Today’s newsletter covers human trafficking in the Netherlands, seismic surveys in South Africa, the Russia-India military agreement, social media responsibility for trolling content in Australia, and more.
In the Netherlands, 50% of victims of human trafficking are victims of crime again within 7 years
Victims of human trafficking seem to end up in a cycle of violence and insecurity, the report alerts. Seventy-five percent of human trafficking reported cases are about sexual exploitation. Seventy-six percent of victims are women. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands made sexual exploitation less visible while it put light on forced labor when illegal workers lost their jobs.
In South Africa, Shell can use seismic airgun after legal action dismissed
Shell planned a seismic survey in the waters of South Africa in search of oil and gas. Unsuccessfully so far, environmental and human rights organizations tried to stop the operation. Seismic airgun blasting, a common but controversial technique used by energy companies, sends loud sound waves to study the Earth’s composition and find hydrocarbons.
Russia and India extend military agreement until 2031
Vladimir Putin met Narendra Modi on December 6. It’s only the second journey outside Russia for the president since the Covid-19 outbreak. It comes at a time when the first part of a $5.5 billion deal on a Russian military air defense system should be delivered in India soon. Ahead of the meeting between Russian and Indian top officials, the countries extended their military agreement until 2031. India will produce 600,000 AK-203 assault rifles. In regard to its defense strategy, India wants to work with both the United States and Russia.
Australia to make social networks potentially accountable for content
Australian authorities want the justice to be able to get the identity of users if they publish defamatory content. The government would make social media platforms legally liable if they refuse to provide the information. A recent High Court ruling considered owners of Facebook pages were responsible for comments on their pages. The implementation of such a law will not be short of challenges.
Somewhere else in the world…
- In the United States, Maryland homeowners burned down their home. They tried to smoke a snake infestation out. They used coals as the heat source for the smoke. But they were placed too close to combustible materials, which eventually set the house on fire.
- The richest 10% people emitted 48% of the world’s carbon emissions, according to the World Inequality Report.
- Spotify removed about 150 hours of content containing hate speech like racist, antisemitic or white supremacist beliefs.
- In Poland, French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said she would pay Poland’s fine from the European Union if she were elected. The European Court of Justice imposed a fine of €1 million a day on Poland for not respecting European laws. She also considered Ukraine is part of Russia’s sphere of influence and the EU should not meddle with it, she told Rzeczpospolita.
