Syria's stranded; Thailand school bomb; Mercury menace: HRW Daily Brief

Plus: Syria government accused of fresh chlorine attack in Aleppo; Zimbabwe judges under fire; Chechnya journalist jailed for 3 years; UK weapons sales to Saudi in the spotlight; child refugees; & violently preventing free elections in Cambodia...

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The United Kingdom has said it will assist in the construction of a 13-foot high wall in Calais, France, to stop people from entering the UK. The six richest countries in the world, which include the UK and France, host fewer than 9 percent of the refugees. As the international community grapples with how best to respond to the growing number of refugees and asylum seekers from conflict-torn countries, some governments simply seek to keep them out.
Most survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of United Nations peacekeepers have seen their abusers walk away with impunity. The UN’s oversight agency received 480 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers between 2008 and 2013. Thursday, defense ministers from around the globe will meet in London to discuss the 100,000 peacekeepers stationed to protect civilians in places torn apart by conflict.
Anti-government demonstrations in São Paulo, Brazil earlier this week, were said to attract 100,000 participants. But the police response included the use of force and detentions of protesters. Video of the protests show police beating protesters and firing rubber bullets, actions that Brazilian authorities should investigate immediately.
An Algerian court sentenced a man to prison for three years over a Facebook post that authorities said "insulted Islam." Algeria should respect the free speech and due process rights of citizens, and immediately release Bouhafs.
From earlier today: New satellite images released by Human Rights Watch today show the "dire situation" for tens of thousands of Syrians stranded at the Jordanian border. Scores of Syrians - mainly women and children - are stranded at Jordan's border without proper aid, and these haunting images suggest the humanitarian crisis there is getting worse, HRW said.
Staying with Syria, there are multiple reports that Syrian government helicopters have dropped barrel bombs containing chlorine on a suburb of Aleppo, injuring 80 people.

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