It pays to use slave labour, says watchdog
Gangmasters Licensing Authority is dismayed at tiny fines levied on unscrupulous employers
EMILY DUGAN SUNDAY 23 JUNE 2013
Sentences for criminal bosses who use forced labour are “unduly lenient” and do not deter modern slavery, the head of Britain’s worker exploitation watchdog believes.
Sentences for criminal bosses who use forced labour are “unduly lenient” and do not deter modern slavery, the head of Britain’s worker exploitation watchdog has told The Independent on Sunday.
The fines for agencies and farmers exploiting staff are so small that they are seen as a “hazard of the job” and not a deterrent, Paul Broadbent, chief executive of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority said in an interview.
Turkey’s crowds return, armed only with flowers
JUSTIN HUGGLER ISTANBUL SUNDAY 23 JUNE 2013
Unrest gripped Turkey again last night as tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Istanbul, and police answered them with tear gas, water cannon and clubs.
In Taksim Square, unarmed protesters tried to stop an advancing water cannon truck – at one point even trying to hold it back with their arms. Another protester brandished a handful of carnations at the driver, as if in rebuke. Across the square, a tearful woman angrily asked police why they had attacked protesters again. A police officer pushed her violently aside. A man tried to stand still, in a new tactic adopted by protesters, but riot police, their shields up, pushed him to the ground before one started beating him when he tried to stand up again.
The myth behind Brazil’s Lula is crumbling
CIVIL SOCIETY
Widespread anti-government protests in Brazil have damaged the once stellar image of the country’s ruling Worker’s Party and its former head Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. President Dilma Rousseff faces continued criticism.
The mass protests across Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and the capital, Brasilia, forced President Rousseff to address the country on national television late Friday in an attempt to head off a deepening government crisis.
Following the storming of a foreign ministry building in the capital on Thursday (20.06.2013), the government clearly feared an escalation of violence in the midst of the high-profile Confederations Cup soccer tournament.
Al-Qaeda says European hostages are alive
23 June 2013 Last updated at 02:40 GMT
The BBC
Al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch says eight European hostages it is holding are alive.
In a statement on Twitter, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said it would soon release a video of the captives.
Five of the hostages are said to be French, the nationalities of the others are not clear.
The statement came after rallies were held across France organised by families of four of the hostages.
The events in Paris, Saint-Cere, Nimes, Nantes and Orleans marked 1,000 days of their captivity.
Should African-American history have its own museum?
23 June 2013 Last updated at 00:49 GMT
By Jane O’Brien
BBC News, WashingtonA new museum in the US capital will highlight the history and culture of African Americans. But does displaying these artefacts separately contribute to a culture of segregation?
This week, the US Supreme Court is expected to make a decision about the legality of affirmative action programmes that allow universities to consider race as a factor in admissions.
Detractors argue that affirmative action is unnecessary in modern America and contributes to discrimination. Proponents say the programmes remain a vital way to counter centuries of racism and inequality in America.
Just blocks away from the Supreme Court in Washington DC, a similar debate is going on about a shawl, some shards of glass, and other historic artefacts.
Malaysia declares emergency as Indonesia smoke pollution thickens
Reuters
Malaysia declared a state of emergency in two parts of the southern state of Johor on Sunday as smoke from land-clearing fires in Indonesia pushed air pollution above the level considered hazardous.
The illegal burning of forests and other land on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, to the west of peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, to clear space for palm oil plantations is a chronic problem during the June-September dry season.
The “haze” caused by fires in Riau province on Sumatra has also shrouded neighboring Singapore but air quality in the city state improved over the weekend after reaching hazardous levels there.
“Prime Minister Najib Razak has agreed to declare emergency status in Muar and Ledang with immediate effect,” Malaysian Natural Resources and Environment Minister G. Palanivel said in a Facebook post.
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