Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

US removes Sudan from terrorism blacklist in return for $335m

Posted on by

Compensation payment pledged for alleged role in bombing of two US embassies

Washington has removed Sudan from a terrorism blacklist after the country agreed to pay $335m in compensation for its alleged role in the bombing of two US embassies in east Africa by al-Qaida in 1998.

Donald Trump tweeted the news of the deal on Monday. “GREAT news! New government of Sudan, which is making great progress, agreed to pay $335 MILLION to U.S. terror victims and families. Once deposited, I will lift Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. At long last, JUSTICE for the American people and BIG step for Sudan!” he wrote.

Continue reading...

Revealed: chaining, beatings and torture inside Sudan’s Islamic schools

Posted on by

Two-year BBC News Arabic investigation uncovers horrific conditions, with boys as young as five facing violence and sexual abuse

An April evening in the suburbs of Khartoum. After months of undercover work, I had learned to time my visits to khalwas, Sudan’s Islamic schools, to coincide with evening prayers. I entered while the sheikhs (teachers) and 50-odd boys dressed in their white djellabas were busy praying. As they knelt, I heard the clanking of chains on the boys’ shackled legs. I sat down behind them and started filming, secretly.

I began investigating after allegations emerged of abuse inside some of these schools: children kept in chains, beaten and sexually abused. Khalwas have existed in Sudan for centuries. There are more than 30,000 of them across the country where children are taught to memorise the Qur’an. They are run by sheikhs who usually provide food, drink and shelter, free of charge. As a result, poor families often send their children to khalwas instead of public schools.

Continue reading...

Iran hails lifting of 13-year UN arms embargo as ‘momentous day’

Posted on by

Immediate shopping spree is unlikely after end to military sanctions despite US protests

Iranian officials have hailed the lifting of a 13-year UN arms embargo on their military as a momentous day, claiming they were once again free to buy and sell conventional weapons in an effort to strengthen their country’s security.

The embargo was lifted on Sunday morning despite US protests and was in line with the five-year timetable set out in the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015.

Continue reading...

Revealed: Sheikh Khalifa’s £5bn London property empire

Posted on by

Documents reveal UAE president owns multibillion-pound property portfolio spanning London’s most expensive neighbourhoods

The row of 1960s-built houses with untidy gardens on a quiet cul-de-sac near Richmond upon Thames appears to have little in common with Ecuador’s red-brick embassy in Knightsbridge, where Julian Assange spent seven years in hiding, just across the road from Harrods.

Continue reading...

Man can drop part of name denoting slave ancestry, Tunisian court rules

Posted on by

Case expected to open door for others wanting to drop ‘atig’ or ‘liberated by’ from their name

A court in Tunisia has allowed an 81-year-old man to remove a word from his name that marked him out as descended from slaves, in the country’s first ruling of its kind, his lawyer has said.

Tunisia abolished slavery in 1846, but critics say it has not done enough to address racism against black Tunisians, who make up 10-15% of the population and are mostly descended from slaves.

Continue reading...

Senior Libyan coastguard commander arrested for alleged human trafficking

Posted on by

Abd al-Rahman Milad, known as Bija, is suspected of being behind the drowning of dozens of refugees

The UN-backed government in Libya has arrested a coastguard commander alleged to be one of the world’s most ruthless human traffickers.

On Wednesday, authorities in Tripoli said Abd al-Rahman Milad, known as Bija, and suspected of being behind the drowning of dozens of people, has been arrested in the Hay-al-Andalus district of the city and is now being detained by Rada special forces.

Continue reading...

We can’t ignore JCB role in West Bank outrages | Letters

Posted on by

Charities such as the NSPCC should not accept money from the machinery firm, writes Annie O’Gara, while Nick Georges has witnessed the use of JCB equipment in the destruction of Palestinian infrastructure

JCB is rightly under close scrutiny (JCB challenged over machinery used to demolish Palestinian homes, 12 October).

You highlight JCB’s donations to the Conservative party. But JCB also donates to a leading children’s charity, the NSPCC, effectively sanitising the company’s reputation.

Continue reading...

Blood and tears as Israeli police storm wedding during lockdown

Posted on by

Police say bride’s brother threw oil and slipped on it; interior minister demands investigation

An Israeli wedding in a settlement outside Jerusalem ended with a bloody fight and sobbing guests after police stormed in to break it up, accusing the family of breaking coronavirus lockdown rules.

Footage of police dragging the bride’s brother out a house, blood streaming down his face as he is escorted past a white cloth table set with flowers, has led to outrage in the government, and an investigation has been opened.

Continue reading...

Israel’s pact with the UAE is not about peace. It’s a business deal | Sami Abu Shehadeh

Posted on by

Palestinian homes are still being demolished and illegal settlements expanded. That’s why tomorrow I’ll be voting against the agreement in the Knesset

Tomorrow, the Israeli parliament will be voting on the agreement to normalise relations with the United Arab Emirates. A large majority will approve a hugely favourable step towards the Israeli government’s goals: perpetuating its systematic violations of international law and of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights. Those parliamentarians who believe in justice and equality are going to vote against this agreement. I’m afraid, though, that we are a tiny minority.

This week, we were given copies of the agreement, which I read in the three languages (Arabic, Hebrew and English) and figured out a few things. First of all, those who wrote it in different languages tailored it to their audiences. While in English and Hebrew, they repeated the word “normalisation” several times, it is not even mentioned in Arabic. This is a business deal that merely establishes diplomatic relations, and not a peace agreement. The word “annexation” (of occupied Palestinian territory) is not even mentioned.

Continue reading...

Iran at breaking point as it fights third wave of coronavirus

Posted on by

Trust in government of exhausted and impoverished country is diminishing as death toll continues to rise

Iran, the crucible of coronavirus in the Middle East, smashed two grim records this week, reporting its largest number of deaths in a single 24 hours since the outbreak started in March, and the largest number of new infections.

Iranian health officials openly admit Iran is deep into its third, and biggest, wave of the disease, and evidence suggests an exhausted and impoverished country is struggling to cope as trust in government diminishes, sanctions weaken the economy and hospitals report overcrowded intensive care units.

Continue reading...

Painful but effective? UK can look to Israel for example of short lockdown

Posted on by

Israel imposed ‘circuit breaker’-style lockdown at same time UK ministers ignored advice to do just that

Days before UK ministers rejected advice to impose a shortened “circuit breaker” lockdown in late September, Israel made the opposite decision and enforced the unpopular and painful policy to stem the spiralling number of virus infections.

The country of 9 million – less than 15% of the population of Britain – was shut down for a second time, with Israeli officials arguing it was essential to halt infections or risk overloading hospitals.

Continue reading...

JCB challenged over machinery used to demolish Palestinian homes

Posted on by

Foreign Office quango says some of NGO’s claims against machinery firm ‘merit further examination’

The British heavy machinery firm JCB’s sale of equipment used in the destruction of Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is being examined by a UK government body to determine whether its due diligence process complies with human rights guidelines set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The case is likely to test the degree to which multinationals are responsible if their export goods are sold by local distributors in ways that infringe human rights.

Continue reading...

China, Russia and Saudi Arabia set to join UN human rights council

Posted on by

Rights campaigners voice concerns as Cuba and Pakistan also expected to be elected

China, Russia, Cuba, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are expected to be elected to the board of the UN human rights council on Tuesday, leaving human rights campaigners in the countries aghast and pleading with EU states to commit to withholding their support.

The Geneva-based monitoring NGO UN Watch described the situation as the equivalent of allowing five convicted arsonists to join the fire brigade.

Continue reading...

‘They have to be punished’: the mothers trapped in the UAE by ‘love crimes’

Posted on by

Single migrant women left destitute by Covid can’t leave until they have served sentences for sex outside marriage – but virus restrictions mean prisons won’t accept them

When Reyna* took a taxi to Al-Awir prison in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, she was hoping to turn herself in and be admitted as an inmate. The former domestic worker from the Philippines had brought her three-month-old son along with her.

Reyna lost her job during the pandemic; she can no longer pay for their rent or food and wants to return to her homeland. But in order to be permitted to leave the UAE she must first serve a jail sentence for having sex outside marriage, which is illegal under the country’s Islamic laws.

Continue reading...

People in Gaza sifting through rubbish for food, UN head says

Posted on by

Palestinians across Middle East suffering unprecedented poverty, says Philippe Lazzarini

People in Gaza are searching through rubbish to find food as Palestinians battle unprecedented levels of poverty, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.

Across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and elsewhere, Palestinian refugees are suffering at new depths because of the pandemic, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency chief, Philippe Lazzarini. “There is despair and hopelessness,” he said in an interview.

Continue reading...

Footballers and fishermen: Italy’s red prawn war with Libya turns ugly

Posted on by

Libyan forces holding Italian crew demand release of footballers convicted of people smuggling

At two docks on opposite shores of the Mediterranean, two sets of families have been drawn into a small international crisis as the fate of 12 Italian fishermen held in Libya appears to hinge on that of four Libyan footballers jailed in Italy for people smuggling.

In Mazara del Vallo, in Sicily, family members have been calling for the immediate release of 12 men, part of a crew including six Tunisians, whose vessel was seized on 1 September by Libyan patrol boats accusing them of fishing in territorial waters. They were taken to Benghazi, Libya, where the warlord Gen Khalifa Haftar reportedly ordered them detained unless Italy released the four Libyans whose families claim were wrongly convicted.

Continue reading...

Wildfires erupt in Mount Lebanon area after heatwave hits country – video

Posted on by

Firefighters in Lebanon have been battling fierce wildfires across the Mount Lebanon area and along the country’s border with Israel. The Lebanese Civil Defense said rising temperatures and high wind speeds were contributing to the spread of the fires.

Continue reading...

Lebanon: fuel tank explodes in basement of Beirut building – video

Posted on by

A fuel tank exploded inside a Beirut building on Friday night, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said. The explosion came two months after a massive blast at Beirut's port killed nearly 200 people, injured at least 6,500 and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.

Continue reading...

Lebanon: Beirut fuel tank explodes in building basement, killing four

Posted on by

Blaze erupts inside bakery shaking city, two months after a massive blast at port killed nearly 200 people

A fuel tank has exploded inside a Beirut building, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the blast in the western neighbourhood of Tariq al-Jadida on Friday night. The state-run national news agency said the blaze erupted inside a bakery in the basement of the building.

Continue reading...

Mohammad Reza Shajarian embodied the timeless beauty of Persian music

Posted on by

The singer, who has died aged 80, was silenced in his home nation for his outspoken criticism – but his artistry played on in the hearts of Iranians at home and abroad

I vividly remember the first time I met Mohammad Reza Shajarian on a summer afternoon in Berlin in 2011. He was touring Europe, along with his daughter Mojgan and an ensemble of young musicians. For Iranians, this was – along with North America – the only place they could experience their great idol on stage, given that the outspoken maestro of Persian classical music had been banned from performing inside Iran two years earlier.

Related: Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian dies aged 80

Continue reading...