Domestic workers are the economic backbone of HK but some of its worst-treated women
Updated 0456 GMT (1256 HKT) March 8, 2019
On February 17, Baby Jane Teodoro Allas, 38, was fired from her job as a domestic worker in Hong Kong while on sick leave.
The reason her employer gave for her dismissal was simple: "Diagnosed with cervical cancer."
"Given your medical condition, I am no longer able to continue your employment," read the letter. "Wish you good health."
Allas, who is from Palawan in the Philippines, says the firing was akin to a death sentence.
Foreign Office grants Zaghari-Ratcliffe diplomatic protection
Jeremy Hunt raises British-Iranian’s case to state dispute, meaning injury to her is now injury to UK
The Foreign Office (FCO) has escalated its conflict with Iran over the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe by granting her diplomatic protection, a step that raises her case from a consular matter to the level of a dispute between the two states.
The move, likely to lead to increased tensions between the two countries, came after the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, judged Tehran was not meeting its human rights obligations to the British-Iranian dual national under international humanitarian law. She has been in a Tehran jail for three years, after being sentenced to five years for spying.
Venezuela blackout: Government accuses opposition of 'sabotage' as country plunged into darkness by major electricity outage
Communications minister claims ring-wing extremists taking orders from US senator were behind blackout
Venezuela has been hit by a major blackout, which Nicolas Maduro's swiftly blamed on opposition “sabotage” of a hydroelectric dam.
The power outage hit 22 of 23 states and struck the capital of Caracas, which until now had been spared the worse of the national grid’s collapse.
Venezuela’s socialist government branded the outage an “electrical war” directed by the US. Pro-government officials have blamed past power outages on Venezuela’s opposition, accusing activists of attacking power substations with Molotov cocktails, though they rarely provide evidence.
Return of Elliott Abrams as special envoy on Venezuela
Thirty years a neocon provocateur
The latest assignment for Elliott Abrams, after decades of damaging Central American and Palestinian politics and people, is to be Trump’s fixer in the overthrow of Venezuela’s government.
by Eric Alterman
When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed the neoconservative provocateur Elliott Abrams as special envoy in charge of US policy designed to overthrow the government of Venezuela, the press treated the announcement as a statement of Pompeo’s independence from President Donald Trump. Pompeo’s predecessor, the hapless Rex Tillerson (formerly CEO of ExxonMobil), had hoped to hire Abrams as his deputy. But Trump refused to allow it, despite what was said to be vigorous lobbying by rightwing political funder Sheldon Adelson (who otherwise gets whatever he wants from Trump), because Abrams had joined other neoconservatives in denouncing Trump during the 2016 Republican primary. The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the effort, but Trump’s then advisor Steve Bannon convinced Trump to say no, not so much because of the attacks as because Trumpists considered Abrams to be a ‘globalist’.
Why Huawei faces slim odds in new US court fight
By Jan Wolfe
Huawei Technologies has opened up a new front in its battle with the US government by filing a lawsuit challenging a congressional ban on federal agencies' use of the Chinese technology company's products.
Legal experts said the firm is likely to lose its case because US courts tend to avoid second-guessing Congress' actions relating to national security, including the ban enacted in August as part of a defense spending bill.
But some lawyers said that Huawei might be hoping to score public relations points against the US government even if it knows its chances of winning are slim.
Paul Manafort: Ex-Trump campaign chief jailed for fraud
US President Donald Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort has been given a 47-month jail sentence for fraud.
He was convicted last year of hiding millions of dollars of income earned by his political consulting in Ukraine.
The charges stem from an inquiry into alleged Russian election meddling in the 2016 US elections.
None of Manafort's charges relate to collusion with Russia in the election. Mr Trump has always denied the charge, describing the inquiry as a witch hunt.
The 47-month sentence is far shorter than what was recommended by US Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
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