Campaigners welcome move to criminalise those carrying out FGM, but warn it will take time to eradicate practice entirely
Sudan looks set to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM), in a significant move welcomed by campaigners.
Anyone found carrying out FGM will face up to three years in prison, according to a document seen by the Guardian.
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We’ve launched a brand new blog at the link below. Follow me there for the latest coronavirus news from around the world, live:
Hello, Helen Sullivan with you now. I’ll have the blog for the next few hours, so please do get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Here are the key developments from the last few hours:
Continue reading...Khalifa Haftar’s forces have suffered series of military reverses amid surge in violence in war-torn country
A surge in violence in Libya, including indiscriminate shelling of clearly marked hospitals, has ended with a promise by the renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east of the country, to honour a ceasefire for the holy month of Ramadan.
His Libyan National Army (LNA) has suffered a series of military reverses and the ceasefire offer came in the week he had declared a popular mandate to take control of the country, saying all existing political institutions were a thing of the past.
Continue reading...Schools in Turkey to stay shut until end of May; Germans urged to stay home; Vietnam says it has had no domestic transmission for two weeks
Another 31 people have died in Ireland and 376 more cases have been diagnosed, the country’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has said.
One of the deaths reported on Wednesday involved a person in the 15-24 age group, the second in this category. Dr Holohan warned the number in intensive care units was too high as the prospect of a rapid easing of movement restrictions dwindles.
That is simply too high and we need to get that down further not only because it is about protecting occupancy but the lower the figure is it is a reflection of better protection of the public and lower levels of spread of the infection.
Bolivia will extend its lockdown against the pandemic until 10 May, the government has announced, though it is planning to relax rules in less affected parts of the country from the following day.
The president Jeanine Áñez has said Bolivia will move to a “dynamic” or “less rigid” quarantine on 11 May, allowing some people to return to work.
Opening the quarantine a little or closing it completely will depend on how the pandemic is being controlled in each region. The Ministry of Health will evaluate every seven days how the pandemic evolves in each region. On that basis, decisions will be taken to relax or harden the quarantine.
Continue reading...The blast in a market in Afrin came as people went shopping in preparartion of breaking the Ramadan fast, says US and Syrian Observatory
A fuel truck bomb in a market in northern Syria killed at least 46 people including Turkish-backed rebel fighters, according to US officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The blast on Tuesday in Afrin, a city controlled by Ankara’s proxies, came as people went shopping in preparation to break the Ramadan fast, according to the US state department, which condemned the attack as a “cowardly act of evil”.
Continue reading...Two popular Middle Eastern series stir surprise with pro-Israel messages backed by Saudi Arabia
Nightfall during Ramadan in the Middle East is drama time, when Arab soap operas accompany evening feasts with fare of feuds, historical heroes and villains and forbidden love. This year though, programmers have broached new ground using the popular shows to highlight a normalisation with Israel.
Two series broadcast across the region in the first three days of the Muslim holy month have stirred both surprise and contention – one by daring to explore the Jewish history of the Gulf, the other by suggesting that Israel may not be an enemy and that Palestinians have been ungrateful for Saudi Arabia’s support.
Continue reading...Boy, 16, evacuated from Libya under EU scheme, alleges incident took place at Gashora transit facility during coronavirus curfew
An allegation that a Rwandan police commander sexually assaulted a child refugee has rocked an EU-funded scheme, under which hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers have been evacuated from detention centres in Libya.
The allegation was made by a 16-year-old Eritrean boy, who had returned to Gashora transit centre, south of Kigali, after a coronavirus-related curfew on 13 April.
Continue reading...Iran reports 96 more deaths; Spain’s death toll shows slight rise; Germany calls for ‘very careful’ easing of lockdown; New Zealand says ‘worst is over’
Formula One plans to start the season in Austria on 5 July and stage between 15 and 18 grands prix this year with the opening races behind closed doors.
The announcement came immediately after the French Grand Prix was cancelled and the news the British Grand Prix will be held without spectators if it goes ahead.
Preparatory work has begun on restarting repairs to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Continue reading...Kingdom has one of the world’s highest rates of execution and rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials
Saudi Arabia has ended the death penalty for crimes committed by minors after effectively abolishing floggings, as the kingdom seeks to blunt criticism over its human rights record.
The death penalty was eliminated for those convicted of crimes committed while they were minors, Human Rights Commission president Awwad Alawwad said in a statement, citing a royal decree.
Continue reading...Southern Transitional Council breaks with wartorn state’s internationally recognised government
The Saudi Arabian-backed government in Yemen has warned of a catastrophe if the country’s powerful separatist movement forges ahead with its declaration of self-rule over the key port city of Aden and other southern provinces.
The Southern Transitional Council’s armed forces were deploying on Sunday in Aden, the interim seat of the internationally recognised government backed by the Saudi-led military coalition that had until now included the STC.
Continue reading...WHO clarifies ‘immunity passport’ advice; global deaths pass 200,000; Russia case tally passes 80,000; Sweden’s deputy prime-minster admits problems with strategy. This blog is now closed.
We’ve launched a new blog at the link below – head there for the latest:
Here a few key developments of the past few hours at a glance:
Continue reading...Reported death of Abdullah al-Hamid puts spotlight back on kingdom’s human rights record
A leading activist serving an 11-year prison sentence has died in detention in Saudi Arabia, campaigners have said, highlighting the kingdom’s human rights record.
Abdullah al-Hamid, 69, died after a stroke in his prison cell earlier this month, according to multiple rights groups, including Amnesty International.
Continue reading...Toxic fumes and repiratory disease among hazards facing people reliant on informal processing plants for work and fuel, study finds
Black pools, long trenches and charred earth have become common sights in the fields of north-west Syria, signs of an informal oil economy that has developed during the war.
Despite damaging both the environment and health, up to 5,000 backyard oil refineries, crucial to the livelihoods of besieged Syrians, have cropped up in recent years, identified through satellite imagery in a report by open source investigators Bellingcat.
Continue reading...Despite Egypt’s fears of ‘hydro hegemony’ and concerns it will worsen water shortages in Sudan, Ethiopia’s controversial dam project is close to fruition
From his office in central Khartoum, Ahmed al-Mufti prepares every day for what he believes is the water war to come.
This conviction led Mufti, a prominent human rights lawyer and water expert, to quit the Sudanese delegation that is negotiating Nile water issues with Egypt and Ethiopia.
Continue reading...Unemployment in US up by 4.4 million to a total of over 26 million; world has ‘a long way to go’, warns WHO chief; Iran reports lowest new daily infections for a month
Peru’s reported coronavirus cases have rapidly increased this week, reaching 20,914 on Thursday. The country has the second highest number of cases in South America after Brazil despite introducing tough lockdown measures.
The health ministry says it expects patient numbers to peak within the following week, as hospitals strain to deal with the sharp rise in infections. Reuters reports cases of bodies being kept in hallways, masks being reused, and protests from medical workers concerned about their safety.
Hello, I’ll be taking over the live blog for the next few hours. As always, tips and suggestions are most welcome. You can reach me via Twitter DM @cleaskopeliti or by email at clea.skopeliti.casual@guardian.co.uk. Thanks in advance.
Continue reading...The Noor was launched by a three-stage rocket and, according to Iran officials, had reached a 425 km high orbit
Iran has claimed it has put its first military satellite into orbit, further raising tensions with the US at a time the two countries are already facing off in the Persian Gulf.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said the satellite “Noor” (Light) was in a 425km (264 miles) high orbit, after a successful launch. Iran launched its first civilian satellite in 2009.
Continue reading...Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib accused of roles in Assad regime’s torture apparatus
Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib thought they had escaped Syria’s civil war when they fled to Germany and applied for political asylum. But unlike most of those seeking refuge, they had once been part of the state’s machinery of oppression.
When the conflict began, both men were members of the notoriously vicious intelligence service, which arrested, tortured and killed protesters and opposition figures. But both defected from the regime, and they seemed to have thought that would protect them from their past.
Continue reading...Government rejects claim by militant groups that the virus does not harm Muslims and imposes night-time curfew
Somalia has recorded a rise in coronavirus cases in the past week, with the majority of those affected reportedly young people.
So far there have been 237 confirmed cases and eight deaths in the country. A member of parliament and a state minister are among those who have died.
Continue reading...Trump to halt immigration for 60 days initially; 256m people could starve, says UN; cases worldwide pass 2.5 million
A Chinese citizen journalist who was missing for almost two months after posting videos from Wuhan during the coronavirus outbreak has re-appeared, claiming that he was detained by police and forcibly quarantined, Lily Kuo reports from Beijing.
Li Zehua was one of three Chinese journalists who had been reporting in Wuhan during some of the worst weeks of the epidemic. He was last seen on 26 February after posting a video in which he was chased by a white SUV and an hours-long livestream that ended when several agents entered his apartment.
我是李泽华Kcriss，这是2月26日至今关于我的一些情况。I'm Kcriss, here is something about me si... https://t.co/ETjY7QaacY via @YouTube
Related: Missing Wuhan citizen journalist reappears after two months
Airlines in Europe have applied for €12.8bn (£11.3bn) in government support since the start of the coronavirus pandemic with no binding environmental conditions attached, according to an analysis of the sector’s bailout pleas, Sandra Laville reports.
By Tuesday this week, airlines including easyJet, Scandinavian Airlines and Tui had secured loans and other financial support amounting to €3.36bn. A further €9.47bn is being sought by other airlines, data tracking by Transport & Environment, Greenpeace and Carbon Watch reveals.
Related: Coronavirus: airlines seek €12.8bn in bailouts without environmental conditions attached
Continue reading...British-Iranian dual national will not have to return to prison until at least 20 May
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s temporary release from Evin prison in Tehran has been extended by a minimum of a month as Iran continues to battle its coronavirus outbreak.
The British-Iranian dual national was told on Tuesday about the development, which confirmed a general statement about the extension of prisoners’ furlough made by the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, on Sunday. She was due to return to prison this weekend.
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