This site gathers links and commentary on what I think are useful news items that match my interests as a development journalist and communications researcher.
Eritrea accused of slavery and crimes against humanity
A U.N. Commission of Inquiry this month accused Eritrean officials of "crimes against humanity, including widespread and systematic enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, rape, murder and other inhumane acts".
Bronwyn Bruton, deputy director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, in Washington, described it as a "shoddy human rights report" in The New York Times. His argument: "It's Bad in Eritrea, but Not That Bad."
The G20 nations, self-proclaimed promoters of freer trade, have introduced unprecedented measures restricting trade and have seen "a notable rise in anti-trade rhetoric" since October 2015, the World Trade Organization notes in its latest monitoring report.
Business funding of public projects, including actions by Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, has come under cold scrutiny lately. Are the ideological purists missing the story? An auto company is underwriting a major international environmental project.
The Swiss web journal LeNews published a detailed article on migrants and crime in a discussion of a nationwide vote on 28 February to automatically expel foreigners convicted of serious crimes, including/plus theft, drug offences and fraud.
Le News asks: "Swiss vote to automatically expel foreign criminals. Sensible or perverse?" It doesn't have an either/or answer.
President Barack Obama promised to close Guantánamo prison on Cuban territory within a year on 22 January 2009. He repeated his vow in the latest State of the Union address. David Smith of the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper made a two-day Pentagon-controlled visit in February 2016. In the meantime, officials are digging in their heels against action.
ProPublica, the public-interest journalism site, is offering a Nonprofit Explorer webapp to check out non-governmental organizations in the U.S. for their spending, expenses, remuneration of officials and other financial details.