Syria Hopes for Truce; Bangladesh Factory Fire; Witch-hunt in Turkey: HRW Daily Brief
Syria Hopes for Truce; Bangladesh Factory Fire; Witch-hunt in Turkey
Plus: Hungary's anti-refugee referendum; Albania and safe schools; and more EU money for refugees in Greece.
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A massive purge in Turkey following the failed coup has hit everyone from country's most prominent writers to pop singers to students. The authorities have shut thousands of schools, businesses and foundations, and 14,000 teachers are to be suspended. In a public letter, leading authors have compared the crackdown to Senator Joe McCarthy’s witch-hunt aimed at suspected communists in America in the 1950s.
Today marks the beginning of the new cessation of hostilities deal in Syria that comes after weeks of negotiations by Russia and the US in Geneva. There is much skepticism around this deal, especially after the last cessation which was a total failure save for a few days of quiet in some parts of Syria. The killing has been continuing right up to the sunset deadline...
A deadly factory fire in Bangladesh has again raised concerns about lax safety standards and workers' rights.
As Hungary gears up for a national anti-refugee referendum, the government is pumping out ever more bizarre propaganda.
Albanians older than 40 know about militarized schools. For years during communism, children took time from classes to march, dig, and shoot in preparation for an onslaught from the “imperialist West” or “revisionist East.” This week they drew on that experience to help children in other countries keep their classrooms for learning.
Following publication of an HRW report on the appalling conditions migrant children face in detention in Greece, the EU has announced new funding for asylum seekers in the country.