Confusión con el número de víctimas españolas en los atentados de París

Dos de los españoles dados por muertos por las autoridades francesas, están vivos. Alberto Pardo Touceda, de 34 años, se encontraba, en realidad, en Estrasburgo y fue él mismo quien se puso en contacto con el consulado español en París. Touceda, residente en Francia, dijo que le robaron el documento de identidad hace tres años en Burdeos y que, quizás, alguien entre los fallecidos había utilizado su DNI. Jorge Alonso de Celada, el segundo español que Francia dio por muerto, se encontró con la policía en su hotel cuando regresó de dar un paseo por París.

Las autoridades francesas llegaron a comunicar por escrito al consulado español en París la muerte de Pardo Touceda y De Celada por la mañana. Pero a primera hora de la tarde, familiares de Jorge Alonso de Celada informaron a las autoridades españolas de que habían recibido un mensaje suyo comunicándoles que se encontraba bien.

“Confirmo solo un fallecimiento”, aseguró finalmente Mariano Rajoy, refiriéndose a Juan Alberto González Garrido, de 29 años que murió en el ataque a la sala Bataclan. Garrido y su mujer, Ángela Reina, ambos ingenieros, asistían al concierto de Eagles of Death Metal cuando se produjo el atentado. Se habían casado este verano y llevaban dos años vivendo en París.

El presidente del Gobierno explicó desde Turquía, donde participa en la cumbre del G20, que son las autoridades francesas las que les están dando los datos sobre la identificación de cadáveres. “Pido que nos entiendan, que todos seamos prudentes, que no se trata de ser el más rápido en dar noticias. No me refiero a ustedes, sino también a mí mismo”, dijo Rajoy a los periodistas. El sábado, el presidente había afirmado que no le constaban fallecidos españoles, solo “un herido leve”. 

Cuerpos destrozados

La tarea de identificación de las víctimas de los atentados del pasado viernes en París está siendo muy laboriosa, según fuentes oficiales. Algunos cuerpos de las víctimas del Bataclan quedaron totalmente destrozados después de que al menos dos atacantes se hicieran estallar con cinturones explosivos. Otras víctimas, así como numerosos heridos (alrededor de 350) fueron llevados a diez hospitales de París. 99 de los heridos están graves y algunos inconscientes desde el momento del atentado.

Fuente: El País

By: Estíbaliz García Taboada

Saudi Arabia and Human Rights?

Saudi Arabia does is not the best country for human rights, seen this year in the sentencing a blogger to 1,000 lashes with a cane for writing about free speech , and for its plans to execute a young political dissident by beheading him and publicly crucifying his body afterward. Also only this year have women been able to vote for the first time. So how does such a country end up being selected to oversee an influential U.N. panel on human rights?

This year Saudi Arabia has even
tried to gain a place on the United Nations Human rights council. A leaked document showed that Saudi Arabia has made a deal exchanging money and votes with the UK to obtain its seat on the United Nations’ 47-member human rights council.

However it could be argued that Saudi Arabia are not the only country that breaches human rights, the UN's high commissioner condemns capital punishment, yet a Amnesty International report shows that the United States who are on the UN council are also high offenders of capital punishment.

Critics say, including UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said in a statement. "This UN appointment is like making a pyromaniac into the town fire chief, and underscores the credibility deficit of a human rights council that already counts Russia, Cuba, China, Qatar and Venezuela among its elected members."

Maybe this suggests the international community needs to take better reforms on how it elects members to the UNHRC to remain a credible human rights organisation.

Saudi Arabia and Human Rights? https://t.co/tzWfUo9NoC pic.twitter.com/OPsNoIVTx3

— Laura Bailey (@LauraJadeBailey) December 17, 2015

Laura Bailey
Sources: Washington post, Dailybeast , UN Watch
Images: (1) UN Watch, Washington post

WhatsApp banned in Brazil

On the 17th of December Brazilian courts ban the mobile app WhatsApp for 48hours due to the company failing to co-coperate in a Criminal investigation. 

The social media website Facebook owns the WhatsApp. Its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said he was "stunned" by the "extreme" by the Sao Paulo state courts decison. Facebook released a statement saying, "We are disappointed in the short-sighted decision to cut off access to WhatsApp, a communication tool that so many Brazilians have come to depend on, and sad to see Brazil isolate itself from the rest of the world," said Jan Koum, chief executive of WhatsApp, in a statement posted on Facebook.

According to a 'Tech Crunch' report, in Brazil WhatsApp 93 million users, or 93% of the country’s internet population. The service is used by many people who cant afford the expensive Brazilian phone plans. Considering that Brazil is the social media capital of the world, this will cause issues for the Brazilian population. 

This suspension of WhatsApp comes after Brazilian phone companies urged the government to restrict the use of free voice-over-internet services offered through the App. 

Most details of the case are being kept secret by the judge, as is allowed under Brazilian law, however brazilian TV stations speculated it was due to a drug gang related crime.

Laura Bailey

Sources: BBC, Tech Crunch, Reuters

Image: Wired

Facebook amends 'real name' policy

Facebook's 'real names' policy has been amended to allow people with unfamiliar names to use the social network. Facebook requires its users to go by their legal or "authentic" names, which it says makes people accountable for their actions and deals with cyberbullying more effectively.

Although Facebooks' original aim was to combat cyber bulling by making it harder for people to hide their identity, it does not help users who use different usernames for their safety or preferred sexual identity.However the amended feature allow users share any circumstances that they could not use their real name, this could be vital for victims of domestic abuse, or in cases a persons' sexuality could put them in danger. Facebook say that these changes were needed after conversations with community leaders and safety organizations around the world.

Facebook explain their new feature saying, "in the past, people were able to simply report a “fake name” but now they will be required to go through several new steps that provide us more specifics about the report. This additional context will help our review teams better understand why someone is reporting a name, giving them more information about a specific situation."

On the 15th of December Facebook aims to reduce the number of people who are asked to verify their name once they have already registered with Facebook. Their other aim is to make it easier to confirm their name if necessary.



Laura Bailey

Sources: BBC, Facebook Press release
Images: (2)Facebook Press release, (1) BuzzCapture

Alunos de CJ na SIC

Este semestre, os alunos do 3º ano de Comunicação e Jornalismo estiveram na SIC em visita de estudo, acompanhados pela professora Carla Rodrigues Cardoso. Durante o percurso pelos estúdios da estação de Carnaxide parou-se para a incontornável "foto de família". Mas antes de entrar na SIC, as selfies foram muitas. A Marta Pinheiro, delegada da turma de finalistas de CJ, cedeu esta à página de Facebook do nosso curso. Obrigada, Marta!