Corporate globalisation is threatening the food rights of Indian people and the survival of its farmers.
Venezuela, harsh sentence for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez
The Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been convicted of inciting violence during the 2014 anti-governmental protests.
The Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, detained since February 2014, has been sentenced to 13 years, 9 months and 7 days in jail. He has been in fact convicted of inciting violence during the anti-government demonstrations at the beginning of 2014.
Lopez, 44 years old, is the founder of the Voluntad Popular political party that supported the movement called “La Salida”, which took to the street to ask the resignation of the president in office, the socialist Nicolas Maduro. The protest lasted 3 months, between February and May, and ended up in violence, causing the death of 43 people and hundreds of injured. According to the judges of the El Hitillo district, Caracas, “the declarations released by Lopez through media and social networks incited their supporters to violence, as well as not to recognise the country’s institutions”.
“If there is a conviction verdict, you will be more afraid of reading it than I listening to it, because you know I’m innocent,” said the Voluntad Popular leader during the hearing, according to a person attending it. In fact, his lawyers said they identified irregularities and lack of independence. An accusation the press couldn’t verify, since – according to France Presse – media were banned to enter the court during the hearing. A fact that raised the international community’s reaction: European Union spokesperson declared that the judges “didn’t provide the defence with adequate transparency guarantees”.
According to José Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division, it is “a scandal proving the lack of protection people criticising the government undergo”. And there’s who underlines how the conviction comes just a few months before the parliament elections, to be held on December the 6th, where the opposition seems to be the favourite, despite internal divisions. Lopez and his supporters aim to win the elections, and immediately approve an amnesty law for his release.
In Mexico, the lives of millions of farmed animals could potentially change for the better if a new law that aims to protect them is approved.
Ten years have passed since the 11 March 2011 disaster, but this chapter is far from over. Travelling through Fukushima, renewal and destruction can be seen side by side, sometimes separated only by a road.
An investigation by the Guardian reveals the staggering number of deaths among migrant workers in Qatar on building sites for the 2022 World Cup.
Recent attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria show that its hold is still strong. A look at the history and current status of the the extremist terrorist group.
The attack by the Mai-Mai militia which resulted in six Virunga National Park rangers losing their lives isn’t an isolated incident.
Activists hail the decision not to hold the 2023 World Anthropology Congress at a controversial Indian school for tribal children as originally planned.
This year has changed the face of humanity but could also mark the end of an unsustainable lifestyle. We look back at the top 10 news stories of 2020.
In Coronation, a documentary filmed by the people of Wuhan, the dissident Chinese artist documents the government’s rigid control during lockdown.