Migrant crisis: Concern rises as EU-Turkey deal looms
- 2 April 2016
- Europe
There is growing concern over a lack of preparation for the plan to send migrants back from Greece to Turkey, two days before it goes into effect.
A BBC correspondent who has been to one of the registration sites in Turkey says there are few signs it is ready.
The UN and rights groups have expressed fears about migrant welfare and whether some may be forced back into Syria.
The EU-Turkey deal is aimed at easing the uncontrolled mass movement of people into Europe.
Under the deal, migrants arriving illegally in Greece are expected to be sent back to Turkey from 4 April if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.
An EU official said it was hoped that several hundred would be returned on Monday.
Russia claims Turkish NGOs are 'main supplier' of extremists in Syria
Russia has accused Turkey of using three humanitarian organizations to funnel weapons and supplies to IS and other jihadist groups in Syria. Moscow also called for Turkey close the porous border to extremists.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Friday sent a letter to the UN Security Council saying three Turkish humanitarian organizations were fronts for the country's intelligence service to send weapons and supplies to extremists in Syria.
"The main supplier of weapons and military equipment to ISIL fighters is Turkey, which is doing so through non-governmental organizations," Churkin said in a letter dated March 18, referring to the self-declared "Islamic State" (IS) group by another acronym, ISIL.
Churkin accused the Besar Foundation, the Iyilikder Foundation and the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms (IHH) of shipping "various supplies" on behalf of Turkey's MIT intelligence agency.
Gay couple in Morocco tortured... then imprisoned for defending themselves
A video showing a gay couple being tortured has provoked widespread condemnation throughout Morocco, where attacks against homosexuals are on the rise. But perhaps the most shocking part is the way in which the authorities reacted.
Taken by one of the four attackers, the amateur video shows two men, naked and bleeding, being beaten and humiliated in their home in Beni Mellal, a town in the centre of Morocco. The footage was filmed in early March, but the video only appeared online at the end of the month.
Turkey's all-women news agency works for change in the Middle East
A Turkish news agency run entirely by women takes a bold stand for gender equality and press freedom in a region that suppresses both.
Journalists have long been the targets of harassment and even death threats in Turkey. Yet one Turkish news organization is persisting despite tenacious setbacks.
Its website has been blocked four times for "supporting terrorism," and one reporter served three months in jail for covering a political demonstration. But the agency's aim goes one step beyond media freedom — it wants to give women a larger voice in the region by emphasizing and prioritizing their stories.
The Jin News Agency (JINHA) is completely staffed by women, offering news coverage of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria in multiple languages. ("Jin" means "woman" in Kurdish.) It's a strong mandate in a region known for its gender inequality that is also staggering under the weight of conflict.
Israel's debate over an execution in Hebron mirrors America's debate over Ferguson
Updated by Max Fisher
If you want to see the Israel-Palestine conflict in its purest and most crushing manifestation, the place you go is Hebron.
The West Bank city has been divided, since 1997, by an arrangement that grants 20 percent of the land to a handful of Jewish settlers, who walk through their eerily empty streets primarily to express their claim, guarded by bored-looking Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinian section feels livelier but besieged; residents describe the daily torments and humiliations of life under occupation. Chicken wire has been strung up over the Palestinian market to prevent Israeli settlers from throwing down garbage. Families move slowly and cautiously through IDF checkpoints. Young Palestinian men, often angry and unemployed, loiter nearby.
Why marital rape is not a punishable offense in India
Nandita (name changed) was from a traditional, well-to-do Indian family. As is customary, she was married off at 18. When Nandita moved to her husband’s home, her dreams of building a new life turned into a nightmare.
On her wedding night, her husband tied her up to the bedpost and brutally raped her. Without any remorse, the man admitted that it has been his lifelong fantasy to rape his wife on his wedding night.
Nandita survived 12 long years of bad marriage, and the violence continued even during her pregnancy. Whenever she refused to oblige, her husband would kick her on her swollen stomach.
“I had a cocooned existence before I got married. After marriage, I was subject to violence and never knew there could be love between a man and a woman. My mother always made sure that I return home from college before dark. She would never let me go partying. I was allowed to mix only with girls. My parents were perpetually scared of sexual predators all around but they never knew that the man they meticulously chose for me would turn out to be a sexual abuser,” Nandita said.
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