Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

‘For freedom’: French actors cut their hair in support of Iranian women

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Celebrities including Juliette Binoche and Marion Cotillard stage protest after death of Mahsa Amini

More than 50 high-profile French women have filmed themselves cutting their hair in support of Iranian women and girls who have been killed in protests at the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iranian morality police.

They include some of the best-known names of French cinema; Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Adjani and Isabelle Huppert, as well as the Belgian singer Angèle. The British-born singer Jane Birkin – who is filmed with her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg – and actor Charlotte Rampling, both of whom live in France, and Julie Gayet, wife of former French president François Hollande, were also shown cutting their hair “for freedom”.

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Sudan faces ‘generational catastrophe’ as millions of children miss school

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Floods, militia raids and hunger mean a third of children are not in school at all, while the rest have too few teachers, aid groups warn

Nearly every school-age child in Sudan is missing out on education, either completely or facing serious disruption, aid organisations have warned.

Schools in some states reopened this week after delays due to severe flooding but millions of children are still unable to go, leaving the country facing a “generational catastrophe”.

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Young and sick children to be first Australians repatriated from Syrian detention camps

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About 60 wives, sons and daughters of slain or jailed IS combatants to be rescued from Roj camp, but some women face arrest upon return to Australia

The youngest, most unwell and most vulnerable of the Australian children currently held in squalid Syrian detention camps will be the first ones repatriated to Australia. But some of their mothers could face arrest – and potential charges – upon return to the country.

The Australian government is currently implementing plans to repatriate about 60 Australian women and children – wives, sons and daughters of slain or jailed Islamic State combatants – who have been held for more than three years in the dangerous detention camps in north-east Syria.

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Iran arrests musician as anthem for protests goes viral

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The lyrics to Baraye by Shervin Hajipour are taken from ordinary Iranians voicing their anger in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death

As demonstrations against the death of Mahsa Amini enter their third week in Iran, a protest song by one of Iran’s most popular musicians has become the soundtrack to the biggest civil uprising for decades, channelling the rage of Iranians at home and abroad.

The lyrics to Baraye by Shervin Hajipour are taken entirely from messages that Iranians have posted online about why they are protesting. Each begins with the word Baraye – meaning “For …” or “Because of …” in Farsi.

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Failure to extend Yemen ceasefire leaves millions at risk, say charities

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International organisations cite 60% fall in civilian casualties over six months, but critics say benefits of truce have been exaggerated

The expiry of a six-month ceasefire in Yemen has thrust the country back into war after limited improvements in humanitarian conditions, according to analysts.

Charities have criticised the failure to extend beyond Sunday the truce that was first agreed in April, and which they said had created hope for Yemenis. Although critics have said it created only a temporary stop in fighting that allowed the Houthi rebels to strengthen.

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Cop27 host Egypt warns UK not to backtrack from climate agenda

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Unusual diplomatic intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero

The Egyptian government, host of the next UN climate summit, has warned the UK against “backtracking from the global climate agenda”, in a significant intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero.

The warning before the Cop27 conference, which will take place in just over a month in Sharm el-Sheikh, to the host of Cop26, which took place in Glasgow last November, is highly unusual in diplomatic terms. The hosts of successive Cops are responsible for a smooth handover of the talks.

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Iranian students defy security forces after violence at university

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Rights groups ‘extremely concerned’ about violent repression of demonstrations in Tehran and Isfahan

Iranian students have stepped up their protests in defiance of a crackdown by security forces, who allegedly cornered and shot 12 students at a prestigious university in Tehran on Sunday night.

Anti-government protests ignited by the death of a young woman in police custody in mid-September have spread around the country at various levels of intensity, revealing a cultural chasm between the country’s educated youth and an elderly male religious establishment.

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Young people demand climate justice in run-up to Cop27 UN talks

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Activists from global south demand recompense for damage from countries most responsible for crisis

Young people from some of the countries most affected by climate breakdown have warned they are not victims but a force to be reckoned with in the run-up to a UN climate conference in Egypt.

Led by climate groups across Africa and the Middle East, hundreds of activists from countries that are the least responsible for the crisis but are experiencing the worst impacts have gathered in Tunisia to prepare for what they say will be a collective fight for justice for their countries and communities, which they will take to Cop27 next month.

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Sudan campaigners demand action after alarming rise in ‘honour killings’

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Reported deaths more than double in a year, with women attacked by male relatives for appearing to talk to men on smartphones

Campaigners are calling for urgent action to tackle what they say is a rise in “honour killings” in Sudan.

Eleven women and girls have reportedly been killed by relatives so far this year, more than double the number reported in 2021. Two women have died in the past month.

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Iran protests: riot police use teargas on students at Sharif university

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Unverified social media videos show security forces firing teargas amid reports some students are trapped in campus car park

Iranian security forces have clashed with students at a prominent university in Tehran, social and state media reported, in the latest sign of a deadly clampdown on nationwide protests that were ignited by the death in custody of a young woman.

The anti-government protests, which began at 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s funeral on 17 September in the Kurdish town of Saqez, have spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s authorities in years, with many calling for the end of more than four decades of Islamic clerical rule.

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Australian children rescued from Syrian camps need tailored support to reintegrate into society, expert says

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Shane Healey urges government to establish holistic and ‘individualised’ process for kids who spent formative years in violent conditions

A former ADF Special Operations intelligence analyst who is now an expert on countering violent extremism says Australian children brought out of Syrian refugee camps will require intensive support to successfully integrate into the community.

“It’s a long, intensive and individualised process but, done holistically, will have excellent results,” Shane Healey said. “Australia has the capability and the expertise to support these children.”

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Biden administration seeks delay over Prince Mohammed immunity decision

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Representatives seek delay in court proceeding over Khashoggi murder after news crown prince has been named prime minister

The Biden administration is seeking a 45-day delay in a court proceeding in which it has been asked by a US judge whether it believes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be granted sovereign immunity in a case involving the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Representatives from the US justice department said in a legal notice filed on Friday that the department was seeking the extension after Saudi Arabia announced in a press release last week that Prince Mohammed had been named prime minister.

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Iran says it is due $7bn for release of US-Iranian father and son

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Frozen funds expected to be released in exchange for freedom of Baquer and Siamak Namazi, says state media

Iran is awaiting the release of about $7bn (£6.3bn) in funds frozen abroad, state media said on Sunday, after it allowed an Iranian-American to leave the country and released his son from detention.

Baquer Namazi, 85, was permitted to leave Iran for medical treatment abroad, and his son Siamak, 50, was released from detention in Tehran, the UN said on Saturday.

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Australia to launch rescue mission for women and children trapped in Syrian detention camps

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Exclusive: More than 20 Australian women and more than 40 children related to Islamic State combatants held in al-Hawl And Roj camps

The Australian government is preparing to launch a mission to rescue dozens of Australian women and children trapped in Syrian detention camps.

More than 20 Australian women and more than 40 children – the widows, sons and daughters of slain or jailed Islamic State combatants – remain within the al-Hol and Roj detention camps in north-east Syria.

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Iranian American held in Tehran for seven years granted temporary release

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Siamak Namazi, convicted along with father on espionage charges, freed from Evin prison on one-week renewable furlough

An Iranian American businessman who has been imprisoned in Iran for nearly seven years has been released from Tehran’s Evin prison on a one-week, renewable furlough, the United Nations announced on Saturday.

The release of detainee Siamak Namazi comes as his father, Baquer Namazi, is being allowed to leave Iran for medical treatment, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

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Scores of Iraqis injured in anti-government protests in Baghdad

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Teargas and stun grenades used by security forces as unrest over poverty and corruption flares up in the capital and other cities

Iraqi security forces have fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse stone-throwing protesters in clashes that wounded scores of people near Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, where hundreds marked the anniversary of anti-government unrest in 2019.

At least 86 people were wounded on Saturday, about half of them members of the security forces, and 38 protesters were hit by rubber bullets.

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‘Women are in charge. They are leading’: Iran protests continue despite crackdowns

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People, determined to defy violence by security forces and online blackout, are resorting to old-fashioned methods to organise unrest

The messages, printed on scraps of paper, were thrown on doorsteps across Iran overnight by protesters determined that an online crackdown would not stop their movement.

“The Islamic Republic is falling. Join the people,” said one handed out in northern Rasht city. In southern Ahvaz organisers gave an address and time for protest, and a broader call to action. “If you cannot come, spread the message so other people come,” it urged readers.

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‘Women, life, liberty’: Iranian civil rights protests spread worldwide

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Demonstrations in string of major cities in solidarity with protests sparked by death of Mahsa Amini in police custody

Worldwide protests are being held in solidarity with the growing uprising in Iran demanding greater freedom and protesting against the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by Iranian morality police.

Demonstrations under the slogan “Women, life, liberty” are taking place in many major cities, including Rome, Zurich, Paris, London, Seoul, Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney, Stockholm and New York.

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Nine foreign nationals arrested in Iran as protests and violence continue

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Detainees accused of being ‘agitators’, as death toll rises and tribunal says 2019 repression was crime against humanity

Iran’s ministry of intelligence has said that nine foreign nationals have been arrested in a round up of “agitators” allegedly linked to a wave of anti-government demonstrations that have now reached their third week. It said the detainees included nationals from Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.

In a lengthy statement on Friday, the ministry also accused the US of trying to break the Iranian government’s control on the internet.

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Arab diplomats urge Liz Truss not to move British embassy to Jerusalem

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Private letter says ‘illegal’ plan could jeopardise free trade deal between UK and Gulf Cooperation Council

Arab ambassadors in London are urging Liz Truss not to go ahead with “an illegal and ill-judged” plan to move the British embassy to Jerusalem.

Some Arab diplomats have even said the plan could jeopardise talks on a highly prized free trade deal between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council due to be completed this year.

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