All posts tagged: freed

Who are the four hostages Israel freed from Gaza?

Who are the four hostages Israel freed from Gaza?

Published by Sam

Israeli troops on Saturday rescued four Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas militants captured them on October 7 in the attack on the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. Here are short profiles of the freed captives, identified by the army as Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv.  Issued on: 08/06/2024 – 15:35Modified: 08/06/2024 – 15:33 3 min Noa Argamani, 26 Noa Argamani became one of the faces of the hostages in the immediate aftermath of October 7 after a video emerged of her being taken away from the festival by Hamas fighters on the back of a motorbike. “Don’t kill me!” she screamed. The video showed her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, an engineer, being led away separately. A student at Ben-Gurion University in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, Argamani “loves life”, a group of her friends said on social media. Her Chinese-Israeli mother has brain cancer and in a public video spoke of her despair at the possibility she may not see her daughter before she dies. Almog Meir Jan, …

Detained staff members freed; Kenya Airways to resume flights to Kinshasa

Detained staff members freed; Kenya Airways to resume flights to Kinshasa

Published by skeptic

Nairobi, Kenya —  Kenya Airways said Monday that it would resume flights to Kinshasa after military authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo released two of its employees who were detained last month. The airline announced on April 29 that it would suspend flights to the DRC capital, calling the arrests “unlawful.” “Kenya Airways confirms that military authorities have unconditionally released our two employees who had been detained since 19 April 2024,” Kenya’s flag carrier said in a statement. “With the necessary ground support in place, we are pleased to announce that Kenya Airways will resume flights to Kinshasa on 8 May 2024.” Earlier, the Kenyan government had announced the release of one of the employees. “Deeply grateful to inform that Lydia Mbotela, KQ [Kenya Airways] manager in DRC, has just been released by the authorities in Kinshasa,” Korir Sing’Oei, Kenya’s principal secretary for foreign affairs, said on X, formerly Twitter. The two employees, who work at the airline’s office in Kinshasa, were arrested on April 19 by a military intelligence unit, according to …

Hundreds of Bahraini Political Prisoners Freed in ‘Bittersweet’ Royal Pardon

Hundreds of Bahraini Political Prisoners Freed in ‘Bittersweet’ Royal Pardon

Published by Sam

When Naji Fateel was arrested in the aftermath of Bahrain’s Arab Spring uprising, his youngest son, Nidal, was a toddler. Last month, when Mr. Fateel left prison — riding a bus filled with inmates freed by a surprise royal pardon — the Nidal who greeted him was a teenager. Mr. Fateel, 49, a human rights activist, embraced his son and emerged, dazed, into a life forever changed. “It was an indescribable moment,” he said, “the first hug after freedom.” After more than a decade in jail, Mr. Fateel was released in a mass pardon in April that included more than 1,500 prisoners — the largest pardon since the reign of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain began in 1999. The government’s media office would not disclose how many people remain behind bars in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf. But the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, a human rights group run by Bahraini exiles, estimates that the pardon freed more than half of the country’s prison population, including more than …

From Freed Son to Literary Legend: Who Was Horace?

From Freed Son to Literary Legend: Who Was Horace?

Published by skeptic

  Quintus Horatius Flaccus, more commonly known today as simply Horace, was—and still is—a popular Roman poet. His life and works coincided with monumental changes in the city, as he wrote during the life of Octavian, who would soon become Rome’s first emperor. He was a prolific writer whose verses were relatable, accessible, and often autobiographical. His pieces have left scholars with many sources to consult when thinking about who, exactly, the poet was.     Horace Was the Son of a Formerly Enslaved Person Ancient Italy, 753 BCE to 663 CE. Source: Florida Center for Instructional Technology   Although Horace is known today as one of Rome’s greatest poets, his life had humble beginnings. On December 8th, 65 BCE, he was born in Venusia, a small but strategically important colony in southern Italy. Horace’s father was a freedman—formerly enslaved but free by the time of his son’s birth—and the poet credits him for his well-being, writing in Satires that: “If I live a virtuous life… and if I am to my friends a good friend, …

The undercover sting that freed more than 100 underage sex workers

The undercover sting that freed more than 100 underage sex workers

Published by skeptic

Using rudimentary equipment he bought from Delhi, including spy cams concealed in a pen and button, he began scouring the streets of the red light district for almost a year.  “Make-up is something very enticing for girls. If you go to India, you’ll see street sellers in every city so I knew I would blend in,” he said. “The girls are unable to say anything because they are always being policed. You can’t ask questions, you won’t get the evidence on a silver platter. But when you are going around, you hear things and see things,” Singh explains, sitting in a nondescript office, piles of cardboard files all over the floor, documenting the thousands of girls they have rescued over the years, approximately 4,000 at last count.  “Most of the time the girls are locked up and they are only allowed out when a customer comes in. To ensure they are not interacting with the customers, the brothel keepers are always banging on the door and take away the mobiles of the customers.” As a …

Israel artist refuses to open Venice Biennale show until ceasefire, hostages freed

Israel artist refuses to open Venice Biennale show until ceasefire, hostages freed

Published by skeptic

People stand in front of the closed Israeli national pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art fair in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The sign announces that the artist and curators representing Israel at this year’s Venice Biennale won’t open the Israeli pavilion until there is a cease-fire in Gaza and an agreement to release hostages taken October 7. LUCA BRUNO / AP The artist representing Israel at the Venice Biennale called on Tuesday, April 16, for a ceasefire in the war with Hamas and said her exhibit would remain closed until the hostages were released. Ruth Patir’s video installation “(M)otherland” was due to open on Saturday at Israel’s national pavilion at the international art show, but the day before a media preview, she said it would remain closed for now. “I feel that the time for art is lost and I need to believe it will return,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. She said she and curators Mira Lapidot and Tamar Margalit “have become the news, not the art.” “And so if …

Senegal swears in former opposition figure, recently freed from prison, as new president

Senegal swears in former opposition figure, recently freed from prison, as new president

Published by skeptic

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal inaugurated Bassirou Diomaye Faye as its new president on Tuesday, completing the previously little-known opposition figure’s dramatic ascent from prison to the palace in recent weeks. Faye was released from prison less than two weeks before the March 24 election, along with popular opposition figure and mentor Ousmane Sonko, following a political amnesty announced by outgoing President Macky Sall. It is the former tax inspector’s first time in elected office. “It’s the culmination of a long struggle for democracy and the rule of law,” said Aissata Sagna, a 39-year-old factory worker who worked on Faye’s campaign. “This is a day of celebration for us, even if we have lost young people killed during the demonstrations.” The election tested Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in West Africa, a region that has experienced coups and attempted coups. It followed months of unrest ignited by the arrests last year of Sonko and Faye and concerns that the president would seek a third term in office despite constitutional term limits. Rights groups said …

American YouTuber Freed After Kidnapping in Haiti

American YouTuber Freed After Kidnapping in Haiti

Published by Sam

An American YouTube personality who was kidnapped two weeks ago by a gang leader in Haiti was released over the weekend and was on his way home to the United States on Monday morning, according to his father. The American, Adisson Pierre Maalouf, 26, had traveled to Haiti from the neighboring Dominican Republic to interview Jimmy Chérizier, a former police officer and gang leader known as Barbecue, according to Mr. Maalouf’s family, who spoke to The New York Times after his release. Kidnapped with him was Mr. Maalouf’s guide, Jean Sacra Sean Roubens, a Haitian journalist. Mr. Roubens confirmed to The Times that he had also been released. Mr. Maalouf said on social media that he had been abducted by a rival gang leader and held in a “concrete shack surrounded by barbed wire” in a remote location. “Can’t give any more detail till I’m home, but all I will say for now is — Glory be to God,” he said. Mr. Chérizier could not be reached for comment, and there is no evidence that …

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 …

Convicted of rape, ex-Brazil football star Dani Alves freed on €1 million bail

Convicted of rape, ex-Brazil football star Dani Alves freed on €1 million bail

Published by skeptic

Brazilian footballer Dani Alves looks on at the start of his trial at the High Court of Justice of Catalonia in Barcelona, on February 5, 2024. JORDI BORRAS / AFP Former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves is to be released from jail pending an appeal against his rape conviction in exchange for posting bail of €1 million, a Barcelona court said on Wednesday, March 20. The ruling came a day after his lawyer requested the 40-year-old’s release on grounds he had already served a quarter of his four-and-a-half-year sentence in pre-trial detention following his arrest in January 2023. In its ruling, the court granted him “provisional release” in exchange for “the bail payment of € 1 million” also requiring he hand over his Spanish and Brazilian passports, remain in Spain and present himself to court “on a weekly basis.” Public prosecutors had opposed his request, arguing he posed a high-flight risk. Read more Subscribers only Dani Alves’ rape conviction hailed as a feminist victory in Spain One of the world’s most decorated footballers who played …