LGBT bullying in Japan schools; Saudi Arabia's appalling rights record; Ethiopia on Security Council; HRW Daily Brief

Plus: fallout from UK's decision to leave EU continues; Iran stadium ban for women; Pope apologizes to gays; Afghan refugees in Pakistan urged to go home; and how Russia flouts humanitarian law in Syria.

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LGBT youth in Japan face stifling physical and verbal harassment at school. With little protection from bullying, and no outlets to express themselves, Japan's LGBT school children turn to fiction for help. Openly gay comic (manga) characters help provide not only identity, but a safe space.
It might seem unlikely for a country that habitually abuses rights and commits wartime atrocities to simultaneously be a sitting member on the United Nations Human Rights Council, but Saudi Arabia is an example. Gross and systematic violations of human rights in Yemen, including indiscriminate shelling with cluster munitions and attacks on schools and hospitals are enough to get Saudi Arabia suspended from the Council, and the UN General Assembly should take a stand and do so immediately.
Another serial rights-abuser on the Human Rights Council is now also a member of the UN Security Council. Ethiopia is among Africa's leading jailers of journalists and is implicated in the deaths of hundreds during widespread protests in recent months.
Once again women in Iran are being denied the chance to purchase tickets to attend volleyball matches held in Iran. The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) should stand up for women's rights and stop preventing women from buying tickets, despite Iran's law banning them from stadiums.
From earlier today: At least 41 people have been killed and more than 140 injured in a shooting and suicide bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk international airport. Turkish authorities - who reportedly responded to the attack by blocking social media - say it appears Islamic State was behind the attack, but so far no group has claimed responsibility.
Burma’s new government should repeal or amend the many military and colonial-era laws used to criminalize peaceful speech and assembly in the country, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today. Broad and vaguely worded laws have created "thousand of political prisoners", the group has warned.
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