10 Min Read
(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At least half of London’s boroughs have bought and deployed China-made surveillance systems linked to the abuse of Uighurs, according to data exclusively given to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, raising alarm among privacy advocates and lawmakers.
Freedom of information requests filed in late 2020 with all 32 London councils and the next 20 largest UK city councils found about two-thirds owned technology made by two Chinese companies accused of links to the repression of Uighurs.
At least 28 councils owned technology made by Hikvision, the world’s largest purveyor of video surveillance systems and vendor to Xinjiang police agencies, revealed data obtained by digital rights researcher Samuel Woodhams and seen exclusively by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
(Corrects name of organization in paragraph 26)
TOKYO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Ayumi lost her part-time job at a restaurant last summer, she ended up relying on rice and pre-packaged fare delivered once a month by a food bank to her college campus in Tokyo.
“I cut my meals to once a day, in mid-afternoon,” the 22-year-old said. “Many friends were in the same boat – they worked at eateries that were hit because of the coronavirus.”
As job losses surge due to the pandemic, demand for food handouts has skyrocketed in Japan, prompting the government to release stockpiled rice to charities for the first time last May. Another expanded programme started this month.
CORRECTED-FEATURE-Pandemic puts pressure on Japan to open up rice stockpile to charities Reuters 2/17/2021
(Corrected name of organisation in paragraph 26) Pandemic highlights often-overlooked poverty in Japan Government releases stockpiled rice to charities for first time Calls to ease rules over distributing rice to the needy
By Chang-Ran Kim and Izumi Nakagawa
TOKYO, Feb 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Ayumi lost her part-time job at a restaurant last summer, she ended up relying on rice and pre-packaged fare delivered once a month by a food bank to her college campus in Tokyo. I cut my meals to once a day, in mid-afternoon, the 22-year-old said. Many friends were in the same boat – they worked at eateries that were hit because of the coronavirus.
A baby left without a nationality after she was born in Spain to a same-sex couple from Bulgaria and Gibraltar is at the centre of a test case to be heard by the European Union's top court on Tuesday.
3 Min Read
(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly six out of 10 voters in the United States said the Biden administration should work directly with China to address climate change, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The poll released by the Asia Society Policy Institute and Data for Progress found 56% of respondents wanted cooperation with China on climate change, seeing it as more important than all other issues bar nuclear disarmament, including COVID-19.
President Joe Biden has put climate at the heart of his domestic and foreign policy, including rejoining the global Paris Agreement and naming former Secretary of State John Kerry as the U.S. special climate envoy.