared on Thursday that the Municipal Act prohibits making appointments.
A City Clerk legislative staff member stated “is this is a board, not an advisory committee.”
The Office of City Clerk Andrea Holland has not provided any reference in the Municipal Act to support their declaration.


Palestine: Gaza to Eilat and Back  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

At the Sabbah Report, Omar Gharaieb shares the experiences of M.K., who went on a ‘trip’ from Gaza to Eilat and back in this post.


Pakistan: Muslim Mob Kills Wife, Children of Christian · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pak Tea House highlights a grim news which was not reported in mainstream media in Pakistan: “a Muslim mob in Jhelum, Pakistan murdered the wife and four children of a Christian last month, but local authorities are too afraid of the local Muslim leader to file charges.”


Tunisia: Hunger Strike Students Defend Right to Study · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

Five Tunisian students have been on hunger strike since February 11th to defend their right to study. Their health is seriously deteriorating but the government is ignoring their request. More on the story on Facebook — here and here.


Dozens of Azeri Activists Arrested in Iran · Global Voices
Farid

Thirty-six Azeri activists including one blogger, Kiaksar, were arrested on Thursday, 27 June in Urmia. Security forces released 300 of these activists after a few hours of interrogation.