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☆ Nigeria kidnapping: Chibok girl rescued after 10 years in captivity
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Stephanie Busari | Michael Rios | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Lagos, Nigeria CNN —The Nigerian army says it has rescued one of the missing Chibok schoolgirls abducted by militant Islamic group Boko Haram a decade ago. But the abduction of the Chibok girls remains the highest-profile example of the group’s targeting of schools. A decade later: Chibok kidnapping survivors tell their storiesSurvivors of the Chibok kidnapping recently shared their harrowing experiences in captivity with CNN on the 10th anniversary of their abduction. One of them Amina Ali, 27, was forced to marry a Boko Haram fighter, spending two years in captivity, before escaping. Ishaya was also reunited with her family in 2017 after spending three years as a “slave,” treating injured Boko Haram fighters.

Persons: Chibok schoolgirls, Lydia Simon, Boko Haram, Haram, “, Amina Ali, Boko, Hannatu Stephen, Ishaya, Stephanie Busari, Michael Rios, Nimi Princewill Organizations: Nigeria CNN —, CNN, Amnesty International, West, Human Rights Locations: Lagos, Nigeria, Borno State, Haram, Islamic State, West African Province, Boko Haram, ”, Nigerian, Kuriga, Sokoto, Atlanta

☆ They were kidnapped from a boarding school 10 years ago. Hear their stories
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Boko Haram has waged a 15-year insurgency battle in northern Nigeria and has kidnapped thousands of people in that time. But the Chibok girls serve as a potent symbol to the world of hope and resilience. Boko Haram robbed her futureOnce an ambitious student with dreams of academic achievement, Hauwa Ishaya was 16 when she was kidnapped. As a result, she instead became a self-described “slave” – attending to her married sisters’ needs and treating wounded Boko Haram fighters. ‘I believe she’s alive’It is not only the girls kidnapped 10 years ago whose lives have been forever changed.

Persons: Nigeria CNN —, Haram, Amina Ali, Amina, Boko, CNN Amina, “, Hauwa Ishaya, CNN Hauwa, ” –, ’, Hauwa, ”, Hannatu Stephen, Hannatu, ‘, Yana Galang, Rifkatu, Yana, CNN Yana, she’s Organizations: Nigeria CNN, Amnesty International, CNN, American University of Nigeria Locations: Yola, Nigeria, Adamawa State, Boko Haram, Chibok

☆ ‘Cute’ exhibition examines the complex power of all things adorable
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Zara Khan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

How cuteness has taken over our world — and why — is a subject being explored in “Cute,” a new (and the first ever) exhibition devoted to the movement at London’s Somerset House. The Industrial Revolution and the rise of mass production allowed cuteness to be unleashed on the world — toys, books and illustrations could, increasingly, be made easily and cheaply. The exhibition — a world first — examines the enduring appeal of the cute aesthetic amongst adults and asks deeper questions about its allure. For Simon May, a professor of philosophy at King’s College London and author of “The Power of Cute,” kawaii is just part of a story which involves the country of Japan more broadly. The Edwardian artist is credited with increasing the cute appeal of our feline friends by giving them human hobbies and pastimes.

Persons: cuteness, Hattie Stewart, David Parry, ”, Somerset, Cliff Lauson, Tim Berners, Lee, Claire Catterall, Andy Holden's, Louis Wain —, Andy Holden’s, Joshua Dale, “, Isabelle Galleymore, Yumeji Takehisa, Simon May, kawaii, Louis Wain's, Kitty, Japan ”, Setsuko Tamura, Rachel Maclean’s, Maclean, ” May Organizations: CNN, London’s Somerset House, Somerset House, Somerset, Cats, King’s College London, Bethlem, panini, Somerset House Scottish, “ Locations: London’s, London, Somerset, Tokyo, Japan, ” Japan

☆ H&M CEO quits abruptly after ‘very demanding’ times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“However, it has been very demanding at times for me personally and I now feel that it is time to leave the CEO role, which of course has not been an easy decision.”Helmersson, who is leaving H&M after 26 years at the company, has been replaced as CEO by Daniel Erver. He was most recently head of the H&M brand, which is the largest within the group. H&M shares plunged after the announcements and were more than 9% lower in midday trade in Stockholm. Earlier this month, it was forced to remove a school uniform advertisement in Australia after social media users complained it sexualized children. “We are deeply sorry for the offense this has caused,” H&M told CNN.

Persons: London CNN — Helena Helmersson, ”, ” Helmersson, Daniel Erver, Helmersson, “ Organizations: London CNN —, Reuters, CNN Locations: Swedish, Stockholm, Myanmar, Australia

☆ Taylor Swift fans are furious about graphic fake AI images of the pop superstar being shared on X
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Swifties are furious with Elon Musk's X after AI-generated explicit images of the singer went viral. Fans of Taylor Swift are expressing their fury on the billionaire's social media platform X after graphic AI-generated images of the pop superstar went viral on the site. "Posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content. The rising availability of AI image generators has fueled concerns that they could be used to create "deepfake" naked images of women. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Swifties, Elon Musk's, —, Elon, Taylor Swift, Swift, Taylor, Musk, schoolgirls Organizations: Service, Media, Business Locations: Spain

☆ H&M has pulled a school uniform ad over criticism that it sexualized young girls
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

H&M has scrapped a school uniform advert in Australia after complaints that it sexualized children. The advert of two young girls was accompanied by text saying they could "make those heads turn." NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementSwedish fast-fashion retailer H&M has pulled a school uniform advert in Australia after being widely accused of sexualizing children. People criticized the way H&M portrayed young girls in school uniform, calling the ad "creepy" and "disturbing."

Persons: —, Melinda Tankard Reist Organizations: Service Locations: Australia, Swedish

☆ H&M pulls school uniform ad in Australia after complaints it sexualized children
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —H&M has apologized for and removed a school uniform advertisement in Australia after users on social media complained that it sexualized children. “We have removed this ad,” the Swedish fashion giant told CNN. Australian writer Melinda Tankard Reist, who says her work addresses sexualization and the harms of pornography, was among the first on social media to oppose the ad. “What is your intention with this sponsored Facebook ad?” she posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Little schoolgirls generally don’t want to ‘turn heads.’ The large numbers I engage with in schools want to be left alone to learn and have fun and not draw unwanted attention to their appearance.”

Persons: “, ”, Melinda Tankard Reist Organizations: CNN Locations: Australia, Swedish

☆ A French Thriller About a Kidfluencer Gone Missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Madeleine Feeny | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A somewhat didactic early chapter describes the explosive (and real-life) arrival in 2001 of the French reality show “Loft Story,” in which everyday contestants spend 70 days trapped in a surveilled house together before being released back into reality, fresh prey for their newfound fans. In de Vigan’s novel, both Clara Roussel and Mélanie Claux were schoolgirls when they watched its finale. “They’d believed that Big Brother would be incarnated in an outside power, authoritarian and totalitarian,” de Vigan writes of Clara’s family. “But Big Brother hadn’t needed to use force. Their paths cross when Mélanie’s daughter, Kimmy, disappears outside her home in November 2019.

Persons: Delphine de Vigan, Alison Anderson, “, ”, Delphine de Vigan’s, Clara Roussel, Mélanie, “ They’d, Vigan, hadn’t, Big Brother, Clara Organizations: YouTube, Paris Locations: Delphine, Vigan, French

☆ Angry Iranians Demand Government Explanation for Schoolgirl’s Coma
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/angry-iranians-demand-government-explanation-for-schoolgirls-coma-dbaa909d

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Explainer: What has changed in Iran one year since Mahsa Amini protests erupted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A photo of Mahsa Amini is pictured at a condolence meeting organised by students and activists from Delhi University in support of anti-regime protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, in New Delhi, India, September 26, 2022. Protests began soon after the Sept. 16 death of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by morality police three days earlier for allegedly violating Iran's mandatory Islamic dress code. But as the protests fizzled they returned to streets and surveillance cameras were installed to identify and penalise unveiled women. Outside Iran, Western countries imposed new sanctions on security forces and on dozens of Iranian officials over the protests, further straining already difficult ties. Journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures and family members of killed protesters, especially among ethnic minorities, have been targeted in recent weeks.

Persons: Mahsa, Anushree, Mahsa Amini, Saqez, Amini's, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Amini, penalise, Iran's, Parisa Hafezi, Angus McDowall, William Maclean Organizations: Delhi University, REUTERS, Rights, schoolgirls, Authorities, Security, Revolutionary Guards, Journalists, Thomson Locations: Iran, New Delhi, India, Rights DUBAI, Tehran ., Islamic Republic, Baluchis, U.S, Israel

☆ Events in Iran since Mahsa Amini's death in custody
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. Security forces and demonstrators clash in some cities in Kurdistan province. Oct. 3 - Khamenei backs the security forces. March 7 - Iran says at least 53 members of security forces were killed during the protests. July 16 - Iran's morality police resume hijab street patrolsCompiled by Tom Perry and Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mahsa, Mahsa Amini, Amini, Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Amini's, Khamenei, Emmanuel Macron, Raisi, Tom Perry, Parisa, William Maclean Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Security, Authorities, Revolutionary Guards, Amnesty International, TV, Guards, Bushehr Petrochemical Project, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, WANA, Rights DUBAI, Iranian Kurdish, Iran's Kurdistan, Saqez, Kurdistan province, Kurdish, Iraq, Zahedan, Abadan, Bushehr

☆ What has changed in Iran one year since Mahsa Amini protests erupted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: Mahsa, Anushree, Mahsa Amini, Saqez, Amini's, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Amini, penalise, Parisa Hafezi, Angus McDowall, William Maclean Organizations: Delhi University, REUTERS, Rights, schoolgirls, Authorities, Security, Revolutionary Guards, Journalists, Thomson Locations: Iran, New Delhi, India, Rights DUBAI, Tehran ., Islamic Republic, Baluchis, U.S, Israel

☆ Book Review: Middle Grade Mysteries Featuring Girl Detectives
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Robin Stevens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Childhood is a constant state of trying to unravel the mysteries of the world, while being thwarted at every turn. Beth Lincoln’s THE SWIFTS: A Dictionary of Scoundrels (Dutton, 352 pp., $17.99, ages 8 to 12), illustrated by Claire Powell, is deliciously, quirkily Gothic, like “Gormenghast” for children. Martha Brockenbrough’s TO CATCH A THIEF (Scholastic, 256 pp., $17.99, ages 8 to 12) is a slice of small-town coziness. And Johan Rundberg’s THE NIGHT RAVEN: The Moonwind Mysteries, Book 1 (Amazon Crossing Kids, 192 pp., $17.99, ages 10 and up), translated by A.A. Prime, is chilly Nordic noir. But they all share the same worldview: that children can and should act out, that what they care about matters.

Persons: you’re, Daisy Wells, Hazel Wong, sleuths, Beth Lincoln’s, Dutton, Claire Powell, ”, Martha Brockenbrough’s, Johan Rundberg’s, A.A Organizations: Scoundrels

☆ Track Star Tori Bowie Died in Childbirth
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Talya Minsberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Track and Field Career: She was the world’s fastest woman. Bowie’s ascension to the fastest woman in the world began on a basketball court in Sandhill, Miss. Pisgah High School was too small to field separate basketball and track teams, so if Bowie wanted to play basketball, she would have to run track, too. She went on to help her track team win state titles, competing in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100-meter relay and long jump. “It was one of the best conversations we’ve had in a long time,” Holland said over the phone on Monday.

Persons: Bowie, Antoine Preudhomme, ”, Kimberly N, Holland, we’ve, ” Holland, “, ” Bowie Organizations: Pisgah High School, University of Southern Locations: Sandhill, Miss, University of Southern Mississippi, Florida, Mississippi, Holland, Atlanta

CNN —Nearly 80 primary school students, mostly girls, are suspected to have been poisoned over the weekend and taken to hospital in Afghanistan’s Sangcharak district, Mohammad Rahmani, the head of Education Department in the northern Sar-e-Pul province, told CNN. “After reaching school in the morning, the students suddenly started feeling dizzy, headache, and nausea,” Rahmani said. A doctor at Sar-i-Pul hospital confirmed to CNN that some of the girls were admitted to hospital and he believes they were poisoned based on their symptoms. Following international pressure, the Taliban kept primary schools open for girls until around the age of 12, Reuters reported. In 2012, more than 170 women and girls were hospitalized after drinking apparently poisoned well water at a school.

Persons: Mohammad Rahmani, Rahmani, ” Rahmani, schoolgirls Organizations: CNN, Education Department, Reuters Locations: Afghanistan’s Sangcharak, Pul, Afghanistan

☆ Was mass hysteria behind the mysterious case of 227 middle school students fainting last fall?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lillian Perlmutter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

On September 23, 2022, 12-year-old Esmeralda walked out of the girls' bathroom at her middle school in Tapachula, Mexico, and fainted. Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador began including regular updates on the government's investigation into the fainting episodes in his daily press conferences. Dr. Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, one of Mexico's few field epidemiologists, had taken an interest in the fainting episodes. News of the initial fainting episodes had been shared there, the epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pantoja-Melendez. Both believe that the fainting episodes in Mexico were examples of something new and alarming: mass hysteria spreading online.

Persons: Esmeralda, Diala, Gladys, Esmeralda's, convulsing, Esmeralda Eva Alicia Lépiz, —, Esmerelda, Mami, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gladys didn't, Bochil, Luis Villagrán, bristled, Susanna, Tapachula, Diala's, José Eduardo Morales Montes, they'd, Eva Alicia Lépiz, Hidalgo —, I've, Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, Pantoja Meléndez, Meléndez, Robert Bartholomew, Bartholomew, Lopez Obrador, busily, Simon Wessley, schoolgirls, twitching, we'll, Pantoja, Melendez, Bartholomew said, we're, We've, who's Organizations: Federal, Central America, Journalists, Mexico City —, Mexico City, Universidad Autónoma Nacional, University of Auckland, Roswell, Kings College, New York, Health Department, Pantoja Locations: Tapachula, Mexico, Bochil, Mexican, Chiapas, Mexico City, El Pais, Chiapas —, Central, Esmeralda, Mexico City — Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, México, University of Auckland , New Zealand, Veracruz, London, Southern Mexico, Kanshasa, Tanzania, Blackburn , England, Sweden, Pyuthan, Nepal, Leroy , New York, Tapachula .

☆ Opinion: A button, a love story, and an Iranian couple who will not be silenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Opinion Jeff Kaufman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

We were also moved by the continued defiance represented by the “I Oppose the Mandatory Hijab” button that Nasrin wore on her jacket. Iranian couple Nasrin Sotoudeh and Reza Khandan, with their friend and fellow activist Farhad Meysami (center) after being released from prison earlier this year following a lengthy hunger strike. Nasrin: When Reza and I first met, we were working at a magazine that presented a dialogue on social issues. Kaufman: Nasrin, you have one of the last “I Oppose the Mandatory Hijab” buttons in Iran (the government destroyed the rest). Reza KhandanFor example, when I was arrested, Reza and Farhad made the ‘I Oppose the Mandatory Hijab’ buttons in the hope that people would wear them.

☆ Iran says there were no school poisonings, blames foreign 'enemies'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Iran's intelligence ministry on Friday accused foreign "enemies" and dissidents of fomenting fears over suspected poisonings of schoolgirls, saying its investigation found no actual poisoning. The report accused unnamed dissidents of provoking fears to produce propaganda videos and warned of "prosecution of individuals, groups, media who accused the government ... and aligned themselves with enemies". Authorities have accused the Islamic Republic's "enemies" of using the suspected attacks to undermine the clerical establishment. The suspected poisonings began in November in the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Qom and spread to 28 of Iran's 31 provinces, according to activist HRANA news agency, prompting some parents to take children out of school and protest. For the first time since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, schoolgirls have joined the protests that spiralled after Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody.

☆ EU calls for UN to probe Iran schoolgirl poisonings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - European lawmakers called on the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday to conduct an independent investigation into a wave of poisonings that have hit schoolgirls in Iran. 13,000 pupils, mostly girls, have fallen ill after "suspected poisonings" according to state media and officials in Iran, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls’ education. In a resolution, the European Parliament condemned "in the strongest terms, this atrocious attempt to silence women and girls in Iran". It also urged EU member states to facilitate the issuance of visas, asylum and emergency grants to those who need to leave Iran, "particularly women and girls". Iran has arrested several people it said were linked to the wave of poisonings and accused some of connections to "foreign-based dissident media" .

Life has become solitary confinement.” Some women went into hiding, fearing retribution after the Taliban seized power. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women were among the most profoundly affected. A Wrenching Change Afifa, 47, wishes more Afghan men would fight for women’s rights KABUL, Afghanistan — Walk around the capital, Kabul, and it often feels as if women have been airbrushed out of the city. When the Taliban seized power, girls’ schools remained open in a kind of limbo — neither officially sanctioned nor forbidden — for months. Zubaida, 20, teaches high school girls in secret “Regimes come and go all the time in Afghanistan.

☆ Iran's Khamenei calls girls' poisoning 'unforgivable' after public anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Over 1,000 girls have suffered poisoning since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls' education. The poisonings have come at a critical time for Iran's clerical rulers after months of protests since the death of a young woman held by police for flouting hijab rules. "Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state TV. "If it is proven deliberate, those perpetrators of this unforgivable crime should be sentenced to capital punishment." At least one boys' school has also been targeted in the city of Boroujerd, state media reported.

☆ Khamenei says poisoning of schoolgirls in Iran is an "unforgivable crime"
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, March 6 (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader said on Monday that poisoning of Iranian schoolgirls in recent months is an "unforgivable" crime amid spread of suspected poisoning across the country with hundreds of girls hospitalised. "Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning. This is an unforgivable crime... the perpetrators of this crime should be severely punished," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media. Over a thousand Iranian girls in different schools have suffered "mild poison" attacks since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians suggesting they could have been targeted by religious groups opposed to girls' education. Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Protests break out in Iran over schoolgirl illnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iranian officials believe the girls may have been poisoned and have blamed Tehran's enemies. Iran's interior minister said on Saturday investigators had found "suspicious samples" that were being studied. Similar protests were held in two other areas in Tehran and other cities including Isfahan and Rasht, according to unverified videos. Iran rejected what it views as foreign meddling and "hasty reactions" and said on Friday it was investigating the causes of the incidents. Schoolgirls were active in the anti-government protests that began in September.

☆ A wave of suspected mass poisonings of schoolgirls in Iran remains shrouded in mystery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Up to 900 Iranian school girls have been victims of suspected mass poisoning in recent months. Iran's president blamed the unexplained bouts of respiratory distress on the Islamic state's "enemies." Dozens more girls have been admitted to hospital with respiratory distress in the last few days, according to The Guardian. On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blamed the unexplained suspected school poisonings, which have happened in multiple locations, on the Islamic state's "enemies" but did not clarify who that was. The health minister has previously said that the culprits could be religious groups opposed to girls receiving an education, according to Reuters.

☆ Iran president blames foreign enemies for wave of schoolgirl poisonings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday blamed a wave of poisonings of hundreds of schoolgirls around the country on Tehran's enemies. Raisi, speaking to a crowd in southern Iran on Friday in a speech carried live on state television, blamed the poisoning on Iran's enemies. He did not say who those enemies were although Iranian leaders habitually accuse the United States and Israel, among others, of acting against it. He is the first government official to report an arrest in connection with the wave of poisonings. "Guards at a parking lot where the fuel tanker was parked also suffered from poisoning," Saleh said, referring to the Pardis site.

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