In the news today: Many members of Assad's inner circle are nowhere to be found; noncitizen voting in Ohio illustrates the gap between rhetoric and reality; and child labor is powering Nigeria's lithium boom. Also, mysterious googly eye vandalism has become a viral sensation. |
Bashar Assad waves to his supporters as he prepares to take the oath of office at the Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, July 17, 2021. (Syrian Presidency via Facebook via AP)
|
Many members of the ousted Syrian President's inner circle are nowhere to be found
|
After insurgents toppled President Bashar Assad this month, many senior officials and members of his dreaded intelligence and security services appear to have melted away. Activists say some of them have managed to flee the country while others went to hide in their hometowns. Read more. |
|
|
-
The Assad family has ruled Syria with an iron grip, locking up those who question their power in the country’s notorious prisons, where rights groups say inmates were regularly tortured or killed. The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham insurgent group, which led anti-government fighters who forced Assad from power, has vowed to bring those who carried out such abuses to justice and has said the group will ask foreign countries to hand over any suspects.
But finding those responsible for abuses could prove difficult. According to two Lebanese security officials and a judicial official, some 8,000 Syrian citizens have entered Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing recently, and about 5,000 have left the neighboring country through Beirut’s international airport.
-
Most of those are presumed to be regular people. Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said earlier this week that no Syrian official entered Lebanon through a legal border crossing. But Rami Abdurrhaman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says several senior officers have made it to Lebanon using travel documents with fake names.
|
|
|
Rhetoric and reality diverge in cases of noncitizen voting
|
Before the November presidential election, Ohio’s secretary of state and attorney general announced investigations into potential voter fraud that included people suspected of casting ballots even though they were not U.S. citizens. It coincided with a national Republican messaging strategy warning that potentially thousands of ineligible voters would be voting. In the end, their efforts led to just a handful of cases. Read more.
|
|
|
-
Of the 621 criminal referrals for voter fraud that Secretary of State Frank LaRose sent to the attorney general, prosecutors have secured indictments against nine people for voting as noncitizens over 10 years — and one was later found to have died. That total is a tiny fraction of Ohio’s 8 million registered voters and the tens of millions of ballots cast during that period.
The Associated Press attended in-person and virtual court hearings for three of the Ohio defendants over the past two weeks. Each of the cases involved people with long ties to their community who acted alone, often under a mistaken impression they were eligible to vote. They now find themselves facing felony charges and possible deportation.
- The outcome and the stories of those now facing charges illustrate the gap between the rhetoric about noncitizen voting and the reality: It’s rare, is caught and prosecuted when it does happen and does not occur as part of a coordinated scheme to throw elections.
|
|
|
In Nigeria’s lithium boom, many mines are illegal and children do much of the work
|
The growing demand for lithium has created a new frontier for mining in mineral-rich Nigeria. But it has come with a steep cost, exploiting its poorest and most vulnerable: its children. Their work, mostly in small-scale mines and unsafe sites, often provides material for Chinese businesses that dominate Nigeria’s laxly regulated extractive industry and are often blamed for illegal mining and labor exploitation. Read more.
|
|
|
-
The International Labour Organization estimates more than 1 million children work in mines and quarries worldwide, a problem particularly acute in Africa, where poverty, limited access to education and weak regulations add to the problem.
The Chinese embassy in Abuja said Chinese mining companies in Nigeria “operate in line with local laws and regulations.” Nigeria has laws requiring basic education and prohibiting child labor, but enforcement is a challenge, with many illegal mines in hard-to-reach areas. Corruption among regulatory and law enforcement officials is also a problem. The government said it’s pursuing reforms that would toughen laws.
|
|
|
A pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend, Ore. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP)
|
Mysterious googly eyes go viral after appearing on public art in Oregon
Googly eyes have been appearing on sculptures around the central Oregon city of Bend, delighting many residents and sparking a viral sensation. |
|
|
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
|
| |
|
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
|
| |
|
*Advertisers have no control over editorial decisions or content. If you're interested in advertising, contact us here. |
|
|
|
