Indiscriminate arrest and detention of non-Ukrainian refugees in Greece alarms human rights defenders
According to Kleio Nikolopoulou, an advocacy officer and lawyer for the Greek Council for Refugees, many refugees without papers are arrested and end up detained for months. Several Afghans and Syrians that the Greek Council for Refugees represented spent up to nine months in detention without a trial. “It seems...
Greece’s special treatment of Ukrainians and discrimination of African and Asian refugees questioned
Refugees from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, and Syria have long faced dismal living conditions while struggling to access asylum procedures and essential services in Greece. According to NGOs and human rights groups, Greece’s reception of Ukrainians escaping Russia’s invasion shows another way is possible – if only...
Ban: Health experts in US predict abortions will continue, but will be harder to obtain legally
In June, the US Supreme Court ruled that the constitution does not confer the right to an abortion. Now, 13 states have greatly restricted access to the procedure, and about a dozen more are expected to follow suit. For a high-income country to take such a giant leap towards prohibiting...
Funding of Kenya’s standard gauge railway still shrouded in mystery as president Kenyatta exits power
When Kenya decided to build the standard gauge railway (SGR), it turned to China, which was then prompting its state-owned firms to find investment opportunities in Africa and other parts of the world. Even though it was financed by taxpayers, there was no competitive bidding for the project, a move...
Conflict and criminality: Illegal artisanal gold mining, worth $8m, becomes security threat to South Africa
Illegal and unregulated artisanal gold mining on the Witwatersrand Basin in Gauteng is an increasing threat to community, industrial and state security. Reports on turf wars between rival gangs, or shootouts between illegal miners and security officers are commonplace. But recent incidents point to a spike in the scale of...
After six months of Russian invasion, Polish hosts are exerting pressure on Ukrainian refugees to return home
Ukrainians who do not already have relatives or friends in Warsaw – or elsewhere in Poland – and who haven’t been able to secure their own housing, are still staying with Polish hosts. But that arrangement is becoming less and less sustainable as the war in Ukraine goes on. At...
Humanitarian agencies warn support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland is running out of steam
Poland’s right-wing government has garnered praise for the generous welcome it has extended to refugees from neighbouring Ukraine. But as Russia’s invasion enters its sixth month, aid workers and local civil society activists are warning that the relatively well-managed reception so far could soon start running into problems as volunteers...
Greens warn DR Congo against oil and gas permits auction in endangered gorilla habitat, ‘Africa’s lungs’
The Democratic Republic of Congo, home to one of the largest old-growth rainforests on Earth, is auctioning off vast amounts of land in a push to become “the new destination for oil investments,” part of a global shift as the world retreats on fighting climate change in a scramble for...
Nigeria’s inefficient justice system is blame for now-too-frequent jailbreaks – sociologists
On the night of July 5, 2022, 879 inmates escaped from the Kuje correctional facility in Abuja, Nigeria after an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists. Prior to this, the largest jailbreak was on April 5, 2021 when gunmen attacked Owerri correctional centre, Imo State and freed 1,844 inmates. There...
Age just a number: Better remuneration, diet and lifestyle change makes playing past 30 years a new normal
One of the big anomalies of this summer’s transfer window has been the amount of money spent on what are perceived to be ‘older’ players. Whether it’s the reportedly boracic Barcelona dropping £40 million on the 33-year old Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi still plodding along for PSG at the ripe...
