Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Horrific conditions and torture in Russian filtration camp ‘ghetto’ for Mariupol residents

It was almost a month, he said, since the Russian invaders had forcibly taken all males from the districts of Huhlino, Myrny and Volonterivka, with around two thousand men taken to ‘filtration camps’ in the villages of Bezimenne and Kozatske.  Both of these are in the Novoazovsk raion which is currently on the territory of the Russian proxy ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ [DPR].

The men were not allowed to take any personal possessions with them, and all passports and other documents were taken from them.

The videos that the Mariupol authorities have published are from a school in Bezimenne which has been turned into this ‘filtration camp’.  According to their, clearly insider, information, the men have been held by force in these premises for a month, and not allowed to leave without a Russian military convoy.  No medical care is provided, with both the living conditions and the food provided appalling.  There is only one sink with cold water for a thousand men, which is a clear danger to health.  Men are forced to sleep on the floor in the corridors.  A first case of tuberculosis was identified, with this leading to the sports hall being totally closed as an isolation area.  Those stuck within it, and this is, seemingly, a very large number of men, are held in a contagious area without any attempt to provide health care.

 

Source: Horrific conditions and torture in Russian filtration camp ‘ghetto’ for Mariupol residents

Haitian Gang Leader Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking for Kidnapping of 16 U.S. Missionaries in Fall 2021 | OPA | Department of Justice

The indictment charges Joly Germine, 29, aka Yonyon, who is described as a leader of the 400 Mawozo gang. He is the first defendant to be charged in connection with the missionaries’ kidnapping. Germine was previously charged with firearms trafficking in a separate case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Haitian government transferred Germine from a Haitian jail into U.S. custody on May 3, 2022, on the basis of an arrest warrant in that matter, and Germine has since been detained in the District of Columbia.

“This case shows that the Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to track down anyone who kidnaps a U.S. citizen abroad,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will utilize the full reach of our law enforcement authorities to hold accountable anyone responsible for undermining the safety of Americans anywhere in the world.”

“Today’s indictment demonstrates that the United States will not tolerate crime against our citizens, here or abroad,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will continue to work aggressively with our international partners to keep our citizens safe and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Source: Haitian Gang Leader Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking for Kidnapping of 16 U.S. Missionaries in Fall 2021 | OPA | Department of Justice

Farm Contractor Again Violates Federal Employment Laws | Food Manufacturing

A call to the “Employment, Education and Outreach” hotline maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor led federal investigators to find a Baxley farm labor contractor – who violated several federal laws related to the employment of migrant and seasonal workers previously – had broken the law again, this time for missing a payroll.

After a worker called the “EMPLEO” hotline – a contact center for Spanish-speaking workers – alleging City Pinestraw & Harvesting LLC missed a scheduled payroll, investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division were able to verify the claim, and to later recover $42,338 in wages owed to 171 affected workers.

“Regardless of their immigration status, Spanish-speaking workers can use the Wage and Hour Division’s EMPLEO program to get answers about their workplace rights without cost while remaining anonymous,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “Just as farmworkers do the hard labor it takes to put food on our tables, the U.S. Department of Labor works vigorously to protect the rights of these essential workers, and hold their employers accountable when they violate the law.”

Prior to the investigation related to the missed payroll, a division investigation found City Pinestraw & Harvesting had shortchanged workers’ wages and moved four farm workers from an approved work site to work at the employer’s restaurant. These actions and others led to multiple violations of the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa programMigrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and Fair Labor Standards Act.

Source: Farm Contractor Again Violates Federal Employment Laws | Food Manufacturing

Opinion | The Movement That Put Alito on the Court Isn’t Finished – The New York Times

To establish this, Alito looks to the law as it existed in 1868, when the 14th Amendment took effect. Roe roots the right to an abortion in its due process clause, but Alito finds statutes “making abortion a crime” in 27 of what were then the nation’s 37 states. Thus, he concludes, lawmakers couldn’t have had abortion in mind when drafting, passing and ratifying the amendment.

Scholars disagree. Weighing in last year on Mississippi’s argument in the case in question, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Aaron Tang, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, disputed the claim that most states had banned abortion by the 1860s. At the time of the founding, he writes, “every state respected the right to abortion before the quickening, or the first noticeable fetal movement that often occurs at 15 or 16 weeks in pregnancy.” By the time the 14th Amendment was ratified, he continues, “21 of 37 states continued to recognize the very pre-quickening abortion right that was universally embraced at the founding.”

ICE officials spying on majority of Americans, report says – Los Angeles Times

…“Even in states that have tried to protect immigrants’ data, ICE has found ways to sidestep some of the strongest restrictions on the kinds of records that it can access, as well as regulations on when and how and on whom it can pull this information,” she said. “As a result, anyone’s information can end up in the hands of immigration enforcement simply because they’ve applied for driver’s licenses; driven on the roads; or signed up with their local utilities to get access to heat, water and electricity.”

Formed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, ICE was given sweeping powers to fight terrorism and enforce immigration law. Since then, the agency has collected data on hundreds of millions of Americans largely without much oversight or accountability, often crossing legal and ethical lines to amass peoples’ personal information to weave a vast surveillance system, according to the Georgetown report…

Source: ICE officials spying on majority of Americans, report says – Los Angeles Times

How Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot Escaped From Russia – The New York Times

…in April, as Mr. Putin cracked down harder to snuff out any criticism of his war in Ukraine, the authorities announced that her effective house arrest would be converted to 21 days in a penal colony. She decided it was time to leave Russia — at least temporarily — and disguised herself as a food courier to evade the Moscow police who had been staking out the friend’s apartment where she was staying. She left her cellphone behind as a decoy and to avoid being tracked.

A friend drove her to the border with Belarus, and it took her a week to cross into Lithuania…

Ms. Alyokhina at a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in front of the Russian Consulate in Reykjavik.

Rural India Has a Diabetes Problem – What Is Causing it? | Inter Press Service

…In 2016, the authors of a study conducted in Krishnagiri in Northwest Tamil Nadu identified the primary factors that “have catalysed dietary changes leading to rising prevalence of diabetes”. Of course, there is the increased availability of ‘city foods’ such as sugar-laden sodas and sweets, as well as trans-fat-laced chips and bakery goods.

But, more significantly, the availability of free polished rice at ration shops through the public distribution system (PDS) makes it the staple food of the region.

Less than 150 km from Krishnagiri, in Thavanampalle, doctors have observed a similar shift to rice as the staple. South India has a higher rate of diabetes compared to North India, possibly due to its partiality towards white rice, which has a high glycaemic index. When eaten as kanji (rice porridge) with the water it is cooked in, the starchy rice meal spikes blood sugar levels…

Source: Rural India Has a Diabetes Problem – What Is Causing it? | Inter Press Service

10 Inspiring Lessons from Top Egyptian Entrepreneurs — Egyptian Streets

In a challenging and sometimes disenchanting job market, ambitious young Egyptians are searching for promises of hope, optimism and encouragement. Fortunately, the search is an easy one; Egyptian success stories are plenty, rife with entrepreneurial brilliance and inspirational trajectories. Here are some powerful lessons gathered from the experience of some of Egypt’s most accomplished entrepreneurs.…

10 Inspiring Lessons from Top Egyptian Entrepreneurs — Egyptian Streets