A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mandalay to Montevideo
Continue reading...Category Archives: India
Covid live news: England’s R number rises to between 0.8 and 1.1; Spain to scrap outdoor mask mandate
UK health agency says number of cases each day could be rising; Spain introduced mandate in December to combat Omicron
- As Omicron peaks, US healthcare system left ‘broken beyond repair’
- Record Covid cases in Russia and Ukraine complicate conflict situation
- Austria passes vaccine mandate, but questions linger over enforcement
- World faces ‘bumpy, difficult’ Covid transition, says senior scientist
Bulgaria reported 8,142 new Covid infections yesterday, public broadcaster BNT reports, taking the country’s 7-day average to 8,134 cases a day.
That’s near last week’s peak of over 12,000, as Omicron has jolted infections up to record levels recently. There are 6,124 Covid patients in hospital.
In Missouri, the second worst state in the country for hospitalizations, 79% of the hospitals are under extreme stress. At Mercy hospital in Springfield, in the south-western part of the state, about 28% of their hospitalizations are Covid-19 patients, according to Erik Frederick, the hospital’s chief administrative office. ...
“It creates a lot of stress on the healthcare system,” Frederick said.
Continue reading...Allegations of worker exploitation at ‘world’s greatest show’ in Dubai
Migrant workers employed at Expo 2020 allege confiscated passports, racial discrimination and withheld wages
Security guards, cleaners and hospitality staff at Dubai’s Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are allegedly working in highly abusive conditions that may amount to forced labour, according to a human rights group.
Migrant workers employed at the international fair in the UAE – taking place now after being delayed by Covid – allege they have been forced to pay illegal recruitment fees, suffered racial discrimination and had wages withheld and passports confiscated, said the report by Equidem.
Continue reading...India homeless shiver through New Delhi cold snap as scores die from exposure
City records coldest January day in nearly a decade while temperatures across month plummet 2-6C below normal
India’s capital, New Delhi, is shivering through an unusually harsh bout of winter cold, blamed for killing scores of homeless people and leaving other hard-up residents struggling to keep warm.
The sprawling city’s 20 million inhabitants are accustomed to year-round weather extremes, from blistering summer heat to torrential downpours and thick, toxic smog at the end of autumn.
Continue reading...Cut the cussing: the Indian man on a mission to end sexist swearing
Many swear words in India, as elsewhere, have one thing in common – they target and shame women. Sunil Jaglan wants to empower women and end the culture of profanities
On a cold January afternoon, women gather on the veranda of a government-run nursery in Sarmathla village in the north Indian state of Haryana. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, they are eager to hear the visiting speaker.
The men and boys of the village mill about, reluctant to join the women, until Satyaprakash, a social worker, encourages them to sit on the chairs provided. “Please, join us tauji [uncle], today’s programme is about gaali [swear words],” he says.
Continue reading...Workers paid less than minimum wage to pick berries destined for UK supermarkets
Exclusive: Workers in Portugal picking berries ending up on the shelves of Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Tesco allege exploitative conditions
- Photographs by Francesco Brembati for the Guardian
Farm workers in Portugal appear to have been working illegally long hours picking berries destined for Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Waitrose for less than the minimum wage, according to a Guardian investigation.
Speaking anonymously, for fear of retribution from their employers, workers claimed the hours listed on their payslips were often fewer than the hours they had actually worked.
Continue reading...Kill the Bill and period protests: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Cambodia to Costa Rica
Continue reading...Kerala nun who lost rape case against bishop deluged by letters of support
Activists, artists, film-makers and nuns across India write to 50-year-old after court clears Franco Mulakkal
Hundreds of letters of support have poured in for a nun in Kerala after a court acquitted a bishop accused of raping and abusing her over two years, in the first case of its kind to hit the Indian Catholic church.
The handwritten letters from activists, artists, journalists, film-makers and fellow nuns across India have expressed outrage at last week’s court verdict that cleared Bishop Franco Mulakkal of all charges of sexual abuse after the judge said the victim, a 50-year-old nun, was not a “sterling witness”.
Continue reading...Female leadership is good for the world. Just look at Barbados
Mia Mottley is just one of a raft of strong women across the Caribbean and South America tackling society’s most pressing issues. The world could learn a lot from them
There is a common misconception that the developing world is full of archaic values and that women struggle to have their voices heard. The more countries I visit and the more female leaders I speak to, the more I am convinced the contrary is true.
In fact, those in positions of power worldwide could learn important lessons from these strong women when it comes to tackling some of society’s most pressing issues, including pandemics, the climate crisis, education and infrastructure.
Continue reading...Love jihad: India’s lethal religious conspiracy theory – video
The mutilated body of a 24-year-old Muslim, Arbaaz Aftab Mullah, was discovered on a railway track near his home. His family believe he was murdered because of his interfaith relationship with a Hindu woman and that he is one of the latest victims of the 'love jihad' conspiracy theory, which has swept across groups of Hindu nationalists in India. The theory claims that Muslim men are seducing Hindu women and luring them into marriage in order to convert them to Islam. The claims are baseless, yet the consequences are real
Continue reading...‘It’s a total disaster’: Omicron lays waste to India’s huge wedding season
Distraught couples face prospect of cutting guest lists from more than 600 people down to just 20 after coronavirus variant took hold
Until 28 December, Heena Vashisht was a happy bride-to-be. The 28-year-old was pleased her family had put in place early all the arrangements for her wedding on 10 February, right down to the last candle. But her plans have been shredded by India’s Omicron surge. The nuptials can go ahead in New Delhi as planned, but only if she cuts her guest list down from 650 to 20.
“My own immediate family is 80. How can I reduce the guests to 20? The tension in my family is unbearable right now. No one knows what to do and my mother’s blood pressure has shot up with all the tension,” says Vashisht.
Continue reading...Covid created 20 new ‘pandemic billionaires’ in Asia, says Oxfam
While wealthiest got richer, 140m people fell into poverty as jobs were lost, wiping out years of gains for poorest, report finds
Twenty new “pandemic billionaires” have been created in Asia thanks to the international response to Covid-19, while 140 million people across the continent were plunged into poverty as jobs were lost during the pandemic, according to Oxfam.
A report by the aid organisation says that by March 2021, profits from the pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and services needed for the Covid response had made 20 people new billionaires as lockdowns and economic stagnation destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of others.
Continue reading...Desmond Tutu’s funeral and Kazakhstan clashes: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to Hong Kong
Continue reading...Covid live: France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Netherlands report record daily cases as Omicron surges
France reports 335,000 new Covid cases as Italy, Portugal, Netherlands and Turkey all see record cases
- Macron rebuke to unvaccinated citizens incurs anger in parliament
- Covid ‘vaccination doubt line’ taking 1,000 calls a day in Netherlands
- China’s locked down cities pay price of zero-Covid strategy
- Omicron fuels India third wave, Mumbai prepares for ‘tsunami’ of cases
India is reporting 58,097 new Covid cases, twice the number seen only four days ago, according to health ministry data.
Wednesday’s figure takes the cumulative total to more than 35 million.
Continue reading...Kashmir stampede at Hindu shrine kills at least 12 people
Night-time tragedy at revered site in Indian-administered Kashmir happened as thousands of pilgrims massed to offer prayers
At least 12 people have died and 13 were injured in a stampede at a religious shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir as thousands of pilgrims massed to offer prayers.
The disaster happened around 3am on New Year’s Day while it was still dark on the route to the Vaishno Devi shrine, one of the area’s most revered Hindu sites.
Continue reading...Protests over Cristiano Ronaldo statue in former Portuguese colony of Goa
Local politician says statue is meant to inspire young people, but critics say it is inappropriate
He is idolised as one of the greatest footballers on earth, with his number seven shirt treasured by millions of youngsters dreaming of superstardom. But Cristiano Ronaldo’s astonishing success has not been matched by those seeking to immortalise his image.
A statue of Ronaldo in action unveiled this week in Goa has triggered protests by some locals who say Indian players should be honoured ahead of one from the country that was Goa’s colonial ruler until 60 years ago.
Continue reading...‘Families want a son at any cost’: the women forced to abort female foetuses in India
Laali and Meenakshi’s unborn daughters are among the country’s 46 million ‘missing’ women and girls over the past 50 years
Laali was alone at home when she realised her legs were drenched in blood. The bleeding did not stop for eight hours. As she fell unconscious, the 25-year-old thought she would die alongside the foetus she was losing.
She had been three months pregnant when she was taken for prenatal sex determination. “When I learned it was a girl, I started feeling as though I was suffocating,” she says.
Continue reading...Jesus statue smashed in spate of attacks on India’s Christian community
Amid growing intolerance to India’s Christian minority, several Christmas events were targeted by Hindu right wing groups
Festive celebrations were disrupted, Jesus statues were smashed and effigies of Santa Claus were burned in a spate of attacks on India’s Christian community over Christmas.
Amid growing intolerance and violence against India’s Christian minority, who make up about 2% of India’s population, several Christmas events were targeted by Hindu right wing groups, who alleged Christians were using festivities to force Hindus to convert.
Continue reading...The world on screen: the best movies from Africa, Asia and Latin America
From a Somali love story to a deep dive into Congolese rumba, Guardian writers pick their favourite recent world cinema releases
The Great Indian Kitchen
Continue reading...‘It’s so liberating’: India’s first salon run by transgender men
Founder Aryan Pasha wants La Beauté & Style to be an inclusive and comfortable space, as well as tackle prejudice and provide employment
The beauty treatments listed at the new La Beauté & Style salon are much the same as those offered by the dozen or so other parlours that dot the traffic-heavy Dilshad Extension area of Ghaziabad, 17 miles (28km) east of Delhi. But that is where the similarity ends.
The wall behind the reception desk is painted in rainbow colours; a mural of a trans man with flowing multicoloured locks decorates another wall; a woman wearing a sari is having her eyebrows plucked next to a trans man who is telling a stylist how he would like his hair cut.
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