Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa

‘A race against time’: the new law putting Somalia’s children at risk of marriage

Posted on by

Child marriage in the country has increased during coronavirus – and now a newly-tabled bill would allow children as young as 10 to marry

Fardowsa Salat Mohamed was 15 when her cousin asked her parents for her hand in marriage. Her father did not hesitate to say yes. When Mohamed objected, her father asked her to choose between “a curse and a blessing”.

“That was not a choice for me, I was basically forced,” she says. “No girl would ever choose to be cursed by her parents so I had to accept the marriage,”

Continue reading...

Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s every step being followed inside prison in Iran

Posted on by

Sources say authorities make two prisoners follow the British Australian academic everywhere in the Covid-ravaged Qarchak jail

Kylie Moore-Gilbert has enough money to buy food and water inside Iran’s notorious Qarchak prison, but is closely surveilled everywhere she goes, sources inside the jail say.

Fellow prisoners report that the British Australian academic appears to have so far escaped infection in the wave of Covid-19 sweeping through the prison, but that her communications with the outside world are strictly proscribed, according to Roya Boroumand, executive director of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (ABC) for Human Rights in Iran.

Continue reading...

Vaccine-derived polio spreads in Africa after defeat of wild virus

Posted on by

Fresh cases of disease linked to oral vaccine seen in Sudan, following outbreak in Chad

A new polio outbreak in Sudan has been linked to the oral polio vaccine that uses a weakened form of the virus.

News of the outbreak comes a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that wild polio had been eradicated in Africa.

Continue reading...

Macron visits Lebanese singer in bid to change political soundtrack

Posted on by

French leader meets Fairouz, 85, amid frustration with ruling class unwilling to change

The French president had tried it all before: rebuking his counterpart, cajoling ministers, withholding aid and imploring the Lebanese ruling class to change its ways in order to save the country.

This time Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut with a different approach – a visit to one of the country’s most unifying figures. His first port of call was to the home of the illustrious singer, Fairouz, whose songs of loss and lament have been a soundtrack to Lebanese life for more than 50 years.

Continue reading...

New employment law effectively ends Qatar’s exploitative kafala system

Posted on by

Workers will be able switch jobs without employers’ permission, but rights groups say measure does not go far enough

Workers in Qatar may now change jobs without needing to obtain their employers’ permission, ending one of the most criticised elements of the country’s labour system.

The government has also announced an increase in the minimum wage, but rights groups have said the measure does not go far enough, leaving low wage workers earning as little as £1 an hour.

Continue reading...

Hamas and Israel agree end to cross-border bombing in Gaza

Posted on by

A Qatari-brokered truce commits Israel to easing its 13-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory

Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas have announced they have reached a Qatari-mediated deal with Israel to end more than three weeks of cross-border exchanges of fire.

After talks with Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi, “an understanding was reached to rein in the latest escalation and end [Israeli] aggression against our people,” said the office of the Palestinian territory’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.

Continue reading...

Sudan government agrees to peace deal with five rebel groups

Posted on by

Pact covers security, land ownership, power sharing and return of displaced people

Sudan’s government has agreed to a peace deal with five rebel groups in a move seen by observers as a significant step towards resolving multiple deep-rooted civil conflicts that have caused immense suffering in the country for decades.

The agreement will provide a welcome boost to the transitional government that took power after the fall of the authoritarian ruler Omar al-Bashir last year.

Continue reading...

Inside Somalia: how Covid-19 created a perfect storm in a humanitarian crisis

Posted on by

Covid could be ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’ health workers warn. Photographers Fardosa Hussein and Ismail Taxta captured a country battling seemingly insurmountable odds

Considering the country was in the middle of a pandemic, the silence at the entrance to Mogadishu’s De Martini hospital felt almost numbing, the expected noise replaced by stillness in its deserted, sanitised halls.

It sent a chill through me as I arrived in May to capture the work being done at what was, until recently, the Somali capital’s only hospital taking coronavirus patients. It felt like a prison.

Continue reading...

Beirut blast: support grows for ambassador to become Lebanon’s next PM

Posted on by

Mustapha Adib, the ambassador to Germany, is backed by four former prime ministers as French president flies in to press for new political pact

Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany could become the crisis-stricken country’s next prime minister after getting the support of senior Sunni politicians.

Mustapha Adib was named by four former prime ministers on the eve of binding consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs on their choice for the post.

Continue reading...

Libya peace-building efforts in doubt amid government infighting

Posted on by

PM suspends interior minister over claims he acted unlawfully by supporting street protests

A power struggle in Libya’s UN-backed government that erupted over street protests has raised fears about the future of fragile peace-building efforts after its prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, said the interior minister had acted unlawfully in giving his backing to the calls for improved living standards.

The surprise developments, unfolding over the past week, move Libya away from a carefully planned UN-backed move to build on a ceasefire and plans to resume oil production agreed a fortnight ago.

Continue reading...

Palestine: 1947 escape from British prison exposed as inside job

Posted on by

Exclusive: architect leaked plans to Jewish militants leading to raid seen as signifying London’s declining control

The family of a decorated British civil servant who built a notorious jail for the empire in Palestine has revealed he leaked the building plans to Jewish militants, helping them to launch a legendary prison break in 1947.

The storming of Acre prison has been credited as a critical event that led to the British decision to end what was increasingly viewed as an onerous mandate in Palestine. Until now, details of how the highly sophisticated operation was so successful had remained elusive.

Continue reading...

UN refugee agency calls on EU nations to let in migrants rescued in Mediterranean

Posted on by

UNHCR and IOM say 200 rescued people urgently need to get off Banksy-funded ship

The UN refugee agency urged European nations on Saturday to let in hundreds of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by humanitarian boats, including one financed by the British street artist Banksy.

The UNHCR and the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said more than 200 rescued refugees and migrants needed immediately to get off the nonprofit search-and-rescue ship Louise Michel, saying it was far beyond its safe capacity.

Continue reading...

Sexual assault, forced labor, wage theft: garment workers in Jordan suffer for US brands

Posted on by

Activist groups work towards improving labor conditions in textile factories but abolishing the industry’s ‘norms’ is an uphill battle

Mehedi Mehedi, a 36-year-old Bangladeshi garment worker who had spent 14 years working in Jordan, left the country forever last December. It was not an easy decision to make: Mehedi had met his wife in Jordan, he had no guarantees of finding a job back in Bangladesh, and he was desperate to work in order to support his chronically ill father.

In Jordan, Mehedi had been working for a subcontracting factory that supplies apparel to brands like Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, and American Eagle. But after spending his last six months without regular pay, he had reached a breaking point.

Continue reading...

Banksy-funded boat nears ‘state of emergency’ as it shelters 200 people

Posted on by

Crew of Louise Michel, who rescued 89 migrants on Thursday, say European authorities ignoring them

A rescue boat financed by the British street artist Banksy is close to declaring a “state of emergency” after the crew helped 130 migrants and are now safeguarding over 200 people off Libya’s coast, while the European authorities ignore their request for help.

The vessel, named Louise Michel after a French feminist anarchist, set off in secrecy on 18 August from the Spanish seaport of Burriana, near Valencia, and is now in the central Mediterranean, where, on Thursday, it rescued 89 people including 14 women and four children.

Continue reading...

Outcry in Iran at nine-year sentence for man who beheaded daughter

Posted on by

Mother of 14-year-old victim expresses fury at lenient sentence as critics say Iranian law unfairly favours men

An Iranian man who beheaded his 14-year-old daughter has been sentenced to only nine years in jail, in a case that has sparked outrage at the way Iranian law appears to enshrine supposed male rights over women’s lives.

Rana Dashti, the mother of 14-year-old Romina Ashrafi, expressed fury at the lenient sentence in an interview with the Iranian Labor news agency (Ilna) on Friday and said the court’s ruling had “caused fear and panic for me and my family”.

Continue reading...

Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean

Posted on by

Exclusive: UK artist finances bright pink motor yacht that set sail in secrecy to avoid being intercepted by authorities

The British street artist Banksy has financed a boat to rescue refugees attempting to reach Europe from north Africa, the Guardian can reveal.

The vessel, named Louise Michel after a French feminist anarchist, set off in secrecy on 18 August from the Spanish seaport of Burriana, near Valencia, and is now in the central Mediterranean where on Thursday it rescued 89 people in distress, including 14 women and four children.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Europe sees increase in infections among younger people, says WHO chief

Posted on by

Regional director warns of increase in hospitalisations and deaths as winter comes; India records daily rise in cases of 75,000

Germany plans to keep fans out of stadiums until at least the end of the year and get tougher on mask-wearing to combat a worrying rise in coronavirus infections, under a draft seen by AFP.

The chancellor Angela Merkel is holding talks with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states to officially agree a package of new measures, which will apply nationwide.

The goal of the federal government and the states is to work together to reduce the infection numbers as much as possible.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned top officials to take special care to comply with coronavirus rules after the shock resignation of EU trade boss Phil Hogan.

Her words of caution came just hours after Hogan stepped down after a week of pressure over a breach of coronavirus guidelines in his home country of Ireland.

Related: EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan resigns after flouting Covid rules

[As] Europeans make sacrifices and accept painful restrictions, I expect the members of the college to be particularly vigilant about compliance with applicable national or regional rules or recommendations.

Tonight Commissioner @PhilHoganEU submitted his resignation. I respect his decision. I am grateful for his work as a Trade Commissioner and a member of my team. https://t.co/xPcdLX3kmy

Continue reading...

France records post-lockdown record of 6,111 daily cases – as it happened

Posted on by

France records highest level of daily cases since lockdown ended and the second-highest ever; Italy records most daily cases since 6 May. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below.

This blog has now closed. You can stay up to date on all the latest news on our new blog below.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Tour de France in doubt, WHO to review emergency alert rules

Here’s a quick recap of the latest coronavirus developments across the world over the last few hours:

Continue reading...

Grassroots groups hold Beirut together, yet big NGOs suck up the cash | Hayat Mirshad

Posted on by

Local charities work constantly to support Lebanese society. It’s time they had a fair share of foreign aid

Every person in Lebanon has probably been asked: “Where were you during the Beirut port explosion?”

My response is always the same: I was here, in Beirut.

On 4 August, when the explosion ignited our skies, I was here – fighting for my life as windows, doors, and buildings collapsed around me. I was still here in the painful hours that followed, working with fellow activists to spearhead clean-up efforts, distribute food and rescue neighbours trapped under the rubble. And when it was revealed that our government’s alleged negligence led to the fatal blast, I remained here – on the streets with my sisters – to demand justice.

We were among the first to respond to this disaster. We were here before international aid workers arrived, before France hosted an international aid conference for the humanitarian response, and before the dust settled on our now devastated city.

Continue reading...

US proposes removing Sudan from terrorism list for $330m compensation

Posted on by

The payment would go to victims of al-Qaida but has caused anger in the poverty-stricken country

A US proposal to remove Sudan from a list of states that sponsor terrorism – in exchange for a $330 million payment compensation to American victims of al-Qaida – has caused anger in the poverty-stricken east African country.

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, visited Khartoum on Tuesday to underline US support for the new transitional government that took power following the fall of Omar al-Bashir last year, whose 30 year authoritarian rule saw Sudan become an international pariah.

Continue reading...