News Clips- August 4, 2017

The United Nations Security Council discusses the situation in Syria
Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Civil Society

  • This week, a source confirmed that the government of Syria executed activist and Internet entrepreneur, Bassel Khartabil Safadi, in October 2015. [Washington Post]
  • On Thursday, it was reported that activists launched a public appeal asking the prince of Saudi Arabia to dismiss terrorism-related offenses against 14 Shiite men. [Washington Post]
  • On Tuesday, two Venezuelan opposition leaders were taken into custody by security forces as a part of an alleged “expanded crackdown on dissent.” [Washington Post]
  • On Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights rejected a request for release from prison by two Turkish teachers with reportedly grave health conditions connected to their hunger strike, citing no “imminent risk to their lives.” [Al Jazeera]
  • This week, two major companies, Apple and Amazon, removed apps used to circumvent censorship in China. [Washington Post]

Migrants, Refugees, & Asylum Seekers

Politics

  • On Wednesday, the polling company in charge of the election of the Venezuelan political assembly reported that the election results were manipulated and inaccurate by at least one million votes. [Washington Post]
  • On Monday, a week before Kenya’s presidential election, Christopher Msando, an election official, was found tortured and killed. [Associated Press]
  • On Friday, Leo Varadkar was elected prime minister of Ireland; in addition to being the youngest leader of the country, he is also Ireland’s first gay and first ethnic minority prime minister. [Guardian]