Excluded Headlines: Duterte arrested, repression of retirees' mass protest in Argentina, massacres in Syria, Nestlé employee in Pakistan dies by suicide ...
Stay up to date on the Global South news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlook, with author and journalist, Tamara Pearson.
In this week’s Global South news:
Ex-Philippines president Duterte arrested, sent to Hague - Duterte will face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court over his brutal “war on drugs,” during which police extrajudicially killed thousands of people. For many locals, including Filipino activist Walden Bello, the arrest is “a monumental step in the dispensation of justice. I mean, we are talking about a killer, a person who killed at least 27,000 people over his six years, plus many more, while he was mayor of Davao City down south.” Source, source, source, source
Soccer fans join retirees’ protest in Argentina, face strong repression - Retirees in Argentina have been protesting the right-wing, social cut-back policies of Milei for weeks, and on Wednesday they protested in the capital, demanding higher pensions. This time large groups of soccer fans and club members also joined the protests, and police used shot guns and water hoses. They arrested over 100 people, and one journalist is in critical condition after police fired a tear-gas canister at his head, breaking it open. Many others were injured, with video footage showing police beating elderly people. Source, source, source, source, source.
Spate of massacres in Syria - The reported total number of people (mostly civilians) killed in a spate of massacres in Syria varies between over 1,000 to 7,000. The killing has targeted the Alawite religious minority (of which Assad’s family are members, but not all Alawite people supported him). Starting last Thursday, shooters killed some 200 members of the new government’s security forces, then those forces and others raided Alawite villages in retaliation. Source, source, source, source, source.
Syrian govt, Kurds sign agreement to integrate institutions - The Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of Syrian Kurdistan have agreed to fully integrate into Syria’s state institutions under a new deal. The deal includes a ceasefire, recognition of the Kurds as an Indigenous community, and that all civilian and military institutions in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) will come under the authority of the state. Source, source.
Nestlé employee in Pakistan dies by self-immolation after decade-long battle for workers’ rights - Mohammad Asif Javed Jutt set himself on fire in Lahore’s high court. He had worked for Nestlé for 16 years, before he tried to form a union, and was fired for doing so. He went to the labour court, and then the transnational dragged his case on for nine years. Source.
Sudan healthcare system struggling - Three or four people are sharing beds in hospitals, as others are turned away. Since the war began almost two years ago, 122 health workers have been killed, and 136 medical facilities have been damaged. Some 15 million people are displaced, and an estimated total of 30 million needing humanitarian aid. Source, source.
Protests for women’s and trans and nb rights around the world - Many countries in the Global South held massive protests for women’s rights on the weekend. Just a few examples: hundreds of thousands marched in Mexico, with an estimated 200,000 in the capital alone, thousands of women protested and danced in Lagos, Nigeria, and in La Paz, Bolivia, women chanted, “They kill us, rape us, and the state does nothing.” Source, source, source, source.
Useful reads
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“No war and no peace”: Gaza’s ongoing suffocation (first hand account).
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Rojava After Assad: Where Next for the Kurdish Struggle? (podcast)
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