Afternoon Reads at Al Jazeera - Bangladesh and Mali Revisited, Problems in a Canadian First Nation

Part of my hopes for this blog is to spark an interest in world events, particularly focusing on the geography location and cultures of the countries involved. Alos I want remind readers that we are one world and what happens to everybody in the world should be in our thoughts!


 Protests spread in Bangladesh amid arrests

It appears that the workers are literally up in arms about the recent collapse of the unsafe building in Bangladesh, where now over 300 workers have died. Hopefully, they will be listened to and working conditions can be approved. Can anyone say unionize? From Al Jazeera

Protests in Bangladesh have spread to a second city with hundreds of people throwing stones and setting fire to vehicles, as authorities made arrests in connection with the collapse of factory building that killed more than 300 workers.

Police said on Saturday they had arrested two owners of the garment business and two engineers involved in approving the design of the shoddily constructed eight-story building which collapsed on Wednesday.

Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Haque Tuku said police had arrested Bazlus Samad, managing director of New Wave Apparels Ltd, and Mahmudur Rahman Tapash, the company chairman.

He told reporters that police had also detained the wife of Mohammed Sohel Rana, the owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, for questioning. The top three floors of the eight-story building were illegally constructed.

"Everyone involved - including the designer, engineer, and builders - will be arrested for putting up this defective building," Haque said.

Dhaka police superintendent Habibur Rahman said Rana was a local leader of ruling Awami League's youth front.

Officials said Rana Plaza, on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, had been built without the correct permits, and the workers were allowed in on Wednesday despite warnings the previous day that it was structurally unsafe. Full Story

UN approves peacekeeping force for Mali 

To follow-up on the situation in Mali. It appears that if conditions remain stable peacekeeping forces may arrive by July 31 in Mali to hopefully help keep stability to the country. From Al Jazeera:

The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to authorise about 12,600 international troops and police to undertake a peacekeeping mission in Mali.

The UN's Multi-dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali, to be known by its French acronym MINUSMA, would have a maximum of 11,200 soldiers and 1,440 police.

The core of the force will come from approximately 6,300 troops from 10 African nations already in Mali.

The UN is aiming for a July start by the new force, but the 15-nation council will decide later whether the conflict has eased enough for the handover. Continue Reading 

State of emergency in Neskantaga 


Two things when I first saw this headline I thought where is Neskantaga? Well, it's a First Nation inOntario, Canada northwest of Thunder Bay. Secondly, a heart go out to all the people affected by these suicides. Hopefully, government help will be forthcoming for these people!

 A - shows location of Neskantaga Nation

To what extent can a crisis - one that is recognised and acknowledged as such - make a certain history newly legible to its witnesses? A small First Nations community situated in Ontario's far north may be a reluctant test case. In Neskantaga, with a population of just over 400, a catastrophic series of suicides over the past year - most recently, two in less than a week - has prompted Chief Peter Moonias to declare a state of emergency in an effort to obtain relief and support for his devastated people.

The declaration came on April 17, one day after the suicide of a 19-year-old from the community who was living in Thunder Bay; word of his death came a few minutes after band members had buried another individual in his 30s who died under similar circumstances the preceding week. These events came just months after another young man took his own life in December, a circumstance that prompted the community to put its young people on suicide watch in an attempt to prevent further deaths. In the past year alone, Neskantaga has suffered seven sudden deaths and 20 suicide attempts.

"We have reached a breaking point and our community is under crisis," declared Neskantaga First Nation Councillor Roy Moonias. "Our community is exhausted emotionally and physically as we try to pick up the pieces from these tragic events." Continue Reading