All posts tagged: Captivity

The Bleak Life in Captivity of Niger’s Deposed President, Mohamed Bazoum

The Bleak Life in Captivity of Niger’s Deposed President, Mohamed Bazoum

Published by Sam

Held captive by his former security guards in an isolated wing of his house, the deposed president of Niger paces a bedroom with no direct daylight, cut off from the world and unable to talk to his lawyers, according to people with direct knowledge of the conditions of his detention. Nine months since he was toppled in one of the coups that have recently wracked West Africa, Mohamed Bazoum is lingering in detention with no end in sight. The military junta that deposed him is seeking to strip him of presidential immunity, paving the way for him to be prosecuted on charges such as treason, for which the penalty could be life imprisonment, his lawyers said. Trapped with his wife, Hadiza, and two domestic workers, he has no access to a phone and is not allowed to see his lawyers, other family members or friends, according to members of his inner circle who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the precariousness of the situation. His only visitor is a doctor, who brings him …

The killer whale trainers who still defend captivity: ‘I’m an endangered species myself’ | Dolphins

The killer whale trainers who still defend captivity: ‘I’m an endangered species myself’ | Dolphins

Published by skeptic

Some people spend a long time deciding what they want to do in life. Hazel McBride feels lucky that she’s always known. As a child in Scotland, she watched a VHS tape of Free Willy on repeat. That was the first time she felt a connection with killer whales. The second time was at age eight, on a trip to SeaWorld Orlando in 2000. Shamu was the animal world’s greatest celebrity, and in the US, SeaWorld ads were ubiquitous. Kids wanted to see the killer whales, and after they saw them, they told their parents they wanted to become killer whale trainers. McBride actually did it. It wasn’t easy. Scotland didn’t have a SeaWorld, or warm water, or anywhere, really, where McBride could get experience with marine mammals. She had horses she cared for, and she was on the national swim team – a modest start. She sent out volunteer applications to local zoos and worked with California sea lions at a safari park. She reached out to trainers online and one told her a …

Evan Gershkovich’s Year in Captivity

Evan Gershkovich’s Year in Captivity

Published by skeptic

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has now been held in Russia’s infamous Lefortovo prison for a year. It looks like he’s going to be in Russia even longer: This week, a Russian court extended his pretrial detention by three more months, meaning that he will not have his case heard until July at the earliest. The Russian-speaking Gershkovich was accused of espionage, making him the first foreign journalist charged with that crime by the Kremlin since the end of the Cold War. Evan, the Journal, and the United States government all deny the Russian accusations. The charges against Evan, of course, are nonsense, and even the Russians know it. Evan is in prison because Vladimir Putin has made no pretenses about using Americans as human bargaining chips to be exchanged for Russians in Western jails. …

We interview Shaun Pinner on his time fighting for Ukraine and experience in Russian captivity

We interview Shaun Pinner on his time fighting for Ukraine and experience in Russian captivity

Published by skeptic

Listen to Ukraine: the Latest, The Telegraph’s daily podcast, using the audio player at the top of this article or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app. War in Ukraine is reshaping our world. Every weekday The Telegraph’s top journalists analyse the invasion from all angles – military, humanitarian, political, economic, historical – and tell you what you need to know to stay updated. With over 70 million listens, our Ukraine: The Latest podcast is your go-to source for all the latest analysis, live reaction and correspondents reporting on the ground. We have been broadcasting ever since the full-scale invasion began. Ukraine: The Latest’s regular contributors are: David Knowles David is Head of Audio Development at The Telegraph, where he has worked for nearly three years. He has reported from across Ukraine during the full-scale invasion.  Dominic Nicholls Dom is Associate Editor (Defence) at The Telegraph, having joined in 2018. He previously served for 23 years in the British Army, in tank and helicopter units. He had operational deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and …

Mya-Rose Craig calls for penguins to be freed from ‘terrible life of captivity’ | UK | News

Mya-Rose Craig calls for penguins to be freed from ‘terrible life of captivity’ | UK | News

Published by skeptic

As a conservationist and advocate for animal welfare, I firmly believe that every creature deserves to live in conditions that reflect their natural habitat. The recent outcry over the captivity of 15 Gentoo Penguins at London’s Sea Life Aquarium underscores the urgent need for a re-evaluation of how we treat animals in captivity.  Having witnessed the majesty of Gentoo Penguins in their natural environment during my travels to Antarctica when I was 13, I can confirm the stark contrast between their vibrant, dynamic lives in the wild where they live in huge colonies and the reputedly confined conditions they endure in captivity in London.  These intelligent and social creatures belong in the vast expanses of the ocean and the ice packs alongside, not in a cramped enclosure where their natural behaviours are stifled. While I do not oppose the concept of zoos and aquariums outright, I firmly believe that if they are to exist, they have a responsibility to provide suitable conditions for the animals under their care with strategic plans to find suitable homes …

Endangered Primates Heard “Singing Together” After Rare Birth in Captivity

Endangered Primates Heard “Singing Together” After Rare Birth in Captivity

Published by skeptic

“The birth of any endangered species is always a cause for celebration.” Sing Out On the morning of March 15, workers at The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk arrived to find that one of the facility’s endangered siamang gibbons had given birth — and soon, the primates were heard literally singing the baby’s praises. In a Facebook post about the new addition, the zoo announced that mother Malana and father Bali welcomed the new baby, whose sex is not yet confirmed, earlier this month. “While [zookeepers] suspected Malana could be pregnant due to recent behavioral and physical changes,” the post reads, “they were not able to know for certain without extensive testing.” Siamangs are known both for their extremely close-knit familial ties and for their song-like vocalizations that occur when they inflate their bulbous, pinkish throats. As The Virginia Zoo wrote in its post, both of those behaviors were on display following the birth of the as-yet-unnamed baby. “The whole family has been heard ‘singing’ together,” the post continued, “a behavior which helps solidify family and …

‘We were constantly in terror’: Israeli hostage tells of captivity in Gaza | Israel-Gaza war

‘We were constantly in terror’: Israeli hostage tells of captivity in Gaza | Israel-Gaza war

Published by skeptic

Chen Almog-Goldstein refuses to forget her eldest daughter’s last moments. Yam, 20, was gasping for breath, having been shot in the face by Hamas gunmen, who minutes earlier had killed her father. Almog-Goldstein, 49, did not see Yam or her husband, Nadav, again because she and her three surviving children were bundled into a car and abducted. During the seven-minute journey across the border into Gaza on 7 October, their two captors smiled and took photographs of the traumatised mother and children. The Almog-Goldstein family, from left to right: Agam, Gal, Nadav, Chen, Tal and Yam. Photograph: handout “Almost everything, every day, reminded us of Nadav and Yam,” said Almog-Goldstein of their 51 days in captivity. “But when we’d cry, we’d quickly have to wipe our faces and snap out of it because our guards would tell us to be happy, which in itself was a sort of emotional harm. We didn’t have the space to grieve.” The family was moved repeatedly from tunnels to apartments, and later to a supermarket and a mosque, sometimes …

The Israeli military says it has rescued 2 hostages from captivity in Gaza

The Israeli military says it has rescued 2 hostages from captivity in Gaza

Published by skeptic

This photo provided by the Israeli military, an Israeli Air Force helicopter carrying what the military said are two released hostages, at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, Feb, 12. 2024. (Israel Defense Forces via AP) HO/AP hide caption toggle caption HO/AP This photo provided by the Israeli military, an Israeli Air Force helicopter carrying what the military said are two released hostages, at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, Feb, 12. 2024. (Israel Defense Forces via AP) HO/AP TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said on Monday that special forces rescued two Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Heavy airstrikes were conducted during the operation and there were initial reports that Palestinians were killed in the strikes. “This was a complex rescue operation under fire in the heart of Rafah, based on highly sensitive and valuable intelligence,” said the Israeli military in a statement. Israel’s military identified the rescued hostages as 60-year old Fernando Simon Marman and 70-year old Louis Har. The Israeli military said they were held on the …

‘You lied to us’: did the real-life saga behind Free Willy change the story for orcas in captivity? | Animal welfare

‘You lied to us’: did the real-life saga behind Free Willy change the story for orcas in captivity? | Animal welfare

Published by skeptic

Anyone who grew up in the 1990s may well remember this movie scene: a 3.6-tonne orca leaping to freedom over a harbour wall and swimming off into the sunset with his family. It was the closing scene of Free Willy, a film that captured the hearts of a generation, telling the story of an orphaned boy racing against time to free a killer whale from captivity before the creature is destroyed. It was 30 years ago this month that the film was released in the UK and it went on to spawn three sequels and a TV series. But it also helped to expose the dark side of orcas in captivity – not least the real-life story of Keiko, the whale who played Willy. Rescuing him took many years and millions of dollars – and even then the ending was not one that would have made the movie screens. After the film had become a box-office hit, viewers soon learned the real Willy was not free. He was performing in a marine entertainment park in …

After Captivity, Israeli-Irish Girl Won’t Say ‘Gaza’ or ‘Blood’

After Captivity, Israeli-Irish Girl Won’t Say ‘Gaza’ or ‘Blood’

Published by skeptic

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – More than two months after she was freed from Gaza, Emily Hand no longer speaks in terrified whispers. But the Israeli-Irish girl who was among the youngest Hamas hostages still refuses to name her captors or the Palestinian enclave where she was held. At the temporary home she shares with her father Tom, a whiteboard lays out their lexicon for the ordeal: Foods she does not like stand in for memories the nine-year-old does not want. The Gaza Strip is “the box”. Terrorists are “olives”. An abducted person is “cheese”, a murdered person “cottage cheese”. Blood is “watermelon”. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel good for me to say such words,” she quietly explained in an interview with Israel’s Kan TV. War in Israel and Gaza Tom said Emily sleeps in his room, as a precaution against nightmares she has suffered in which she dreams of escaping from the Gaza flat where she was kept for seven weeks and trying to run across the battle-scarred fields back to her border village. That community, Kibbutz …