“The arrest, abuse, and intimidation of journalists in Iraq’s Kurdish region are deeply concerning and reflect a broader pattern of hostility toward press freedom,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director. “Authorities must investigate these incidents transparently and ensure that journalists can report safely and without fear of retaliation or violence.”

In the early hours of July 9, Kurdish security forces, known as Asayish, arrested three journalists in Rovia, a subdistrict of the northern city of Duhok’s Bardarash area. The journalists — Taif Goran, a reporter for opposition-linked NRT TV; his camera operator, Rayan Sidqi; and Rizgar Kamil, a reporter for Westga News — had traveled to Erbil’s Khabat district to cover clashes between security forces and tribal fighters. After all journalists were blocked from entering the area, they returned to Rovia to broadcast live and were detained. They were released the afternoon of July 10, after more than 25 hours in custody.

Taif Goran told CPJ that at around midnight, during a live broadcast, five Asayish vehicles arrived and officers beat and blindfolded the journalists. “We were tortured and beaten as much as they could and pressured to quit journalism,” he said. “Later, we were moved to Bardarash and held in solitary cells that had been used as toilets, in 35-degree (95 F) heat with no ventilation or water for hours.”

Goran said they were forced to unlock their phones, which were returned on July 15 with all their data erased.

Kamil told CPJ that officers beat the men during the arrest and again at the Asayish office in the city of Rovia. “They called us traitors and chaotic,” he said. “My phone was reformatted, and my back still hurts from the beating.”

On July 14, three security personnel assaulted Hersh Qadir, head of NRT’s Erbil office, while he was covering a protest in Erbil’s Ainkawa district. He told CPJ that a man in plainclothes identifying himself as an Asayish officer ordered him not to broadcast.

CPJ contacted the Bardarash Asayish by phone, where officials confirmed the arrests but denied any assault or torture, offering no further explanation.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Lauren Wolfe.

The post Working Class Is Severely Underrepresented in State Legislatures appeared first on Project Censored.

This content originally appeared on Project Censored and was authored by Kate Horgan.

But the claim is false. Taiwan’s education authorities dismissed the claim. The students were reprimanded by the school they attended through a verbal warning.

The claim began to circulate after three Taiwanese high school students from New Taipei City posted a video, calling on the island’s president, Lai Ching-te, to “reunite with China” after 2025.

In the video, the students can be seen holding up a Chinese flag, while referring to themselves as “high school students of Taiwan province” and the president as “Governor Lai.”

(Weibo and NetEase)

The video sparked online debate as the students’ use of such terms aligns with Beijing’s narrative, which denies Taiwan’s independence.

Taiwan considers itself a sovereign nation with its own government, while Beijing views it as a breakaway province that must eventually reunite with China, by force if necessary.

But the claim that Taiwan punished the students is false.

Officials from New Taipei City Department of Education dismissed the claim, adding that the students made the video to gain peer appeal without any specific political agenda.

Officials said Taiwan respected various political stances, but also reminded students to pay attention to their words and behavior while wearing their school uniforms.

Officials also said they would ask schools to step up their efforts to educate students about responsible internet use.

The principal of the students’ school said that they were unaware of the gravity of the subject and had been verbally reprimanded.

Anti-Infiltration Act

In Taiwan, expressing support for China is not inherently illegal, as freedom of speech is protected.

However, actions that are perceived as compromising national security or involving foreign interference can lead to legal consequences.

The Anti-Infiltration Act, enacted in 2020, prohibits people from accepting directives or funding from foreign hostile forces, including China, to influence political activities, elections, or social order.

Violations can result in fines up to $10 million New Taiwan dollars (US$305,000) or up to five years in prison.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Dong Zhe for Asia Fact Check Lab.

On Wednesday, August 23, a suspected Turkish drone strike in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast hit a car belonging to the all-female broadcaster JIN TV, killing driver Najm el-Din Faisal Haj Sinan and wounding journalist Dalila Agid, according to news reports and Dijla Eito, a member of JIN TV’s board, who spoke to CPJ.

Eito said Agid had undergone surgery and was in an intensive care unit as of Friday.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic drone attack that killed driver Najm el-Din Faisal and injured journalist Dalila Agid while they were working in northeastern Syria,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Turkish authorities should swiftly launch an investigation into this attack, determine who was responsible and if the reporting team was targeted, and hold the perpetrators to account.”

Eito told CPJ that the JIN TV team was driving near the Turkish border, between the Syrian cities of Amuda, where the broadcaster has a studio, and Qamishli, when they were attacked. Eito said Agid had been covering an event to commemorate the death of two Kurdish officials in another drone attack in June.

“She regained consciousness temporarily after suffering a severe injury to her neck and losing her left arm. However, she soon slipped back into an unconscious state. Numerous explosive fragments remained within her body,” Eito told CPJ.

In a statement, the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeastern Syria condemned the attack and called on the international community to intervene and ensure accountability.

CPJ emailed the Turkish president’s office for comment but did not receive a reply. CPJ was unable to find any contact information for the Turkish Defense Ministry or any comments it had issued about the attack.

Turkey has previously said that its strikes in northern Syria target Kurdish fighters that it considers terrorists.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

“The brutal and shocking assault of Russian journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Aleksandr Nemov in Chechnya serves as yet another reminder of the region’s appalling human rights and press freedom record,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, in New York. “Russian authorities should immediately investigate this attack, find the culprits, and hold them to account.”

Milashina, an investigative reporter with the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta who covers human rights in Chechnya, arrived in Grozny early Tuesday, July 4, to cover a court case in which Nemov was representing the defendant.

On their way from the airport, three cars intercepted a cab carrying the journalist and lawyer. About a dozen masked men forced them from their vehicle, kicked them, and beat them with batons in the body and face, according to multiple media reports and reports by Novaya Gazeta and the Russian rights group Memorial.

The attackers destroyed their equipment and documents, shaved Milashina’s head, and doused her face in green dye. They threatened to kill Milashina and Nemov, putting a gun to both of their heads head and saying, “You were warned. Get out of here and don’t write anything.”

Both victims were taken to a hospital in Grozny before being transferred to a hospital in Beslan, in North Ossetia. Milashina was diagnosed with a brain injury and three broken fingers, which she sustained after refusing to unlock her phone.

Nemov suffered multiple fractures throughout his body and a stab wound in the leg. As of Tuesday afternoon, Nemov had difficulty speaking and moving, and Milashina periodically lost consciousness. They were expected to be transferred to a Moscow hospital late Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin was informed of a “very serious” attack, which required “energetic measures” in response. Head of the Russian Investigative Committee Aleksander Bastrykin instructed the body’s Chechen branch to investigate the attack, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov ordered authorities to find those responsible.

In February 2022, Milashina had to flee Russia after receiving threats from Kadyrov. Milashina was previously attacked during a 2020 reporting trip in Grozny and beaten in Moscow in 2012.

Since Novaya Gazeta was founded in 1993, at least five of its journalists and contributors have been murdered in connection to their work. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

"I was very clear that we're not passing a clean debt ceiling," McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters following his conversation with the president. "We're not spending more next year than we spent this year. We've got to find a way to change this and I want to sit down and work."

While some members of his caucus have vocally singled out Social Security and Medicare, McCarthy has declined to explain precisely what and how much he wants to cut. But as part of a deal with the far-right flank of his caucus, McCarthy agreed to push for a cap on federal spending at fiscal year 2022 levels.

According to an analysis released Wednesday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), such a cap would entail significant cuts to "a wide array of public services that the federal government provides and that people and communities depend on, including public health; food safety inspections; air traffic control operations; the administration of Medicare and Social Security; housing and other assistance for families with low incomes; education and job training; and scientific and medical research, to name just a few."

"Moreover, many of these programs are still feeling the effects of austerity imposed largely by the 2011 Budget Control Act," CBPP's Joel Friedman and Richard Kogan wrote, pointing to a law that the GOP forced through following a damaging round of debt ceiling brinkmanship. "Even with a recent boost in 2023, funding for non-defense programs outside of veterans' medical care is about 2% below its 2010 level, adjusted for inflation, and 9% below when adjusted for both inflation and population growth. Funding for these programs needs to rise to meet national needs, address shortfalls that hamper the delivery of government services, and help create an economy in which everyone has the resources they need to thrive."

CBPP's estimates suggest that a federal spending cut of $146 billion across military and non-military programs would be required to meet House Republicans' demand to cap fiscal year 2024 spending at 2022 levels.

But Friedman and Kogan stressed that cuts to non-military discretionary spending—a broad category that includes healthcare and education programs—would have to be even larger if the Pentagon budget is shielded, as some House Republicans have proposed. Military spending represents more than half of all federal discretionary spending.

"Reducing defense funding to its 2022 level in 2024 would require a cut of $76.2 billion from its current level," Friedman and Kogan noted. "If instead one assumes that defense funding is frozen in 2024—that is, held at its 2023 level rather than being reduced to the 2022 level—but that House Republicans still press to return total discretionary funding to its 2022 level, then those additional cuts would need to be absorbed by non-defense programs. If that comes on top of protecting veterans’ medical care, then the remaining non-defense programs would need to be cut by 24.3% on average."

"The cuts the House Republicans are calling for, whether achieved by reducing non-defense programs categorized as discretionary or mandatory, are deep," Friedman and Kogan concluded. "Claims that they are designed merely to root out 'wasteful spending' are highly misleading and distract from the policy implications of these proposals and the harm they would cause."

The White House has insisted on legislation that raises the debt ceiling without any attached spending cuts or other conditions, a message it reiterated after Biden's meeting with McCarthy on Wednesday.

"President Biden made clear that, as every other leader in both parties in Congress has affirmed, it is their shared duty not to allow an unprecedented and economically catastrophic default," the White House said in a readout of the meeting. "The president welcomes a separate discussion with congressional leaders about how to reduce the deficit and control the national debt while continuing to grow the economy."

As McCarthy prepared for his discussion with Biden, the Republican Study Committee (RSC)—the largest House GOP caucus—convened on Capitol Hill to discuss their priorities for time-sensitive debt ceiling negotiations.

According to a presentation slide obtained by Politico's Olivia Beavers, RSC chair Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) offered a broad outline of the GOP's group's priorities, including a reversal of recent discretionary spending increases. Last year, the RSC called for gradually increasing the retirement age and partially privatizing Social Security.

Aaron Fritschner, communications director for Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), criticized House Republicans' continued refusal to put forth a budget detailing their specific demands.

"Wow what a disaster," Fritschner tweeted in response to the RSC presentation. "They truly have no idea what to do."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Jake Johnson.

On December 25, in the Rangunia region of the southeastern Chittagong division, a group of six to seven men confronted Azad, a reporter covering the environment and politics for the privately owned newspaper The Business Standard, while he was photographing brick kilns that were allegedly operating illegally, according to multiple news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

Azad identified himself as a journalist, and the men then forced him into a vehicle at gunpoint, and they threatened to kill him; they then beat him and brought him to a local government official’s office, where they assaulted him further and robbed him, he told CPJ, saying he was released after about 90 minutes.

Azad suffered a neck fracture and pain in his chest, abdomen, and hands, according to the journalist and medical documents that CPJ reviewed.

“The abduction and gruesome beating of Abu Azad demonstrate the grave dangers facing journalists who cover environmental issues in Bangladesh,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate this incident and hold the perpetrators accountable. Bangladesh must put an end to its dreadful record of impunity involving attacks on journalists.”

Azad told CPJ that one of the attackers was Mohiuddin Talukder Mohan, a member of the Islampur Union Parishad government unit, and said he was brought to Mohan’s office, where three additional men joined the others. The men deactivated the office’s security cameras, beat him with their hands and pistols, kicked him repeatedly, and confiscated his mobile phone, wallet, and identification card, Azad told CPJ.

At the office, Mohan called Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, chair of the Islampur Union Parishad, who threatened the journalist, saying, “nothing will happen if a journalist like you was killed,” and then ordered the men to beat Azad further and destroy his phone, Azad told CPJ.

The men withdrew all the money from Azad’s mobile banking app, bKash, and stole 10,000 taka (US$97) in cash that he carried with him, the journalist told CPJ, adding that they demanded an additional 50,000 taka (US$486) as ransom, which he did not provide.

While releasing him, one of the men hit Azad on the neck with a steel rod, the journalist told CPJ. As of Wednesday, January 4, Azad had not received his phone, wallet, money, or identification card, he said.

CPJ contacted Mohan via messaging app for comment but did not receive any reply. CPJ texted Chowdhury for comment but did not receive any response.

On December 26, Azad filed a police complaint against 10 people, including Mohan and Chowdhury, for assault, extortion, kidnapping, and attempted murder, according to the journalist and The Business Standard.

Police arrested one suspect that day, identified as the manager of a brick kiln, who appeared in court on Wednesday, January 4, and was ordered to be transferred to jail, the journalist and The Business Standard said. On Tuesday, January 3, the Bangladesh High Court granted anticipatory bail to Mohan and Chowdhury, protecting them from arrest for four weeks, Azad said, adding that the other suspects have not been apprehended.

CPJ sent a request for comment via messaging app to Md Mahbub Milky, officer-in-charge at the Rangunia Model Police Station, where Azad filed his complaint, but did not receive any response.

Mohan and Chowdhury are both members of the ruling Awami League party and both have business and political interests in the kilns, Azad told CPJ.

CPJ emailed the Awami League for comment but did not receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On December 25, in the Rangunia region of the southeastern Chittagong division, a group of six to seven men confronted Azad, a reporter covering the environment and politics for the privately owned newspaper The Business Standard, while he was photographing brick kilns that were allegedly operating illegally, according to multiple news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

Azad identified himself as a journalist, and the men then forced him into a vehicle at gunpoint, and they threatened to kill him; they then beat him and brought him to a local government official’s office, where they assaulted him further and robbed him, he told CPJ, saying he was released after about 90 minutes.

Azad suffered a neck fracture and pain in his chest, abdomen, and hands, according to the journalist and medical documents that CPJ reviewed.

“The abduction and gruesome beating of Abu Azad demonstrate the grave dangers facing journalists who cover environmental issues in Bangladesh,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate this incident and hold the perpetrators accountable. Bangladesh must put an end to its dreadful record of impunity involving attacks on journalists.”

Azad told CPJ that one of the attackers was Mohiuddin Talukder Mohan, a member of the Islampur Union Parishad government unit, and said he was brought to Mohan’s office, where three additional men joined the others. The men deactivated the office’s security cameras, beat him with their hands and pistols, kicked him repeatedly, and confiscated his mobile phone, wallet, and identification card, Azad told CPJ.

At the office, Mohan called Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, chair of the Islampur Union Parishad, who threatened the journalist, saying, “nothing will happen if a journalist like you was killed,” and then ordered the men to beat Azad further and destroy his phone, Azad told CPJ.

The men withdrew all the money from Azad’s mobile banking app, bKash, and stole 10,000 taka (US$97) in cash that he carried with him, the journalist told CPJ, adding that they demanded an additional 50,000 taka (US$486) as ransom, which he did not provide.

While releasing him, one of the men hit Azad on the neck with a steel rod, the journalist told CPJ. As of Wednesday, January 4, Azad had not received his phone, wallet, money, or identification card, he said.

CPJ contacted Mohan via messaging app for comment but did not receive any reply. CPJ texted Chowdhury for comment but did not receive any response.

On December 26, Azad filed a police complaint against 10 people, including Mohan and Chowdhury, for assault, extortion, kidnapping, and attempted murder, according to the journalist and The Business Standard.

Police arrested one suspect that day, identified as the manager of a brick kiln, who appeared in court on Wednesday, January 4, and was ordered to be transferred to jail, the journalist and The Business Standard said. On Tuesday, January 3, the Bangladesh High Court granted anticipatory bail to Mohan and Chowdhury, protecting them from arrest for four weeks, Azad said, adding that the other suspects have not been apprehended.

CPJ sent a request for comment via messaging app to Md Mahbub Milky, officer-in-charge at the Rangunia Model Police Station, where Azad filed his complaint, but did not receive any response.

Mohan and Chowdhury are both members of the ruling Awami League party and both have business and political interests in the kilns, Azad told CPJ.

CPJ emailed the Awami League for comment but did not receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, Soran Kamaran, a correspondent for the Kurdistan 24 broadcaster owned by Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, was seriously wounded while covering Iran’s ongoing shelling on Kurdish groups opposed to Iran, according to reports, video of the shelling and Kamaran’s transfer to the hospital, a statement by the broadcaster, a local press freedom group, and Kurdistan 24’s newsroom manager.

Kamaran was injured by a missile strike in the town of Altun Kupri, in Kirkuk, northern Iraq. The cameraman with him was not hurt, Kurdistan 24’s newsroom manager and anchor, Kovan Izzat, told CPJ by phone. 

Kurdistan 24 said in a statement that Kamaran was taken to Erbil emergency hospital for treatment and admitted to an intensive care unit. “Soran underwent two surgeries for his right leg and belly. He is fine now and no threat to his life,” Izzat told CPJ. “He was wounded severely, his right leg was broken with injuries all over his belly.” Izzat did not know how long Kamaran is expected to be in the hospital.

“Iran’s drone strikes inevitably cause civilian casualties, including those of journalists documenting the attacks,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Iranian and Kurdish authorities must take serious measures to avoid harming civilians and to hold anyone violating international law accountable.”

Kamaran’s last video, posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, September 28, shows him reporting from the area in which he was injured. In the video, he says, “This is the headquarters of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, which have been targeted by Iranian missiles and suicide drones. Initial reports indicate that six members were killed and dozens injured.”

On Saturday, September 24, 2022, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps fired dozens of suicide drones and missiles to strike several Iranian-Kurdish opposition parties based in the Kurdistan region, killing at least nine and injuring over 30 others, according to multiple media reports.

On Wednesday, September 28, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq called to “cease immediately” its attacks on Iraq, including Kurdistan, in a tweet.

CPJ could not immediately find a contact for Kamaran’s family. CPJ emailed the Iranian U.N. mission for comment on Wednesday, September 28, but did not immediately receive a response.

Later on Wednesday, in the same town of Altun Kupri, a Peshmerga soldier confiscated the camera of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-owned Kurdsat News broadcaster cameraman Issa Nuradeen, according to Nuradeen, a Facebook video of the incident posted by the broadcaster, and a report by a local press freedom group.

Nuradeen and Kurdsat News reporter Karwan Mohammed told CPJ over the phone that they returned to the Kurdistan Freedom Party headquarters to help Kamaran. “When we got there, the (Kurdish) Peshmerga forces were putting him into an ambulance. I tried to film but they blocked me and took my camera,” Nuradeen said. “They later returned it broken.”

Mohammed, who filmed the camera confiscation on his mobile phone, said the Peshmerga soldier who took the camera “told us we are not allowed to cover the situation.”

CPJ on Wednesday, September 28, called Nuri Hama Ali, a Peshmerga commander in Kirkuk, for comment, but did not immediately get a response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

On July 1, near the coastal resort city of Puerto Vallarta, in the central Mexican state of Jalisco, unidentified drivers in a gray Jeep Grand Cherokee crashed into Carreño’s vehicle; two men then approached the scene on a motorcycle, forced Carreño at gunpoint to lay down, and stabbed her repeatedly, according to news reports.

Carreño, a reporter for Radio UDG, a broadcaster affiliated with the University of Guadalajara, underwent emergency surgery for injuries to her chest and neck, and was in stable condition as of Wednesday but was not allowed to speak due to her injuries, Radio UDG director Gabriel Torres told CPJ by phone.

“The shocking and brutal attack on Susana Carreño, less than a week after journalist Antonio de la Cruz and his daughter were killed in Tamaulipas, once again shows the Mexican authorities’ utter failure to protect the country’s press,” said Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. “Authorities must protect Carreño and her colleagues by all means necessary, immediately find the culprits of this shameless violence, and determine whether Carreño was attacked for her work.”

Carreño and her co-worker had just entered their vehicle when the attack began, according to Torres and a news report by UGTV, Radio UDG’s television affiliate, which said that the initial car crash was seemingly deliberate.

The attackers used Carreño’s vehicle to escape the crime scene, and the car was found about 10 miles from the scene of the attack, that report said.

Torres said the attack took place minutes after Carreño and her co-worker, whose identity he asked CPJ to keep private for safety concerns, finished a live broadcast of Carreño’s news show “All Voices Count” at Ejido Vallarta, a stretch of communal land near Puerto Vallarta. Carreño has worked for Radio UDG for years, and recently reported on alleged corruption and illegal construction work in the area, Torres said.

Hours after the attack, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro wrote on Twitter describing it as a robbery.

Torres, however, said that while the attackers did steal the journalist and her coworker’s phones and car, “they went straight for [Carreño]; this did not look like a robbery at all.”

According to that UGTV report, Jalisco state authorities later announced that they were investigating whether the attack was related to Carreño’s work, but had not commented publicly on the possible motive or the identity of the attackers.

Torres told CPJ that Carreño had not mentioned receiving any recent threats to her life.

An official with the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, which provides journalists with protective measures under the auspices of the Federal Interior Ministry, told CPJ that the office was not aware of any recent threats against Carreño or her colleagues at Radio UDG. He added that the mechanism had contacted Carreño in the wake of the attack and was incorporating her into a protection program. That official asked CPJ to remain anonymous, as he was not authorized to speak publicly.

CPJ repeatedly called the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office for comment, but no one answered.

Mexico is the deadliest country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere. According to CPJ research, at least three journalists have been murdered in direct relation to their work in 2022. CPJ is investigating another eight killings to determine the motive.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

Staji’s wife, Viktoryia Lavnikevich, told CPJ via messaging app that she lost contact with him on April 9 while she was in western Ukraine.

Lavnikevich returned to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, on April 12 and found Staji at their apartment, unconscious and wrapped in garbage bags, with bruises and other signs of abuse all over his body, she said. In photos Lavnikevich posted to social media, Staji can be seen with deep bruises across his torso, arms, and feet, and with lacerations on his ribs, back, and buttocks.

Staji briefly regained consciousness before being transported to a local hospital and, while unable to speak, indicated with his hand that he had been beaten by five people. At the hospital, doctors told Lavnikevich that her husband appeared to have been beaten over at least three to four days, she told CPJ, saying the doctors estimated he would take several months to recover.

Lavnikevich told CPJ that the Ukrainian Security Service and the National Police were investigating the attack.

“The severe beating of Belarusian journalist Denis Staji by unidentified attackers in Ukraine is deeply shocking and disturbing,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “It is a welcome development that Ukrainian authorities are taking this case seriously. They should find the perpetrators as soon as possible and hold them accountable.”

Lavnikevich told CPJ that she had delayed publicizing the incident during the beginning of Ukrainian authorities’ investigation.

She told CPJ and wrote on Telegram that Staji had sustained memory loss and could not recall details of the attack. He was force-fed alcohol, sedatives, and cleaning liquid, was injected with an unidentified substance, and received several blows to the head, she said, adding that he also sustained severe damage to his nervous system and lungs.

Staji was found with a blanket over his head, dirt in his mouth, and handcuff marks on his wrists, and he showed signs of having been beaten on his head, ribs, kidneys, hands, and feet, and his right arm was “smashed to pieces,” his wife wrote.

Staji is a Belarusian business journalist who has lived in Ukraine since 2018, and contributes to the Ukrainian news websites Delovaya Stolitsa and EnergoBusiness, Lavnikevich told CPJ.

Staji and Lavnikevich also jointly run the Telegram channel Adventures of Belarusians in Kyiv and moderate several Telegram chats aimed at the Belarusian diaspora in Ukraine. The channel and chats formerly shared general interest information, and more recently have shared critical reporting about the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, according to Lavnikevich and CPJ’s review of the accounts.

Lavnikevich told CPJ that she and her husband received anonymous death threats via Telegram in the summer or 2021 and briefly stop moderating those chat groups, but resumed their activity when the war in Ukraine started. She said that their Telegram activity has an audience of about 17,000, and that the Belarusian KGB had reached out to Staji after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and asked him to cooperate with them, but Staji refused.

Lavnikevich wrote on Telegram and told CPJ that she believed the attackers had targeted her husband, noting that “money and valuables [were] left in place” but the apartment was ransacked, and items related to their Telegram activity were missing.

In that Telegram post, Lavnikevich said she believed the attack on her husband may have been related to the 2021 death of Vitaliy Shyshov, a Belarusian activist in Ukraine and an acquaintance of Staji’s. Shyshov was found dead in Kyiv in August 2021, and Ukrainian police opened a murder inquiry after concerns were raised that his apparent suicide had been staged, according to media reports from the time. Lavnikevich told CPJ that the Ukrainian Security Service placed her and her husband under police protection for two months after Shyshov’s death.

CPJ emailed the Kyiv police and the Security Service of Ukraine for comment, but did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

A February 2022 report by the Economic Policy Institute considering K-12 staff shortages more widely explains that poor cafeteria staff pay is likely a major reason for a shortage of cafeteria staff. They made an average of just $331 per week (in 2020 dollars) between 2014 and 2019 according to an analysis of Current Population Survey data, though there are slight discrepancies in the average hourly pay and weekly pay figures due to methodology. In contrast, the median American worker made $790 per week, more than double the average K-12 cafeteria worker.

Privatization, and school districts contracting with for-profit lunch providers, such as Chartwells, Aramark, and Sodexo, have exacerbated this problem. K-12 cafeteria staff who are employed directly by school districts earn more than their outsourced counterparts. Additionally, Jacobin explained that privatization in one area “tends to deteriorate wages and working conditions across the board.” School lunches began being served in a standardized manner after passage of the National School Lunch Act of 1946, which was originally intended as an agricultural support program, but the privatization of K-12 school lunchrooms didn’t take hold on a large scale until the 1970s. In the 1960s and 1970s, advocates of urban schools without kitchens organized the Right to Lunch Movement, since urban students were not receiving school lunch. In response, Congress reformed the program, practically expanding it to all public and non-profit private schools. However, no funds were allocated to build kitchens in kitchen-less schools, forcing these schools to rely on privately mass produced, pre-made meals. Eventually, suburban schools with kitchens switched to mass produced meals too. Because school meals were no longer cooked from scratch, the job of cafeteria staff became a part-time, less-skilled job with worse pay. This switch has not made cafeteria workers’ jobs easier though. One worker told Jacobin that their job required them to engage in “hazardous activities like lifting very heavy things above my head when they’re like 420 degrees.”

The only corporate outlet that covered this story is business magazine Fortune, which claimed “no one wants to be a cafeteria worker anymore.” Fortune focused its story on the shortage of workers, suggesting that higher pay alone will not resolve it.

Source: Nora De La Cour, “’Lunch Ladies’ Are Tired of Being Underpaid and Overlooked,” Jacobin, March 13, 2022.

Student Researcher: Annie Koruga (Ohlone College)

Faculty Evaluator: Robin Takahashi (Ohlone College)

The post K-12 Cafeteria Staff are Severely Underpaid appeared first on Project Censored.

This content originally appeared on Project Censored and was authored by Vins.