Tom Levitt

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Tom Levitt

The family of one of dozens of Uyghurs feared to have been forcibly deported from Thailand to China have condemned the decision as “shameful”. The deportations came despite a UN statement saying those being sent to China faced a “real risk of torture” on their return. Thailand ignored protests by the UN refugee agency, EU and US in deporting 40 Uyghurs who had been detained in the country for a decade, claiming they had returned voluntarily “to their normal lives” with their families.

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Tom Levitt |Zahra Joya

A senior Taliban minister who expressed support for reversing the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan appears to have been forced to flee the country. Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Khost province, near the Afghan-Pakistani border, on 20 January, Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, criticised the government’s ban on girls attending secondary schools and higher education. “There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future,” Stanikzai said.

Dec 24, 2024 | theguardian.com | Tom Levitt

A Syrian family say they are “fearing for their future” this Christmas after having an imminent decision on their asylum application stopped by the UK government. Bilal*, 39, worked as a bank manager in Damascus, and has been living in Sheffield with his wife and four children for the past year. He had his second interview about his asylum application in November and had been told by the Home Office that a decision on his case was “very close”.

Dec 23, 2024 | eldiario.es | Tom Levitt

Los trabajadores del sector del champán en Francia están mal pagados y se ven obligados a dormir a la intemperie y robar comida a los vecinos para no pasar hambre, asegura una investigación publicada por The Guardian.

Dec 23, 2024 | theguardian.com | Tom Levitt |Maïa Courtois |Simon Mauvieux

A Guardian investigation has found workers in France’s champagne industry are being underpaid and forced to sleep on the streets and steal food to stave off hunger. Workers from west Africa and eastern Europe in the town of Épernay, home to the headquarters of some of the world’s most expensive champagne brands, including Moët & Chandon and Mercier, claim that they are either not being paid for their work or illegally underpaid by vineyards near the town.