Global Quickies: Vaccinations Up in Australia, Men in Hijab, and Sexual Assault at the Olympics

AUSTRALIA
“Australian vaccination rates are at an all-time high after government removes anti-vaxxers’ benefits. […] According to the report, since the policy was introduced in January, the immunisation rate for one- and five-year-olds has now reached 93 percent for the first time ever – up from around 90 percent.”

GERMANY
“German and Dutch police are probing the deaths of three cancer sufferers, who had all sought treatment at an alternative clinic in western Germany.”

TURKEY
“A gay refugee living in Turkey has been found murdered, his body so mutilated his friends could only identify him by his pants, a local rights group said.”

IRAN
“Iranian men are sharing photos of themselves wearing the hijab on social media to show solidarity with a campaign protesting the country’s compulsory veil law.”

ISRAEL
“The head of the Lower Galilee Regional Council said Thursday that he does not want to see Arabs in his local community pools, alleging that they have different bathing practices and a “hygiene culture” that is “not like ours.””

BRAZIL
“A Moroccan boxer has been arrested by Brazilian police over allegations of sexually assaulting two female cleaners in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic village.”

AUSTRALIA
“A newspaper cartoon widely criticised as racist has heightened a debate about Australia’s treatment of its Indigenous people, amid ongoing fallout from the publication of footage showing the alleged abuse of Aboriginal children at a detention centre.”

VENEZUELA
“Venezuela’s food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilizations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing.”

MEXICO
“Health officials in northern Mexico have refused to authorize an abortion for a 13-year-old girl who was raped by a family acquaintance after a judge downgraded the crime to a charge of sexual coercion.”

KENYA
“A Kenyan man accused of chopping off his wife’s hands and hacking her head with a machete after blaming her for their childless marriage should face the full force of the law, rights activists have said.”

THE VATICAN
“Pope Francis has set up a special commission to study whether women will be allowed to become deacons in the Catholic Church.”

THE VATICAN
“Pope Francis has lamented that children are being taught at school that gender can be a choice.”

IRAN
“Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed the annual civil service entry exam because of concerns it discriminates against women.”

EGYPT
“The first doctor in Egypt to be convicted of carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) served just three months of his sentence, despite the case being seen as a landmark in curbing the practice by campaigners and the UN.”

Image source: My Stealthy Freedom