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The World in Faces

The World in Faces

Untitled In agreement with the United Nations Department of Global Communication, IPS is pleased to share with it’s global readers, the UN exhibit ‘The World in Faces’, a powerful collection of images to honour indigenous peoples worldwide. Sepik Papuan girl Ambunti, East Sepik river, Papua New Guinea The East Sepik river serves as the only ‘road’ into many Sepik villages, with little to no infrastructure, including electricity, shops or other amenities. This isolation has helped preserve the East Sepik culture for generations. However, there are fears that their remote paradise will soon be destroyed by mining. There are development plans to…
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Congo volcano risk remains as evacuees return

Congo volcano risk remains as evacuees return

LEY UWERA TRICKLES of displaced people are heading back to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma, just days after officials ordered residents to evacuate following a volcanic eruption on 22 May that left at least 32 people dead and 20,000 homeless. Hundreds of thousands of evacuees remain scattered and families are still separated across the region amid warnings of further eruptions in the city centre and its adjacent lake, which contains vast amounts of trapped carbon dioxide that could suffocate residents if released. Congolese photojournalist Ley Uwera has been following the situation over the past week, photographing residents as they fled…
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‘Brave and hopeful’ LGBT+ Rwandans prepare for their first Pride

‘Brave and hopeful’ LGBT+ Rwandans prepare for their first Pride

KIM HARRISBERG WITH football and fashion, Rwanda's LGBT+ activists are planning their first Pride celebration after years of struggling to secure funding or a venue willing to host them in a country where they say coming out can lead to violence and rejection. Navigating COVID-19 restrictions, LGBT+ activists are expecting 200 people to attend the event in the capital Kigali in late July, including government officials and media, and hear testimonies of the stigma LGBT+ people face on a daily basis. "The significance of this event is that we are saying we are here, we need to be treated equally…
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Why is it so controversial for trans women to compete in sports?

Why is it so controversial for trans women to compete in sports?

RACHEL SAVAGE NEW Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will become the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics after being selected for the women's super-heavyweight 87+kg category at the Tokyo Games next month. Hubbard's selection is fuelling a fierce global debate about whether trans women should be allowed to compete in women's sporting events, and - if they are - what the rules should be. Trans rights campaigners say excluding trans athletes is discriminatory and will stoke bias against trans people in general, but critics say trans women athletes have an unfair physical advantage in women's competitions. The issue…
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U.S. soccer stars tell story of fight for equal pay in new film ‘LFG’

U.S. soccer stars tell story of fight for equal pay in new film ‘LFG’

SOCCER stars Megan Rapinoe and Jessica McDonald rested their cleats and walked the red carpet at the premiere of the documentary "LFG" at the Tribeca Film Festival, which tells the story of the fight for equal pay by the U.S. women's national team. The players sued U.S. soccer's governing body in 2019 over allegations of gender discrimination in compensation and nearly every other aspect of playing conditions. Months later, they won a fourth World Cup for the United States as fans chanted "equal pay" during the 2-0 final triumph against the Netherlands. Last year, a judge threw out the players'…
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EXCLUSIVE-Hungary could be sanctioned over anti-LGBT+ law, warns EU equality chief

EXCLUSIVE-Hungary could be sanctioned over anti-LGBT+ law, warns EU equality chief

HUGO GREENHALGH THE EU could impose funding restrictions on Hungary over legislation that bans the dissemination in schools of content deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change, the bloc's equality chief told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Tuesday. Speaking shortly before Hungary's parliament approved the ban, European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli said Brussels was prepared to take measures similar to those imposed on Polish regions that had declared themselves "LGBT-free". "The message is that if you don't uphold the values of democracy or equality of the European Union, you are not entitled to take money for your project," Dalli said in…
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LGBT+ conversion therapy: banned on Facebook, but thriving in Arabic

LGBT+ conversion therapy: banned on Facebook, but thriving in Arabic

AVI ASHER-SCHAPIRO and MAYA GEBEILY WHEN he was growing up in a small Egyptian town outside Cairo, Omar began feeling sexually attracted to other men. Too afraid to talk to family or friends, he turned to Facebook for help, shielding his identity with a false name. Scouring social media for information and advice is a common recourse for young men and women who think they may be gay and live in socially conservative Arab societies. But it can lead them to therapists, spiritual leaders and influencers promising to "cure the affliction" of homosexuality through so-called conversion therapy - practices that…
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Aston Martin team to promote LGBTQ+ awareness in F1

Aston Martin team to promote LGBTQ+ awareness in F1

ALAN BALDWIN THE Aston Martin Formula One team announced on Tuesday a partnership with the Racing Pride movement and said it will work through June to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ diversity in the male-dominated sport. Racing Pride was founded in 2019 to create visibility for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in motorsport and challenge negative stereotypes and misconceptions. Aston Martin said the campaign will run across Pride Month, aligning with Formula One's #WeRaceAsOne initiative. Racing Pride logos will appear on the race cars at the June 20 French Grand Prix. "I congratulate the people who have pushed the…
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Sexual assault conviction overturned, Cosby is home

Sexual assault conviction overturned, Cosby is home

JOSEPH AX and JONATHAN STEMPEL BILL Cosby was freed from prison and has returned home, less than two hours after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction, saying he never should have faced charges after striking a non-prosecution deal with a previous district attorney more than 15 years ago. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its split decision after Cosby had served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence following his 2018 conviction. Cosby, 83, was released from a state prison in Shippack, Pennsylvania, just before 2:30 p.m. (1830 GMT), a corrections department spokesperson said. Around an…
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