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☆ ‘Heart-breaking’: Refugees once detained offshore by Australia warn the UK government not to push through its Rwanda policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Antoinette Radford | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The policy enjoys bipartisan political support in Australia, with both the coalition and Labor governments backing offshore detention. And on face value, the UK’s proposed offshore detention policy follows a similar model to that of Australia. Australia’s own offshore detention policy has been heavily criticized and fraught with controversy – but still seems to exert considerable appeal for some UK politicians. Another difference between two nations stems from the fact Australia does not have a human rights charter, Tubakovic said. She notes that the UK is still bound by human rights obligations, particularly as a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Persons: CNN — “, Behrouz Boochani, “, ”, Boochani, Mostafa Azimitabar –, –, ” Azimitabar, Rwanda Bill, Dan Kitwood, Rishi Sunak, Tony Abbott, Jonas Gratzer, Alexander Downer, Downer, Tamara Tubakovic, “ It’s, Tubakovic, David Gray, ” Tubakovic Organizations: CNN, Kurd, European, of Human, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, Labor, Refugee Council of Australia, ‘, Conservative, English Channel, UK Border Force, University of Melbourne, University of Oxford, Human Rights, of Human Rights, UN, Reuters Locations: New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Iran, Indonesia, Australia, Nauru, Manus, Melbourne, United Kingdom, Rwanda, England, Britain, British, France, Sydney

☆ Thousands of pregnant women in Gaza suffer from malnutrition, health authorities say.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | Ameera Harouda | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Wafaa al-Kurd was nearly due to give birth, she said, she weighed less than she did before becoming pregnant and was surviving on rice and artificial juice. She gave birth to a girl weighing nearly six pounds, named Tayma, just over two weeks ago, she said. Since then, her husband has spent his days scouring markets in northern Gaza, where the family lives, trying to find enough food for his wife to breastfeed and keep Tayma alive. Nearly 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza are suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and lack of proper health care, according to the Gaza health ministry. In a statement on Friday, the ministry said that about 5,000 women in Gaza were giving birth every month in “harsh, unsafe and unhealthy conditions as a result of bombardment and displacement.”The ministry added that about 9,000 women, including thousands of mothers and pregnant women, had been killed since Israel’s bombardment and invasion began in early October.

Persons: Wafaa al, Kurd, breastfeed, Deborah Harrington Organizations: United Nations, Al Locations: Gaza, Al Aqsa

☆ For Many in Rafah, Displacement Is a Recurring Nightmare
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Less than two weeks after bombs began raining down on the Gaza Strip, Ghada al-Kurd arrived in the southern city of Khan Younis. She had already been displaced three times, and hoped it would be her final journey to safety. Ms. al-Kurd, 37, speaking by telephone, said she, her sister, brother-in-law, and four nieces and nephews abandoned the tent they had been sharing “without taking anything with us,” and headed to Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. The order, which set off international alarm, is forcing the displaced people sheltering there, along with more than 200,000 of Rafah’s citizens, to weigh their next move. “I regret leaving Gaza City,” said Ms. al-Kurd, whose two daughters stayed behind in the north with their father.

Persons: al, Kurd, Khan Younis, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, ” Organizations: Kurd Locations: Gaza, Khan, Rafah, Gaza’s, Gaza City, Israel, “

☆ Why both South Africa and Israel are welcoming the UN court’s ruling in a landmark genocide case
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | Abbas Allawati | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A historic ruling by the United Nations’ top court in a genocide case against Israel on Friday was welcomed by the three main parties it involved: Israel, South Africa and the Palestinians. The International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, ordered Israel to “take all measures” to prevent genocide in Gaza after South Africa accused Israel of violating international laws on genocide in its war in the territory. It rejected Israel’s request for the case to be thrown out, but it also stopped short of ordering Israel to halt the war as South Africa has asked. “I would have wanted a ceasefire,” said South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor after the ruling in The Hague. Mohammed el-Kurd, a Palestinian activist from Jerusalem, said the ICJ failed on South Africa’s “most important request” to suspend the military operations.

Persons: “, Israel, ”, Naledi Pandor, Eylon Levi, ” Avi Mayer, ” Shelly Aviv Yeini, ” Robbie Sabel, Sabel, Yeini, didn’t, Mohammed el Organizations: CNN, United Nations ’, Israel, Court of Justice, Convention, Israel’s Haifa University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, ICJ Locations: Israel, South Africa, The Hague, Netherlands, Gaza, Palestinian, Jerusalem, “

☆ Palestinians share their lives in war-torn Gaza via TikTok, X, and Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Palestinians on social media are a window into the warLike millions of others around the world, Noor is witnessing the war in Gaza through the eyes of Palestinians who are sharing their daily realities on social media. Eyewitness accounts on social media are critical in understanding global conflicts, including past flare-ups between Israelis and Palestinians. Before October 2023, Azaiza had about 25,000 Instagram followers, according to the social media analytics firm Social Blade. Now watching from afar in Melbourne, she’s the one refreshing her social media feeds and anxiously texting relatives, friends and colleagues to make sure they’re safe. Mark Kerrison/In Pictures/Getty ImagesEven as people flock to learn from and support these Palestinians on social media, Noor says the exchange is overshadowed by feelings of powerlessness.

Persons: Motaz Azaiza, Azaiza, “, ” Noor, she’s, Noor, He’s, ”, It’s, ‘, ’, Leyla Hamed, Kanwal Ahmed, They’ve, Bisan Owda, hasn’t, Ahmed, Young, Hind Khoudary haven’t, “ Everyone’s, ” Ahmed, Zaina Arafat, Mark Kerrison, Marwa Fatafta, Clarissa Ward, Mohammed el, Sheikh Jarrah, Owda, Hind Khoudary, Plestia Alaqad, ” Alaqad, Alaqad, “ It’s, Sheikh Zayed Al, Hind, Syed Faizan Raza, Wael Al, Hamza Al, Mustafa Thuraya, Ahmad Hasaballah, Ismail al Dahdouh, ” Owda, Fatafta, ” Fatafta, She’s Organizations: CNN, Images Israel, European, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Reuters, Agence France, Presse, Israel Defense Forces, Getty, Gaza’s, Committee, Protect Journalists, Reporters, Palestinian, Israel, Quinnipiac University Locations: Gazan, Deir, Gaza, Israel, California, Noor isn’t, Iraq, London, Toronto, Palestinian American, Brooklyn, Instagram, European Union, Ramallah, East, North Africa, Egypt, Palestinian, East Jerusalem, Palestine, Australia, Melbourne, Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, Al, Gaza City, Anadolu, Gaza’s Old City, Islamabad, “, Jazeera, Rafah

☆ Trump’s avalanche of dishonesty: Fact-checking 102 of his false claims from this fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +111 min

Below is a fact check of 102 of Trump’s false claims from the 12 speeches. But contrary to Trump’s claim, it’s not true that people had been attempting for decades to create such an initiative. Trump’s aid to farmersIn speech after speech, Trump claimed that he had given US farmers $28 billion from China. Even if the poll result is off, it’s clear that Trump’s claim that “nobody wants them” is not true. He said he was an airline pilot.”Facts First: Trump made a false claim while mocking Biden for making false claims.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, “, ”, Mexico’s, ‘ Trump, Defense Department –, ” Theresa Cardinal Brown, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, ” Trump, I’ve, Todd Harrison, Harrison, It’s, Trump’s, ” Ben Cahill, Nobody, Jimmy Carter’s, Barack Obama, isn’t, El Salvador –, Obama, we’d, Obama’s, Webster, Covid, Wuhan ”, They’d, they’d, you’d, Scott Gottlieb, ” Gottlieb, Trump Trump, it’s, Abraham, Aaron David Miller, Miller, Dana El Kurd, Qasem Soleimani, they’ve, we’re, We’re, ’, Iran haven’t, ” Matt Smith, Biden’s, Smith, Ali Vaez, Kpler, Biden Trump, Iran “, Democrats ”, that’s, Jimmy Carter, Carter “, Carter, ‘, Hillary Clinton, Kari Lake, Bill Gates, Gates, ” Chris Wallace, Chris Wallace, Hunter Biden, “ Chris Wallace, ‘ He’s, ‘ ” Trump, Wallace, “ you’re, “ Biden, ‘ You’re, Wallace interjected, Rather, you’ve, ’ ” Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James &, ” Molchanov, Tim Woody, Woody, autoworkers, CNN’s Ella Nilsen, Joe Biden’s, Erin Mellon, Gavin Newsom, Mellon, ” Vonette Fontaine, Biden “, CNN’s Matt Egan, Egan, ” Biden, Europe Trump, United Kingdom “, Brent, Pavel Molchanov, Raymond James, Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy, De Haan, Matt Smith, Matt Egan, Afghanistan Trump, we’ve, Krista Wiegand, Wiegand, ” Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Qasem, Bibi, Netanyahu, Soleimani, Asad, Mark Milley, Hezbollah Trump, Steven Cheung, John Kirby, Cheung, Kirby, Iran’s, ” Ali Vaez, Joseph Amon, Washington –, Faiq Zidan, Zidan’s, Zidan, Abu Mahdi al, China Trump, Ukraine Trump, Letitia James, James, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, You’re, Bragg, Colangelo, Tanya Chutkan, I’m, Jack Smith, Bill Clinton, That’s, everybody’s, Letitia James –, Al Capone’s, Al Capone, Capone, Brad Schwartz, CNN couldn’t, Schwartz, Eliot Ness, MAGA, “ MAGA, …, White, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Inflation Trump, Bacon, Joe, PolitiFact, Trump . Howard Gleckman Organizations: Washington CNN —, CNN, Republican, Trump Trump, Republican Jewish Coalition, Department, ISIS, Trump’s, Democratic, Congress, Defense Department, former Defense Department, Center, US Customs, Trump, American Enterprise Institute, Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Energy Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, US, IHS, Islamic, The State Department, Customs Enforcement, Policy Institute, ICE, El Salvador, ”, Merriam, The New York Times, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Abraham Accords, United Arab Emirates, West Bank, Hezbollah, State Department, Carnegie Endowment, International, Arab Center Washington DC, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, Obama, US International Trade Commission, Washington Post, U.S . International Trade Commission, New England lobstermen, England lobstermen, Americas, Crisis, government’s Energy, Administration, Washington Free Beacon, Energy Information Administration, Democrats, Biden, Electoral, Georgia, Michigan, Carter, Democrats can’t, Republicans, Alabama, Arizona, Fox News, ” Energy, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Wildlife, Alaska Industrial Development, Export Authority, Raymond James & Associates, Wilderness Society, Cox Automotive, Pew Research Center, New York Times, National Oceanic, California Gov, California, American Petroleum Institute, Union, West, Energy, American Automobile Association, AAA, GasBuddy, New Hampshire, Houston, Keystone XL, Obama administration’s State Department, –, Foreign, Military, DoD, Afghan, Defense, Policy, Taiwan News, “, University of Tennessee’s Center for National Security, Foreign Affairs, Israeli, NBC, Jerusalem Post, Yahoo, Pentagon, ” CNN, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Post, National Security, Group, US government’s Defense Intelligence Agency, Narcotics Bureau, Global Health, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Justice Department, Washington, Judicial, Popular Mobilization Forces, Customs and, Middle East, Customs, Protection, CBP, Border Protection, Kiel Institute, European Union, New York, New, ExxonMobil, Trump University, Trump Foundation, Manhattan, Attorney, federal Justice Department, Department of Justice, Washington DC, Presidential Records, Presidential, Mar, Biden White, MAGA Republicans, Inflation, Heritage Foundation, Trump ., Brookings Tax, Urban Institute Locations: New Hampshire, New York City, Saudi, Florida, al Qaeda, New York, Texas, Iowa, Mexico, “, U.S, Houston, Iraq, Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nord, Germany, Russian, Trump’s, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, El, Washington, ”, ” In Texas, Covid, China, Wuhan, Italy, France, Abraham, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Palestine, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, New England, England, Kpler, Malaysia, Oregon, Alabama, Maricopa County, Arizona, Arizona’s, Moscow, Alaska, East, South Carolina, California, “ California, West Virginia, Virginia, United Kingdom, West Texas, “ U.S, Los Angeles, Venezuela, Mississippi , Louisiana, Canada, United States, Paris, Taiwan, “ China, Iranian, that’s, –, Singapore, Iraqi, San Diego, Kiel, York, Manhattan, York’s, Chicago, Philadelphia, Georgia, Qaeda

☆ Was Peace Ever Possible?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Moderated Emily Bazelon | A Discussion Moderated Emily Bazelon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +45 min

This was known as the Oslo peace process, named for the city where the secret talks took place. Micha Bar-Am/Magnum Photos Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel during the the Middle East peace conference in Madrid, 1991. Margalit: All the Israeli leaders who negotiated for peace, starting with Rabin, were in a weak political position. Dajani: With the First Intifada, and then subsequently Madrid and Oslo, Palestinians suddenly see the possibility of agency. But what’s important to understand is that the notion of peace for Rabin, and for most Israelis, is that peace is a lack of violence from the other side.

Persons: Jordan, Israel, Yasir Arafat, Bernard Frye, Arafat, Larry Towell, Abbas, Micha, Yitzhak Shamir, Jerome Delay, Saddam, Hussein, George H.W, Bush, James A, Baker III, Baker, Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Rabin, Shimon Peres, —, Margalit, Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak of, King Hussein of Jordan, Bill Clinton, Gary Hershon, Abu Alaa, “, ” Rabin, ” Arafat, ”, Ashrawi, Yehuda, Efraim, Susan Meiselas, Baruch Goldstein, Patrick Baz, Daoud Mizrahi, Gilles Peress, Goldstein, Matti Steinberg, Netanyahu, Bazelon, Clinton, Shikaki, Manal Jamal, didn’t, Dennis Ross, Omar, Camp David, Ehud Barak, Md, Ralph Alswang, Christopher Anderson, Motasm Amir, Barak didn’t, Barak, David, Dajani, Emily, Arafat —, Ross, Mary, Nobody, Arafat didn’t, Hosni Mubarak, Mubarak, El, there’s, There’s, Robert Malley, Hussein Agha, ” Barak, Sharon, It’s, Yarden Romann, Peter van Agtmael, Khan Younis, Yousef Masoud, Khan, Ahmad Hasaballah, Ziv Koren, they’re, Dan, Avishai, Omar Dajani, Taba, Dana El Kurd, Efraim Inbar, ‘ ‘ Rabin, ’ ’, Daniel Kurtzer, Avishai Margalit, George Kennan, Van, Khalil Shikaki, Limor Yehuda, Emily Bazelon, Nabil Ismail, Pascal, Said, Ulf Andersen, Getty, Menahem Kahana, Abdel, Shafi, Maggie Ohayon, Yigal Amir, Yoav Lemmer, Jack Guez, Olmert, Moshe Milner, Ami, Dani Cardona, Awad Awad, Obama, Ben Gershom Organizations: United Nations, West Bank, Associated, Palestine Liberation Organization, U.S, Soviet Union, Palestinian, Madrid didn’t, Bank, White, Agence France, Presse, Getty Images, Oslo Accord, White House, Reuters, Israel’s Labor Party government, Bazelon, Oslo Palestinian, Getty, West, Shin, Gross, . Security, Camp, Camp David Summit, Labor Party, NPR, American, New York Times, Polaris, Labor, United, McGeorge School of Law, University of the, Israel, Camp David, University of Richmond, Arab Center Washington, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, Shalem College, Bar, Ilan University, Sadat Center, Strategic Studies, Israel’s National Security, Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute for, Princeton, Israel Academy of Sciences, Humanities, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Palestinian Center, Policy, Research, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, Gaza, Hebrew University, Haifa University, Human, The New York Times Magazine, Mount Locations: Israel, Jordan, Gaza, Egypt, Jerusalem, Zion, Munich, Tunisia, Oslo, American, Oslo Gaza, Palestine, Madrid, Kuwait, United States, Soviet, Lebanon, Syria, Jordanian, America, Washington, U.S, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, U.N, Independence, Palestinian, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Rafah, Hebron, Ibrahimi, West Bank, Judea, Samaria, Yehuda, Camp David, Jenin, Haram, Al Aqsa, Khan, Kfar Aza, Khan Younis, Ahmad, Old, Ireland, Bosnia, Tel Aviv, Iran, Athens, El, Camp, Israeli, Van Leer, Ramallah

☆ Pro-Palestine protests in DC and across the US call for a ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —As Israel continues its fourth week of intense bombardment of the besieged Gaza strip, huge crowds of protesters have gathered to call for a ceasefire in Washington, D.C. as well as in other capital cities around the globe. In addition to an “immediate ceasefire,” the protesters are also calling for an end to US military aid to Israel and an end to the blockade on Gaza. Israeli authorities have rebuffed calls for a ceasefire, saying no ceasefire would be possible until all hostages are freed. Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators take to the streets across the worldIn addition to Washington, D.C., pro-Palestinian protesters are also marching in other major cities across the world Saturday to demand a ceasefire. In New York last week, hundreds of protesters from a Jewish organization calling for a ceasefire were arrested at Grand Central Station.

Persons: Israel, ”, Iman Abid, Thompson, Joe Biden, “ Biden, Biden, Celal, Mohamed el Kurd, ’, Macklemore, “, “ I’m, I’m, Yara Shoufani, ” Shoufani, Abid, Olivier Douliery, George Floyd, don’t Organizations: CNN, Organizers, US, Palestinian, Washington D.C, International People’s Assembly, Anadolu Agency, People’s, Palestinian Youth Movement, “, Israel, Congress, Getty, Washington , D.C, Met Police, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, London’s Metropolitan Police, IDF, Grand Central, Port, KABC Locations: Gaza, Washington ,, White, Palestine, Israel, Palestinian, U.S, AFP, Manchester, Oxford, Newcastle, Liverpool, Europe, Latin America, Paris, France, Berlin, Germany, Santiago, Chile, Caracas, Venezuela, Philadelphia, New York, Oakland

☆ ‘You Think of Dying at Any Time’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But those who fled found that the south, too, was perilous as Israel kept up airstrikes on the area. They went to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where for three days, she stayed with her husband and four children in the hallway. From a window, she said, she watched a constant stream of dead and wounded being rushed into the hospital. A week ago, the family went to Khan Younis, where Israeli airstrikes continued to rain down. “They say: ‘Go to a safe place.’ But then they strike the place they told us to flee to,” Ms. Kurd said.

Persons: ”, Israel, Kurd, Khan Younis, ” Ms, António Guterres Organizations: Al Shifa Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Israeli

☆ Mahsa Amini death anniversary sees heavy security in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. Over 500 people including 71 minors were killed in the protests, hundreds injured and thousands arrested in unrest that was eventually crushed by security forces, rights groups said. In Amini’s birthplace in Iran's western province of Kurdistan, a rights activist said there was a "heavy presence of security forces". Social media postings said weekly protests were held in Zahedan on Friday with slogans including "Death or freedom". Authorities have accused the United States and Israel and their local agents of fomenting the unrest to destabilise Iran.

Persons: Mahsa, Hengaw, BIDEN, Joe Biden, Biden, Nasser Kanaani, Amini's, Safa Aeli, Saleh Nikbakht, Parisa Hafezi, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean Kevin Liffey, Alistair Bell Organizations: West Asia News Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Social, Reuters, Iran's Foreign Ministry, Amnesty International, Security, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, WANA, Rights DUBAI, Mahsa, Iran's, Kurdistan, Norway, Saqez, Zahedan, United States, Israel, Britain, Dubai

☆ UK sanctions more Iranian officials to mark anniversary of Mahsa Amini death
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, in London, Britain October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday imposed sanctions on four Iranian officials to mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police. The sanctions target senior decision makers enforcing Iran's mandatory hijab law and were coordinated with similar moves by the United States, Canada and Australia, Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement. Those sanctioned include Iran's minister for culture and Islamic guidance, his deputy, the mayor of Tehran and an Iranian police spokesman, it added. The sanctions impose a British travel ban on those named, block any of their British assets and prevent UK entities from doing business with them.

Persons: Mahsa, Henry Nicholls, James, Farouq Suleiman, Sachin Ravikumar, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Thomson Locations: Mahsa Amini, Iran, London, Britain, United States, Canada, Australia, Tehran

☆ Protester killed, dozen wounded in clashes in Iraq city of Kirkuk, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAGHDAD, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A protester was shot dead and a dozen wounded on Saturday during clashes between ethnic groups in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk that broke out after days of tensions, security forces and police said. Security officials and police in the city say they were investigating the circumstances of how a protester - a Kurd - was killed, and who opened fire. People from both protest groups were wounded as stones were thrown and metal bars used to attack, said Kirkuk police. Kurdish forces controlled Kirkuk city after driving Islamic State out in 2014 but were ejected by the Iraqi army in 2017, bringing the city back under Baghdad's control. But Arab residents and minority groups who said they suffered under Kurdish rule, such as the Turkmen, have protested the KDP's return.

Persons: Mohammed al, Sudani, Ahmed Rasheed, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Kurdistan Democratic Party, Security, Iraq's Shi'ite, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, Kirkuk, Iraq, State, Iraqi

CNN —Dissident Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, arrested last October for supporting the protest movement in Iran last year, has been sentenced to six years and three months in prison, his official Twitter page said Monday. “Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison, and after 252 days of solitary confinement, transferred to the general section of the prison,” the tweet said. Salehi was arrested in October last year during protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. Toomaj/Youtube“Your Toomaj, Iran’s Toomaj, the world’s Toomaj, and our Toomaj was unjustly imprisoned for six and a half years. When nationwide protests started in mid-September last year, Salehi called for Iranians to protest against the government.

Persons: Toomaj Salehi, “ Toomaj Salehi, IRNA, Reza Etemad Ansari, “, ” Ansari, Shargh, ” Salehi’s, Iqbal Iqbali, Salehi, Mahsa, Iran’s Toomaj, ” Iqbali, ” Salehi, ”, jang Organizations: CNN, Dissident, Twitter, Iranian, Kurd Locations: Iran, Sistani

☆ Syria's Kurds to begin trials for IS detainees
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Saturday, the Kurdish-led administration said in an online statement that it had decided to submit detainees to its own "open, free and transparent trials" following the international community's lagging response. The issue of foreign fighters is one of the most complex security and rights issues in Syria's 12-year war. A Western diplomat working on Syria told Reuters the administration's decision was a surprise. We take it very seriously that they are holding a lot of people – but this is a separate issue from trying them. The diplomat said such trials would need particularly high levels of security and that the risk of a breakout by IS fighters would become higher.

Persons: IS's, Badran Jia Kurd, Jia Kurd, Letta Tayler, It's, Orhan Qereman, Maya Gebeily, Frances Kerry Organizations: Islamic, Reuters, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: QAMISHLI, Syria, BEIRUT, Kurdish, U.S, Damascus, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Syrian, Qamishli, Beirut

☆ Factbox: Who has run Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BAGHDAD, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was designed to pave the way for a thriving democracy but the mostly ineffective governments elected since 2003 have left many Iraqis disappointed. Sadr led an armed insurgency against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after American and international troops toppled Saddam. But the tables turned in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion that ushered in Shi’ite dominance leaving Sunnis, vulnerable. Sunnis have been divided by clan and ideological rivalries since 2003, which Sunni voters complain makes them weak against Shi'ite rivals. Halbousi, an engineer from western Iraq, has formed good relations with Shi'ites and Kurds who helped him become speaker.

☆ Iraqis recount their struggles after Saddam Hussein's fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

But he says ridding the nation of Saddam has just created anarchy for others to bleed the country dry. Under Saddam's rule minorities were tolerated and not singled out for their religious beliefs, but were oppressed if they opposed the government. After the fall of Saddam, they were targeted by Islamists for their religious beliefs and labelled apostates or devil worshippers. A CHRISTIAN: PASCALE WARDAWhen U.S.-led forces invaded, Iraqi Christian Pascale Warda was in London lobbying European leaders to depose Saddam. It was the same under Saddam," said Warda, who had several members of her family executed by the state.

☆ Iran Supreme Court accepts appeals of two protesters sentenced to death
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Court has accepted the appeals of two protesters sentenced to death due to flaws in investigating their cases, the country's judiciary said on Saturday. "The Supreme Court accepted the appeals of Mohammad Qobadloo and Saman Saidi Yasin, accused of the recent riots," the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. "Due to research deficiencies, the Supreme Court has referred them to the same courts for re-examination." Yasin, a Kurd who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, was accused of attempting to kill security forces and singing revolutionary songs. A top state security body said early this month that 200 people, including members of security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest.

☆ An assassination, a feud and the fight for power in Iraq's Kurdistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

TENSE STANDOFFAfter Rasoul's death, the KDP-dominated Regional Security Council accused a PUK security agency of the killing. It detained six men it identified as operatives involved and issued arrest warrants for another four senior PUK security officials, according to security council statement a week after the attack. Long-simmering mistrust between the two sides had already deepened this year due to a wave of defections from PUK security agencies. The senior PUK official told Reuters there had been eight. "It could've easily turned ugly," the senior PUK official said.

☆ Many young Iranians lose their fear in struggle for "freedom"
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Her sentiment was echoed by a dozen young Iranians from across the country interviewed by Reuters by phone. As a young woman, her death sparked anger among Iranians who do not want their daughters arrested because of how they dress. Many young Iranians have long called for the lifting of social restrictions, such as internet censorship and strict dress codes. With student numbers swelling in Iran's young population, such signs of growing dissent cannot be easily ignored by the authorities, a former moderate official said. By defying state warnings to end protests, students have paid a heavy price.

☆ Iran's Guards warn cleric over 'agitating' in restive southeast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Molavi Abdolhamid, Zahedan's leading Sunni cleric, said during his Friday sermon that officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, head of the Shi'ite-dominated state, were "responsible before God" for the Sept. 30 killings. State media said at the time of the Sept. 30 violence that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire. The Revolutionary Guards said five members of its forces and the volunteer Basij militia were killed during the Sept. 30 violence. Abdolhamid, the Sunni cleric, described the Sept. 30 killing as a massacre, saying bullets had been fired at heads and chests. The activist news agency HRANA reported on Friday that 244 protesters had been killed in the countrywide unrest, including 32 minors.

Newly elected Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has named Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a new government in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2022. Rashid, 78, was the Iraqi minister of water resources from 2003-2010. Sudani, 52, previously served as Iraq’s human rights minister as well as minister of labour and social affairs. Under a power-sharing system designed to avoid sectarian conflict, Iraq's president is a Kurd, its prime minister a Shi'ite and its parliament speaker a Sunni. Rashid’s election raises concerns about escalating tensions between the KDP and PUK, who fought a civil war in the 1990s.

☆ Iran intensifies crackdown on Kurdish areas as protests rage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Two sources in Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province, told Reuters that Basij members, along with riot police, were attacking demonstrators. A witness told Reuters hundreds of riot police and Basij forces have been transferred from other provinces to Kurdistan to confront protesters. "A few days ago some Basij members from Sanandaj and Baneh refused to follow orders and shoot the people," said the witness. In the city of Kermanshah, direct fire from security forces killed two people, Hengaw said. It said a fourth member of the security forces was killed in Mahabad, and firing by security forces killed another person in Sanandaj.

☆ Iraqi parliament to vote Thursday on new president amid divisions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks during news conference in Najaf, Iraq this screen grab taken from a live video August 30, 2022. Under a power-sharing system designed to avoid sectarian conflict, Iraq's president is a Kurd, its prime minister a Shi'ite and its parliament speaker a Sunni. Disagreement among the main Kurdish parties that run the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq has prevented the selection of a president. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party has held the presidency since 2003. A lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party said no agreement with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party has been reached yet.

☆ Factbox: Iran's minority Kurds in focus after woman's death in custody
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The demonstrations began in reaction to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and then spread to every one of Iran's 31 provinces. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe death of the ethnic Kurd raised tensions between the establishment and Iran's Kurdish minority, which human rights groups say have been long oppressed by Iran's leadership. Here are some facts about Iran's Kurds, part of a community that is spread across several Middle East countries and one of the world's largest people without a state. Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution touched off bloodshed in its Kurdistan region with heavy clashes between the Shi'ite revolutionaries and the Kurdish Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) which fought for independence. Rights groups say Kurds, who form about 10 percent of the population, along with other religious and ethnic minorities face discrimination under Iran's Shi'ite clerical establishment.

☆ Iran toughens crackdown as some oil workers reported to join protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Human rights group Hengaw reported a heavy presence of armed security forces in the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj, Saqez and Divandareh on Monday. Activists said on social media that several people, including two teenagers, were killed by security forces in the province. Blaming the protests on Iran's foreign foes, authorities said "rioters" have killed at least 20 members of the security forces. In spite of a harsh crackdown by security forces, protesters across Iran have burned pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for the downfall of the clerical establishment and chanted "Death to the Dictator". "Instead of dying every minute under this regime's repression, I prefer to die with their (security forces) bullets in protests for freedom."

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