Kashmir: Communications blockade exacerbates the human rights crisis – IFEX

The Indian-administered part of Kashmir has been in the grips of mass protests that erupted across the Himalayan region following the killing of a commander of a militant secessionist group in a firefight with Indian security forces on 8 July. While thousands initially came out to join the last rites of Burhan Wani, protests soon broke out calling for azadi (independence) from India. The protests, which have included throwing stones, met with a heavy handed response from security forces, with around 50 deaths reported since the protests started. There have been reports of several human rights violations due to excessive use of force by security forces and attacks on ambulances and medical facilities. The political and human rights crisis in Kashmir has undoubtedly deepened. However, what has exacerbated this crisis is the de-facto information and communications emergency that has been arbitrarily imposed in Kashmir. Authorities in Kashmir have indiscriminately clamped down on internet and telecommunications services, making it harder for people to access information, express dissent and maintain contact with friends and family during a very turbulent time.

Source: Kashmir: Communications blockade exacerbates the human rights crisis – IFEX

Texas Justice Initiative – More than 6900 people died in custody in Texas in 2005-2015

MORE THAN 6900 PEOPLE DIED IN CUSTODY IN TEXAS IN 2005-2015

Each time a person in Texas dies in police, jail or prison custody, or as the result of a police officer’s use of force, the death must be reported to the Texas Attorney General. Since 2005, the Attorney General’s office has been collecting the information contained in those reports into a single database.  That database was obtained using the Texas Public Information Act and provides the basis for this website’s content. Explore the data to learn more about who is dying in Texas state custody.

Source: Texas Justice Initiative – More than 6900 people died in custody in Texas in 2005-2015

Father of Muslim American soldier: ‘Donald Trump, you have sacrificed nothing’ – video | US news | The Guardian

Khizr Khan gave a stirring speech at the Democratic convention in honor of his son, Humayun, who was killed in Iraq when a suicide bomber attacked his unit. Khan said that under a Trump government, Humayun wouldn’t have even been allowed in the country. ‘Have you even read the United States constitution?’ he asked Trump, before offering up his own copy

Source: Father of Muslim American soldier: ‘Donald Trump, you have sacrificed nothing’ – video | US news | The Guardian

‘My mother, my hero, our next President – Hillary Clinton’ – Times of India

Banking on examples of her own life and thanking Hillary for ‘being a pillar of strength’, 36-year-old Chelsea said she has always seen her mother as a woman driven by passion for her work and compassion for others. “Regardless of what has happened in my life, my mother was always, always there for me,” she said. “That feeling – being valued and loved – that’s something my mom wants for every child. It is the calling of her life. There’s something else my mother taught me: Public service is about service.”

Source: ‘My mother, my hero, our next President – Hillary Clinton’ – Times of India

Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls: Commitments from the North American Leaders Summit | whitehouse.gov

In Canada, indigenous women and girls also face horrific acts of violence. According to a report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, an estimated 1,181 indigenous women and girls are missing or murdered. As is the case in the United States, most homicides of indigenous women are committed by a non-Indigenous intimate partner. These murders—which the Canadian government believes are vastly underestimated—occur at a rate that is at least seven times higher than for non-Indigenous women. In recognition of this grave injustice, the Trudeau government is working with First Nations advocates to launch a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.Likewise, in Mexico, lethal violence against indigenous women and girls is also a serious problem. Across Latin America, including in Mexico, it is estimated that indigenous women and girls are disproportionately the victims of feminicidios (gender-motivated killings) according to a report prepared by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Given the widespread impact of this violence, each of our governments expressed a deep commitment to meaningfully responding to this regional problem through collective action.Recognizing the scale and complexity of this violence, representatives from all three countries have resolved to work together as part of the North American Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, with the goals of:Exchanging knowledge of comprehensive policies, programs and best practices to prevent and respond to violence against indigenous women and girls through increased access to justice and health services, with a human rights and multicultural approach;Enhancing cooperation to address violent crimes against indigenous women and girls, including human trafficking, residing on or off their Tribal, First Nations, and indigenous lands and across our borders;Improving the response of our justice, health, education, and child welfare systems to violence against indigenous women and girls; and,Strengthening the capacity of our health systems to provide culturally-responsive victim services.

Source: Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls: Commitments from the North American Leaders Summit | whitehouse.gov

Did this Swedish cop just make the arrest of the year? – The Local – “No shooting, just tackle him and pin him down!”

Mikaela Kellner and her friends were sunbathing in the Rålambshov park in Stockholm when a man walked up to them pretending to sell magazines for homeless people. When he refused to take no for an answer, but instead lingered around their blankets, she started suspecting that something was wrong.”I told my friends to keep an eye on their things. But as soon as he left one of my friends said ‘where did my mobile phone go?'” Kellner told The Local on Thursday.She explained that the man had used his magazines to cover the mobile phone, picking it up without anyone noticing when he left. Let’s just say this was a decision he would soon come to regret.”There was no time, so I ran after him, maybe 15 metres or so. One of my friends is also a police officer, so we got hold of him. He tried to get away so we held onto him harder,” she said.They called their colleagues on duty who were able to get there to arrest him.Kellner has been a police officer for 11 years, but it is the first time she has nabbed a suspect while wearing a bikini. She said a picture she posted on Instagram quickly went viral after Aftonbladet wrote about it.

Source: Did this Swedish cop just make the arrest of the year? – The Local

Sorry Donald Trump, but ‘France IS still France’ – The Local

During a news conference in Florida on Wednesday, the Republican presidential nominee brought up the recent attack on a church in Normandy, and said a friend who recently visited the country told him: “I wouldn’t go to France. France is no longer France.””They won’t like me for saying that,” Trump continued, “but you see what happened in Nice. You see what happened yesterday with the priest, who is supposed to be a spectacular man. France is no longer France.”Sorry to say, Mr Trump, but it is.And it’s largely because the majority French people defiantly won’t allow themselves to fall victim to the kind of reaction Trump would call for in the aftermath of a series of devastating terror attacks.No, France hasn’t closed its borders to Muslims.There have been some unsavoury incidents which saw some veil-wearing Muslim women verbally abused but the country’s five million Muslims are still free to wander the same streets as everyone else.There has been no walls put up around the banlieues – the poor suburbs home to mainly poor North African immigrant communities.There may be anger but communities have not turned on each other.

Source: Sorry Donald Trump, but ‘France IS still France’ – The Local

After rampages, Merkel says again: Wir schaffen das – The Local

“The period after Fukushima also wasn’t easy. But now it’s about a more fundamental question: Will the terrorists succeed in in destroying our values or are we strong enough to find the right answer? That is a big challenge for the whole society.”The security forces are doing everything they can to discover the full facts about the attacks, she stressed.The Chancellor also spoke of the concrete measures her government plans to take in response to the attacks, including a desire to create a central agency for information security which would have the ability to decode encrypted communications.“We will have to redouble efforts to deport people,” she said.She also pledged that weapons laws across Europe would be sharpened, further research into radicalization would be conducted, and stronger controls on what people do on the internet would be implemented.“We are talking about a huge litmus test, not just for Germany but for the whole of Europe.”

Source: After rampages, Merkel says again: Wir schaffen das – The Local

Nuclear accident: British Navy unloading weapons from nuclear submarine in Gibraltar | In English | EL PAÍS “Uh, ummm, nuke Brit sub crashes into merchant ship – and it is not front page news around the world?”

A British nuclear-powered submarine that sustained damage after colliding with a merchant vessel off Gibraltar a week ago is being stripped of its weapons.HMS Ambush will leave the British overseas territory “as soon as the ongoing work is completed,” said a spokesman for the Royal Navy, without specifying a date or the nature of the operation.But on Wednesday, a jib crane could be seen removing the Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Spearfish torpedoes and the Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the attack vessel, which returned to Gibraltar for examination after the collision on July 20.

Source: Nuclear accident: British Navy unloading weapons from nuclear submarine in Gibraltar | In English | EL PAÍS

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