Guns for hire

Hundreds of fighters from Chad and Sudan's Darfur region are feeding off instability in Libya, battling for rival factions, seeking to build rebel movements and engaging in banditry and arms trafficking, Geneva-based researchers said on Tuesday.  Failure to secure peace deals and reintegrate rebels in Chad and Sudan has led to a "market for cross-border combatants" linking those two countries and Libya, said a report by the Small Arms Survey group.  Reuters

Trying to fill a book, obvs

Two interesting, unsettling pieces from the Washington Post and the Atlantic about what happens to unaccompanied minors after they get to the US, how they relate (and sometimes contribute to) gang violence in the US, and the ongoing debate about whether it's better to let some 'bad' ones in to protect the majority good, or to just close the door on all of them. Particularly disturbing are findings from several investigations into the Office of Refugee Resettlement at DHS, which include children being placed with human traffickers and people convicted of child molestation, as well as a total lack of follow-up care and services.   MS-13 gains recruits and power in U.S. as teens surge across border (WaPo) What Trump Doesn't Understand about MS-13 (The Atlantic) Additionally, there is the murder of a girl in Northern Virginia earlier this year.  This story is truly hair-raising.  I'm only sharing because the details of how/why both the girl and her mother left El Salvador (10 years apart),the girl's journey to the US with a coyote (including time in a Mexico detention center), and how she ended up as a statistic in the US illuminate the need for stronger protection systems and services in both El Salvador and the US.  Protecting human rights is not just a question of law and law enforcement, it is also a matter of providing assistance -- social services, trauma treatment, accompaniment, etc.  The US has laws, it has strong law enforcement, but it often drops the ball with the more human aspect of human rights, something to consider in our own programming. She thought she’d saved her daughter from MS-13 by smuggling her to the U.S. She was wrong. (WaPo)

'Those who have lived in prolonged situations of violence may have forgotten -- or may never have learned -- the norms of a civilized society'

The country itself is young, having split from Sudan only in 2011. But years of conflict in Sudan, and a four-year civil war within the brand-new nation, have severely damaged the social and institutional fabric in ways that endanger basic human rights, particularly children’s. And a generation raised amid violence and fear faces particular challenges down the road, from psychological recovery, to education, to economic productivity.  Christian Science Monitor

Build a moat around the Ivory Tower

Authorities in north-eastern Nigeria have begun digging a 27km (17 mile) trench around the University of Maiduguri to prevent attacks by Boko Haram Islamist militants. On Sunday three suicide bombers attacked the university killing themselves and a security guard.  BBC

I like good-news hacking stories

A security researcher developed a script to bombard IRS scammers with phone calls 28 times per second, preventing their phone lines from making or receiving calls.  The researcher goes by the moniker YesItWasDataMined and hosts the YouTube channel Project Mayhem where they post voice recordings of scammers being bombarded with the automated recordings. YesItWasDataMined also developed a script to target scammers impersonating computer technicians from well-known companies to sell malware and or unnecessary services as well as telemarketers. So far, two videos have been posted to the account.  SC Magazine

Because that's how it works -- you just ask for your guns back, NBD.

U.S. will take weapons from Kurds after Islamic State defeat. The United States has told Turkey it will take back weapons supplied to the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria after the defeat of Islamic State, Ankara said on Thursday, seeking to address Turkish concerns about arming Kurds on its border. Turkish defense ministry sources said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also promised his Turkish counterpart to provide a monthly list of weapons handed to the YPG, saying the first inventory had already been sent to Ankara. Reuters

'So, you want a nice house in a good school district -- with or without teachers packing heat?'

Teachers are being trained to carry guns in classrooms in Colorado in order to protect children as part of a scheme motivated by a school massacre in 2012. The three-day course, which consists of firearms and medical training, was launched on Tuesday in Weld County.  BBC

Well, sure. That makes it easier to stamp out freedom of the press -- duh.

Several prominent journalists and activists in Mexico have filed a complaint accusing the government of spying on them by hacking their phones. The accusation follows a report in the New York Times that says they were targeted with spyware meant to be used against criminals and terrorists.  BBC

Did the world just recently hear about fences and that's why they sound so good?

Pakistan says it will soon begin building a fence along its volatile border with Afghanistan to improve security, a move that has sparked condemnations in Kabul.  The Pakistani Army said in a statement on June 20 that the first phase of fencing will focus on the Bajur, Mohmand, and Khyber tribal regions -- all regarded by authorities as areas prone to cross-border infiltration by various militant groups.  Radio Free Europe

Independence is hard.

What was once Bentiu, the gateway to South Sudan's oil fields, is now a cluster of bullet-riddled buildings and piles of scrap metal, its ghostly avenues abandoned.  Residents of the town have long since decamped to a well-ordered grid of mud dwellings ringed by sewage, where they live in wretched limbo after three years of war, too scared to leave.  Daily Nation

Could we at least *try* it before we spit it out?

Intense fighting in the Central African Republic killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more, dashing hopes for stability in the strife-torn country the day after the signing of a ceasefire deal.  The violence in the central town of Bria was between members of Christian 'anti-balaka' militias and fighters formerly belonging to a coalition of Muslim-majority rebel groups called the Seleka, aid and security sources said.  Daily Nation

That's b/c most ppl living in rich countries don't know this is happening

Amnesty International says rich countries have failed in their obligation to help Uganda support thousands of refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan.  Muthoni Wanyeki, an Amnesty official in East Africa, said in a statement that Uganda is under "incredible strain as funds dry up and thousands continue to cross from South Sudan every day."  News 24

Look at DRC's human rights record and consider whether this is in any way surprising

If they don't respect rights in the countries from which these soldiers come, why do we think they will behave any differently in situations of extreme vulnerability.   #modern-daymercenaries DRC to withdraw UN peacekeepers accused of misconduct.  More than 600 troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo serving as UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic will be returning home following allegations of sex abuse and other misconduct, UN officials said Monday.  The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will announce the withdrawal Tuesday during a news conference at the United Nations, officials told AFP.  News24 Case in point... The UN rights chief on Tuesday accused authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo of backing a new militia behind "horrific attacks" in the Kasai provinces, including killing and mutilating hundreds of civilians.  "I am appalled by the creation and arming of a militia, the Bana Mura, allegedly to support the authorities in fighting the Kamwina Nsapu (rebels)," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told the UN Human Rights Council.  Daily Nation More than 3,000 people have been killed in a remote region in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a new report from Congo's Catholic Church.  As NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports, the violence in the central Kasai region erupted last August, "when the military killed Kamuina Nsapu, a chief who was calling for government forces to leave the region." The Church has been trying to broker a peace deal. Here's more from Ofeibea: "Congo's Catholic Church says the army, seeking to put down the insurrection, destroyed ten villages. The church also accuses the Kamuina Nsapu militia of killing hundreds of people, destroying four villages and attacking church property in its anti-government campaign."  NPR And by 'in talks...on the fate of [DRC peacekeeping] troops,' I hope we mean, 'how soon they can leave and how many will be prosecuted,' not, ' do we really need to do anything about this...?' The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said he was in talks with authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the fate of its troops who are facing accusations of misconduct while serving as peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.  The UN officials told AFP that the 629 troops serving in the Minusca force will be withdrawn as a result of the allegations of sex abuse, corruption and poor discipline.  News 24

Welcome to the 20th Century, Texas. Would the 30 remaining states like to join them?

Texas Just Banned Child Marriage.  Texas passed a law to make marriage under age 18 illegal.   On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning child marriage, in the state with the second highest rate of underage marriage.  HuffPo

Better than getting injected with poison!

North Korea has accused the US authorities of "literally mugging" its diplomats at a New York airport.  A spokesman for the secretive state said its officials had been "robbed" of a diplomatic package at John F Kennedy Airport on Friday.  BBC

The mind boggles, the stomach turns (or churns with hunger, in the case of the thousands who depend on that assistance)

Up to half the food aid meant for people who have fled Nigeria's Islamist insurgency has reportedly not been delivered, the government says.  It described it as a "diversion of relief materials", which correspondents say is a euphemism for theft.  BBC

Crime does not actually pay in this case, but it still costs a lot of money

El Salvador Loses $4B Annually because of Gang Micro-Extortions.  Although anywhere between US$5 and US$20 is taken in each shakedown, the combined total carves a significant chunk out of the national economy.  Micro-extortion from gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 is costing El Salvador's small business community US$4 billion each year. El Salvador's largest gang, MS-13, etches out a meager existence through micro-extortion, according to an investigation by El Faro and The New York Times. Micro-extortions earn the organization an annual revenue of just over US$31 million. With about 40,000 gang members, an equal division of the funds amounts to about US$65 a month.  An agricultural day laborer makes twice that amount monthly, according to QZ.  TeleSur

Right and wrong are not always in separate spaces

War in El Salvador strikes Apalachicola  THE ISSUE: An El Salvadorian man who lived as a legal resident of Apalachicola for more than 20 years, raising a family, working as a grocer, was deported last week on the grounds he committed human rights violations during a civil war there 30 years ago. THE IMPACT: A community tries to make sense of how and why an upstanding citizen who sought a clean break from his past is answering for it now.  The blood of a brutal civil war in Latin America more than three decades ago spilled into the heart of Apalachicola last week, with the deportation of a well-respected local grocer on the grounds he committed war crimes while a young soldier in his native El Salvador.  Apalachicola and Caribelle Times

Just sad, all of it.

The gunman who wounded a top Republican congressman and several others during an early morning baseball practice had apparently been living out a white cargo van for months and was frequently seen working on a computer at a nearby YMCA, where he kept mostly to himself.  James T. Hodgkinson shot House Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday before he was fatally shot by police who had been guarding the House majority whip on the Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field, officials said.  Associated Press

DC ain't Turkey (yet)

Two men have been arrested in connection to a brawl between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security guards and protesters in Washington and charges are planned against a dozen guards, officials said on June 14.  The melee outside the Turkish ambassador's residence during Erdogan's visit to the United States last month strained U.S.-Turkish relations. Eleven people were hurt in what Washington's police chief described as a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters.  Radio Free Europe

Sending a consistent message

A $12 billion deal to buy Boeing F-15 U.S. fighter jets shows Qatar has deep-rooted support from Washington, a Qatari official said on Thursday, adding that its rift with some other Arab states had not hurt the U.S. relationship with Doha.  Qatar is facing a severe economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies who cut ties last week, accusing it of funding terrorist groups, a charge Doha denies.  Reuters

Give it a go

Kazakhstan has introduced a theologians' service in penitentiaries to prevent inmates' from being radicalized.  The Central Asian nation's state corrections service said on June 13 that the service was introduced to curb the spreading of radical Islamist ideology, extremism, and terrorism among inmates.  Radio Free Europe

Whodunnit?

The estranged wife of Lesotho's incoming prime minister was gunned down just two days before his inauguration, his party and police said on Thursday, creating confusion ahead of the handover of power.  Thomas Thabane's wife Lipolelo, 58, was shot dead in the Ha Masana village, 35km south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend on Wednesday.  News 24

Unpardonable crimes

The United Nations has documented dozens of cases of serious child abuse including rape and kidnap in five days of violence by Congolese militias, it said Wednesday.  The UN's mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, said it had recorded 62 cases of "serious" child abuse by armed groups in the violence-wracked east, and by followers of slain militia leader Kamwina Nsapu in the country's center, between June 5 and 9.  News 24

Not on the same page

Pakistan's military chief is sharply criticizing a suspected U.S. drone strike that killed two key Haqqani network commanders in northwestern Pakistan earlier this week.  Pakistani security sources said Tuesday's pre-dawn missile attack destroyed a suspected militant hideout in the remote district of Hangu.  VOA  Meanwhile.... U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. administration was reviewing all policy options and aid for Pakistan, as House lawmakers criticized the U.S approach toward Islamabad.  Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on June 14 that Washington had "very complex relations with Pakistan."  Radio Free Europe

Coyotes= 'Social Service Providers'

Salvadoran ‘Coyote’: Smuggling of migrants is “social work”  A Coyote does an “honest job similar to an NGO, but charging a fee because he is a businessman” said a 32 year-old Salvadoran who has been engaged in the smuggling of migrants from El Salvador to the United States for four years.  MSN  (en espanol)

(Not so) Universal human rights

Bahrain lawyer arrested for suing over Qatar blockade.  A prominent human rights lawyer in Bahrain has been arrested after launching a lawsuit against the government over its restrictions imposed on neighboring Qatar.  Issa Faraj Arhama al-Burshaid was detained after challenging Manama's sanctions, which include blocking Qataris from staying in the country along with other economic penalties.  Al Jazeera

Building like it's 1099?

A deadly night-time fire raced through a 24-story apartment tower in London early Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more. Some desperate residents threw their children from high windows, hoping someone on the ground would catch them.  Associated Press

Let me consult my dictionary...

Ramadan: Protests after Tunisia jails five men for 'indecency' after they ate during day.  Dozens of people have gathered in the capital of Tunisia to protest for the right not to fast during Ramadan, following the arrests of several abstainers.  Demonstrators from the group Mouch Bessif, meaning ‘not against our will’ in Arabic, held a peaceful protest in the central square in Tunis, asking the country’s government to relax its stance on those who decline to observe the fast.  Independent UK

Predictable. Also, Mother Mushroom is a great name.

Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom, the Vietnamese blogger who received the International Women of Courage Award from first lady Melania Trump in March has been formally charged by the Hanoi government for the very activities that earned her the honor, VOA Vietnamese reported.  The government charged Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, aka Mother Mushroom, with three criminal counts under Article 88 — "conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."  VOA

And Duterte says...?

U.S. troops are on the ground near Marawi City in the southern Philippines, but are not involved in fighting Islamist militants who have held parts of the city for more than three weeks, a Philippines military spokesman said on Wednesday.  The Philippines military has previously said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the occupation of parts of Marawi City by fighters allied to the Islamic State group, but it had no boots on the ground.  Reuters

No, sorry -- even foreign diplomats may not exploit and beat their hired help in the US

Bangladesh said on Wednesday the arrest of one of its diplomats in New York on charges of labor trafficking and assault appeared to be a violation of an international treaty on the treatment of diplomats.  Mohammad Shahedul Islam, the deputy consul general of Bangladesh Consulate General in New York was indicted on Monday on charges of labor trafficking and assault for forcing his domestic helper to work without pay through threats and intimidation.  Channel News Asia