‘Historic’ move sees media professionals claim rights after years of persecution under Omar al-Bashir and crackdown after 2021 coup
Sudanese journalists have formed the country’s first independent union in more than three decades.
Abdulmoniem Abu Idrees, 58, Khartoum correspondent for the Agence France-Presse news agency, was elected the union’s first president in a vote on Sunday.
Continue reading...Investigation into attacks by Bashar al-Assad’s forces that left 700 people dead could help bring justice for victims
The “startling display of violence” meted out by Syrian government forces against civilians in the town of Daraya 10 years ago has been laid bare in the first detailed investigation into the massacre.
At least 700 people were killed when forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad stormed the town between 24 and 26 August 2012. Troops went door to door killing and detaining men, women and children. Terrified people sheltered in basements.
Continue reading...WHO hails west African country as first in world to stamp out Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma
Togo has been praised by the World Health Organization for becoming the first country in the world to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases.
The WHO presented the west African country with an outstanding achievement award this week for eliminating Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma in just 11 years.
Continue reading...Campaigners hail landmark decision as a ‘huge paradigm shift’ in attitudes towards sexuality
Being gay, bisexual or transgender should not be considered an illness and cannot be treated, the Vietnam government has announced in “a huge paradigm shift” in LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
The Ministry of Health said medical professionals should treat LGBTQ+ people with respect and ensure they are not discriminated against.
Continue reading...Record win for women is a cause for celebration as acrimony over the presidency continues
More women won parliamentary seats in Kenya’s elections this month than ever before.
The National Gender and Equality Commission said Kenyans elected 30 female MPs, up from 23 in 2017, seven female governors, up from three in 2017, and three female senators, the same number as in 2017.
Continue reading...Lawyers for Jagtar Singh Johal say he was given electric shocks after unlawful arrest in Punjab in 2017
A British Sikh campaigner is facing a possible death sentence after the UK intelligence services passed on information about him to the Indian authorities, according to a high court complaint.
Lawyers for Jagtar Singh Johal from Dumbarton, Scotland, say he was tortured, including being given electric shocks, after his unlawful arrest in the Punjab in 2017 where he had travelled for his wedding.
Continue reading...Protests follow appearance of ‘tortured’ writer on state television, while human rights group warn forced confessions on the rise as hijab laws hardened
There were protests and condemnation last week after an Iranian woman who was arrested for defying newly hardened hijab laws appeared on state television to give what observers claimed was a forced confession as a result of torture.
Sepideh Rashno, 28, was arrested in July soon after footage of her being harassed on a bus over “improper clothing”, was circulated online.
Continue reading...Somali social media has been flooded with tributes to the man better known as ‘Hadraawi’
Messages of condolences continue to pour in from around the world following the death of Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, regarded as one of Somalia’s greatest poets.
Warsame, better known as “Hadraawi”, died in Hargeisa, in Somaliland, on Thursday at the age of 79.
The snake sneaks in the castle:
although it’s carpeted with thorns
Continue reading...Urgent action needed to avert further disaster in war-torn country as funding ‘fast running out’
Nearly one in three children under five in the Ethiopian region of Tigray are malnourished and the UN said urgent action is needed to prevent them from dying.
According to a new emergency assessment carried out by the World Food Programme (WFP), 29% of very young children are suffering from global acute malnutrition (GAM). More than half of pregnant or breastfeeding woman are also malnourished.
Continue reading...People in Ethiopian region turn to desperate measures after authorities stop 6 million people accessing their own money
Hunger in the besieged region of Tigray is pushing people to increasingly desperate measures as the authorities are systematically blocking and confiscating remittances needed by millions of people.
Banking services and all communications have been cut off to the state by the Ethiopian administration since last year, with 6 million people denied access to their own money.
Continue reading...Fears the unit will enforce public order laws limiting women’s rights and freedoms amid crackdown since military coup
Human rights campaigners in Sudan fear the launch of a new police squad will herald the return of “morality policing” in the country.
The government has announced the creation of the community police unit to “reaffirm the relationships between people and the police” and ensure security.
Continue reading...Bunge and Cargill, behind more than 30% of soy exports to EU and UK, accused of exposing suppliers to link with indigenous rights violations
Two of the world’s biggest grain traders are sourcing soy from a Brazilian farm linked to abuses of indigenous rights and land, a report from the environmental group Earthsight claims
Earthsight named the companies as Bunge and Cargill and said they sourced soy produced on a farm located on ancestral land of the Kaiowá indigenous group.
Continue reading...Five-year-old child reportedly died of scorpion sting after nearly 40 Syrians spent a month marooned between Greece and Turkey
A group of adults and children who spent a month stuck on a scorpion- and snake-infested spit of land between Greece and Turkey – and denied help by both nations – were finally taken to temporary accommodation by Greek police this week.
Among the group of nearly 40 Syrian refugees forced to seek refuge on the islet in the Evros river was a five-year-old girl, Maria, reported to have died from a scorpion sting. Her nine-year-old sister remains gravely ill.
Continue reading...Government accused of inaction as downpours leave schools destroyed, homes ruined, crops failing and cholera on the rise
More than 580 people have died and thousands have lost their homes across Pakistan as torrential rains batter the country.
An estimated 1 million have been affected by heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides since July as Pakistan endured more than 60% of its normal total monsoon rainfall in three weeks.
Continue reading...Girls forced to stop attending school under Taliban are taking huge risks to keep studying – as are the teachers helping them
When inspectors arrive at the school gate, which is most weeks now, the older girls know the drill. They slip away from their classes, race to a musty room and huddle together for long minutes that sometimes stretch into hours, hoping they won’t be discovered by the men who want them shut up at home.
The Taliban have banned secondary education for girls, the only gender-based bar on studying in the world.
Continue reading...Campaigners say many people have had to stop or switch antiretroviral medication regimes – but the government denies supply crisis
Hundreds of thousands of people living with HIV in India are struggling to access treatment because of a shortage of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, according to campaigners.
Up to 500,000 people have not been able to get hold of free ARVs from government health centres and hospitals over the past five months, they say, as the country experiences stock shortages of key drugs.
Continue reading...With elections due next year, analysts fear political motives could be driving the rising violence and tensions in the region
Fears of a new wave of violence in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are growing after weeks of deadly protests against UN peacekeepers and rising regional tensions.
Thirty-six people, including four UN peacekeepers, have died in the past two weeks as hundreds of protesters vandalised and set fire to UN buildings in several cities in eastern frontier provinces.
Continue reading...As presidential elections approach, engagement appears low among under-35s – but some see staying away from the polls as a form of protest
A growing number of 18- to 35-year-olds say they are not planning to vote in Kenya’s presidential elections next week.
About 40% of the 22 million people registered to vote in Tuesday’s elections are aged 18 to 35. Under-35s make up 75% of the country’s population.
Continue reading...The truce will bring some relief to a country exhausted by war and famine, but critics say the Houthis will use the peace to regroup
The UN has announced that the warring sides in Yemen have agreed to extend the current ceasefire for a further two months.
Late on Tuesday the government and the Houthi rebels committed to intensify efforts on negotiations, said Hans Grundberg, special envoy for the country.
Continue reading...More than 5,600 displaced and 400,000 left without clean water after heavy rain causes two rivers to burst banks
At least 24 people have died and more than 5,600 people have been displaced by flash flooding in eastern Uganda.
Two rivers burst their banks after heavy rainfall swept through the city of Mbale over the weekend, submerging homes, shops and roads, and uprooting water pipes. About 400,000 people have been left without clean water, and more than 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of crops have been destroyed.
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