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CNN —Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi had his death sentence overturned by the Iranian Supreme Court this week in what his lawyers have deemed a victory for human rights in Iran. After being briefly released from prison in 2023, Salehi was re-arrested for “making false claims and spreading lies,” according to Iranian judiciary news agency Mizan. On Saturday, his lawyer Amir Raesian broke the news of the reversal in a post on X, saying that the Iranian Supreme Court had “avoided irreparable judicial error” and overturned Salehi’s death sentence this week. The Supreme Court found that the death sentence delivered to Salehi was excessive and failed to comply with Iranian law,” the group said in a statement Saturday. London-based human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher who is the international counsel for the Salehi family said it was “not enough” that his life had been “spared” by the Iranian authorities.

Persons: Toomaj Salehi, Salehi, Mahsa, Amir Raesian, “, Iran’s, Chambers, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, Gallagher, ” Gallagher, Toomaj, ” “, Richard Branson, ”, Jemimah Steinfeld, ” Claudia Bennett Organizations: CNN, Iranian, Mizan, UN, Academy, Human Rights Foundation Locations: Iranian, Iran, Isfahan, London’s, London, British

☆ The surprise election that could be a model for Democrats in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

I talked to Samuel Freedman, a Columbia Journalism School professor, about his recent book about Humphrey and the 1948 Democratic convention in Philadelphia. The book’s title, “Into the Bright Sunshine,” is taken from a line in Humphrey’s rousing speech on civil rights. In 1968, the Democratic Party was operating under old rules in which primary voters actually had relatively little direct effect on delegates. When Strom Thurmond and the Dixiecrats bolted from the Democratic Party in 1948, that’s the beginning of the vast majority of the White South becoming Republicans, stepping away from the Democratic Party. Show me a major Republican politician in the MAGA movement who is a fervent supporter of civil rights legislation.

Persons: Joe Biden, Hubert Humphrey, Republican Richard Nixon, Humphrey, uninspiring, Harry Truman, Thomas Dewey, Samuel Freedman, Freedman, Biden, Truman WOLF, Donald Trump, FREEDMAN, Truman, – Henry Wallace, Strom Thurmond, Jill Stein, Minneapolis Hubert H, Lyndon, George McGovern, FDR hadn’t, Brown, Ed, WOLF, there’s, Martin Luther King, It’s, Lyndon Johnson, Bobby Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, I’m, Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Byron Donalds, Abraham Lincoln, Adlai, Stevenson, Barry Goldwater, Nixon’s, Ronald, Reagan’s, Willie Horton, Jim Crow, MAGA, Mitt Romney’s, George Romney, William Scranton, Edward Brooke, that’s Organizations: CNN —, House, Republican, Minneapolis, Columbia Journalism School, Democratic, Democratic Party, Civil Rights Movement, RFK Jr, Democratic National Convention, Civil, Chicago, CNN, Civil Rights, Southern Democrats, South Carolina Democrat, Republicans, South, JFK, Trump, Republican Party –, LBJ, Southern, Republican Party, Michigan Gov, Pennsylvania Gov, NAACP Locations: Israel, Chicago, Vietnam, New York, Philadelphia, America, ‘, Harlem, Minneapolis, Alabama, Southern, Montgomery, ’, Florida, Lincoln, Massachusetts

☆ Paul Whelan urges Biden admin to take ‘decisive action’ to secure his release as he surpasses 2,000 days in Russian custody
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Whelan said he was aware that Gershkovich’s trial is scheduled to begin behind closed doors in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg next week. Gershkovich, who has been declared wrongfully detained, has also been charged with espionage, which he denies. And in my case, that’s 100% true, and I’m sure in Evan’s case, it’s 100% true. But people go to trial here and they’re automatically guilty, and then they’re given a sentence, and that’s it,” he said. “We put a substantial offer on the table to secure the release of Evan and Paul Whelan some months ago, as we said publicly; we’re continuing to work to secure their release.

Persons: CNN —, Paul Whelan, ”, Biden, Evan Gershkovich, Whelan, “, You’re, it’s, ” Whelan, Evan, Paul, you’ve, ’ ”, Trevor, Reed, – Gordon Black, Alsu Kurmasheva, Gershkovich, they’re, Matthew Miller Organizations: CNN, US State Department, ex, Marine, State Department, ”, Moscow – Locations: Mordovia, Russia, Moscow, Guantanamo, Russian, Yekaterinburg

☆ Human rights lawyer to political reformer: Who is Keir Starmer, the UK's new would-be prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks ahead of the U.K.'s general election on July 4, 2024. The left-of-center opposition party retains a commanding lead of around 20 points over current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives, according to the latest YouGov poll. But who is Keir Starmer — Labour's leader and the clear favorite to become prime minister after Britain's July 4 election? Starmer also served as a human rights adviser during former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair's Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement. Labour leader Keir Starmer takes a selfie with students after a campaign event at Three Counties Medical School on May 29, 2024.

Persons: Sir Keir Starmer, Anthony Devlin, Rishi Sunak's, Nigel Farage's, Keir Starmer —, Starmer, Margaret Thatcher's, Tony Blair's, Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer, Christopher Furlong Organizations: Labour Party, Getty, Conservative, Britain's Labour Party, Labour, Conservatives, British, National Health Service, University of Leeds, University of Oxford, Shell, Tony Blair's Northern, Service, Counties Medical School, Wealth Fund Locations: London, England, Victoria, EU, Britain

☆ In New York City’s Subway System, There’s Beauty in the Mundane
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Erica Ackerberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Along the walls of the B/D train station on 167th Street, Rico Gatson created “Beacons,” eight portraits of Black and Latino leaders with connections to the Bronx. He modeled each mosaic on black-and-white photographs, adding bright rays “coming out of a Pan-African sensibility of black, red and green,” Gatson has said, “but expanding with yellow and orange and sometimes evolving into silver and gold.”Ann Hamilton’s “CHORUS” (2018) is a white marble mosaic of words taken from the preamble of the Declaration of Independence and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, “a song stitched step by step” along a wall of the No. 1 train platform at the World Trade Center Cortlandt station.

Persons: Rico Gatson, Black, Gatson, ” Ann Hamilton’s, “ Organizations: United, World Trade Center Locations: “, Independence, World Trade Center Cortlandt

☆ Kenya: Hundreds arrested as protests flare over tax hikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Protests have erupted in parts of Kenya, with hundreds detained by police as citizens rejected planned tax hikes in the East African nation already grappling with escalating living costs. Civil society groups said that at least 283 people have been arrested since Tuesday as protests flared over the proposed hikes. Among the taxes suspended was a 16% value-added tax on bread and a 2.5% tax on motor vehicles, a statement from Kenya’s presidency said. Amnesty International’s Kenya office said it was “deeply outraged by the arbitrary arrest of peaceful protestors” in Nairobi on Tuesday. An alliance of civil society groups called for the unconditional release of detained protesters, which it said included journalists.

Persons: Kenyan John Wills Njoroge, It’s, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Kenyan, NTV, Kenyan Police Service, ” CNN Locations: Kenya, East, Nairobi, Mombassa, Mombasa, Kenya’s

Today we celebrate Juneteenth, the day when word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the farthest outpost in America. Many people do not realize that Emancipation did not legally end slavery in the United States, however. Some historians have described this convict leasing system as “worse than slavery,” because there was no incentive to avoid working those people to death. In fact, federal agencies are mandated to purchase goods from federal prisons, just as state or municipal agencies, including public schools and universities, often must consider sourcing from state penitentiaries. Labor that people have no meaningful right to refuse and that is enforced under conditions of total control is, unquestionably, slavery.

Persons: ” Organizations: Labor Locations: America, United States, Xinjiang, Washington

☆ Thailand passes landmark bill recognising marriage equality
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Thailand's Senate passed the final reading of a marriage equality law on Tuesday, paving the way for the country to become the third territory in Asia to recognize same-sex couples after Nepal and Taiwan. The law gained the support of nearly all upper house lawmakers and will be sent to the palace for royal approval. LGBTQ+ advocates called the move a "monumental step forward" as it would make Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to enact marriage equality legislation. Thailand is already known for its vibrant LGBTQ+ culture and tolerance, making it a popular destination for tourists. "This would underscore Thailand's leadership in the region in promoting human rights and gender equality," the Civil Society Commission of marriage equality, activists and LGBTI+ couples said.

Persons: Srettha Thavisin Organizations: Civil Society Commission, Pride Locations: Thailand's, Asia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Bangkok

☆ Narges Mohammadi: Iranian activist and Nobel Peace prize winner sentenced to further year in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | Jomana Karadsheh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Narges Mohammadi, Iran’s most prominent human rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been sentenced to another year in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, her lawyer said Tuesday. According to Nili, the Iranian regime cited statements Mohammadi made concerning Iranian student and journalist Dina Ghalibaf, who was arrested in April after she publicly claimed to have been sexually assaulted by members of Iran’s morality police. The authorities also cited a letter Mohammadi wrote calling on Iranians to boycott parliamentary elections back in February and the activist’s correspondence with Swedish and Norwegian parliaments. In the letter, Mohammadi condemned an Israeli strike on a refugee camp in Rafah that killed over 45 Palestinians. From her cell, Mohammadi has also remained committed to amplifying the cause of Iranian women who have staged numerous protests in a bid to resist the regime’s mandatory hijab rule.

Persons: Narges, Mohammadi, ” Mostafa Nili, Nili, Dina Ghalibaf, Mahsa Amini, “, ”, – Ali Rahmani, Kiana – Organizations: CNN, Iranian, Islamic Locations: Tehran’s, Islamic Republic, Gaza, Rafah, Iran, Oslo, Norway’s

☆ Kenyan government scraps elements of controversial tax bill amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Caitlin Danaher | Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Kenyan government has scrapped some tax increases that were initially included in its controversial finance bill after people took to the streets in protest on Tuesday. “When we started the public participation in the finance bill of 2024, we did make a promise that public participation would not be an exercise in futility. We have listened to the view of Kenyans,” Kimani said in a speech outside the State House in Nairobi. Changes to the finance bill were driven by a “need to protect Kenyans from increased cost of living,” Kimani said. Kenyan police officers walk away from a street covered in tear gas during a demonstration against tax hikes in downtown Nairobi on June 18, 2024.

Persons: Kuria Kimani, ” Kimani, Luis Tato, William Ruto, “, ”, ” Ruto, Faith Odhiambo, ” Odhiambo Organizations: CNN, Kenyan, Kenya’s Finance, National Planning, Getty, State, Defenders Coalition, National Police, ” Police, Central Police Station, Kenya’s Law, National Police Service Locations: Nairobi, AFP, Kenya, National Police Service Kenya

A truck carrying aid for delivery into Gaza drives through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, on June 17. Netanyahu then contacted his military secretary and said this was unacceptable, until he was assured the fighting in Rafah would continue. It raises the question of where the “tactical pause” order originated, but it’s expected to continue. Israeli security minister Ben Gvir — a leading right-wing member of the country’s cabinet — condemned the pause. Fighting and deadly strikes: Fierce fighting and airstrikes have rocked Rafah as the Israeli effort to destroy Hamas in Gaza continues.

Persons: Nathan Frandino, Salah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Ben Gvir —, —, ”, Ahmed Radwan Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, CNN, Rafah Civil Defense Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Kerem, Kerem Shalom

☆ Kenya confronts trail of rape accusations and abandoned children against UK soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Marian is among a group of mixed-race children whose mothers say they were conceived after rape by British soldiers training in Kenya. Mixed-race children continue to be born in the remote villages where the British Army trains its soldiers in Kenya. One of the more contentious accusations against British soldiers involves the case of Agnes Wanjiru. Allegations of rape and other crimes, including murder, by British soldiers deployed there date back to the 1950s. The UK investigators did not conduct DNA tests on any of the 69 mixed-race children alleged to have been born from rape by British soldiers.

Persons: Marian Pannalossy, “, ”, You’re, ’ ” Marian, Marian, Lydia Juma, ” Juma, ’ Marian, ’, Generica, Nicole, Namoru, Festo Lang, CNN Juma, BATUK, Agnes Wanjiru, hasn’t, Wanjiru’s, King, Marian Mutugi, Martyn Day, Ntoyie Lenkanan, CNN “, Saitet, nosedived, Kelvin Kubai, ” Kubai, Generica Namoru, “ I’m, It’s, “ It’s, We’re, ” Mutugi Organizations: Kenya CNN, CNN, British Army, British Army Training Unit, Defense, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, National, British, Kenyan, British High Commission, The Defense, Kenya National Commission, Human Rights, Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Royal Military Police, Reconciliation, Human Rights Commission Locations: Archer’s, Kenya, Archer’s Post, Nairobi, British, Samburu, Nanyuki, Britain, East, Laikipia, London, DolDol

☆ UK’s MI5 spy agency may have issued Chinese alert to distract from Partygate, tribunal hears
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Caitlin Danaher | Sugam Pokharel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —A former opposition lawmaker in Britain’s House of Commons has alleged that the UK’s domestic spy agency MI5 may have issued a rare alert notice in 2022 about an alleged Chinese agent as a distraction from the so-called Partygate scandal, according to testimony before a tribunal looking into the alert. The Christine Lee & So Solicitors office on Wardour Street, London, on January 13, 2022. He was the chairman of the now-disbanded Chinese in Britain All-Party Parliamentary Group, on which Lee sat. The UK has since introduced a foreign agents registration act, which is expected to come into force later this year. In a statement to CNN in 2022, Gardiner said he had not benefited personally from Lee’s donations in any way, adding that the money had been properly reported and its source verified.

Persons: London CNN —, Christine Ching Kui Lee, China’s, Boris Johnson, Barry Gardiner, Lee, Johnson’s, Gardiner, ”, “, Boris ’ Partygate, Christine Lee, Rob Pinney, Boris Johnson’s, ” “, Daniel Wilkes, Mr Gardiner, CNN’s Andrew Raine Organizations: London CNN, Communist Party, Labour Party, Getty, CNN, Security Services, MI5, Security Service, Labour, Parliamentary, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Britain’s, London, Europe, ”, Britain, British

☆ When I brought my kids to a Pride parade, they were overwhelmed at first. But I learned children belong at Pride.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Jess Decourcy Hinds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAs a young queer woman in my 20s, I found it exhilarating to march down Fifth Avenue in New York City's Pride celebrations, joining the drumming, shouting, balloons, feathers, and sequins. But my feelings toward Pride celebrations shifted when I considered bringing my two small kids. AdvertisementI wondered: What would Pride mean to our young daughters, then ages 9 and 4? It's also important, especially to our queer family. Many of our queer friends with kids have celebrated pride for years and recommended a smaller, family-friendly Pride celebration, so we decided to join the throng in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Persons: —, Stefanie, It's, it's, there's, reverberations, teetering, slurring Organizations: Service, Business Locations: New York, Jackson Heights , Queens, Florida

☆ Killings show ISIS remains a threat in Syria's desert 5 years after losing its caliphate
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

ISIS killed an estimated 84 Syrian soldiers and 44 civilians in central Syria in March, making it the most violent month in the ISIS desert campaign since late 2017. Another four Syrian troops were killed in another desert attack in late April. "Over the past several years, ISIS has been able to make regular attacks in the desert," Landis told Business Insider. AdvertisementLandis noted that the Syrian military is picking up its efforts to attack ISIS in the Homs-Palmyra region. AdvertisementWhile the Syrian military does carry out combing operations in the Homs desert, ISIS remnants are far from Damascus's top priority.

Persons: —, Joshua Landis, Landis, Bashar al, Aron Lund, Lund, Assad, what's, there's Organizations: Service, ISIS, Human Rights, Business, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma, Century International, Syrian Democratic Forces Locations: United Kingdom, Homs, Syria, Iraq, Deir ez, Palmyra, Islamic State, Kurdish, Turkey, Syria's Hasakah, Damascus, State

☆ Australia's Albanese, China's Li hold 'candid' talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

China's Premier Li Qiang (L) and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands during a signing ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra on June 17, 2024. This dialogue has allowed us to build a deeper awareness of our respective interests," Albanese said in opening remarks. After the meeting, Li told reporters the leaders held a "candid, in-depth and fruitful meeting and reached a lot of consensus". Albanese told reporters after the meeting the two countries had revitalized engagement and he was "determined to keep growing our relationship where we can." watch nowOn regional issues, he had told Li that "Australia advocates that we should all work together to promote a regional balance where no country dominates and no country is dominated".

Persons: Li Qiang, Anthony Albanese, Lukas Coch, Li, Xi Jinping, " Albanese, Albanese, Gong, Tenzin Wougyal Organizations: Australia's, House, AFP, Getty Locations: Canberra, Australian, Beijing, Australia, China, Hong Kong

☆ Iran's upcoming snap elections: A battle of anti-western hardliners
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Iranian Leader Press Office | Anadolu | Getty ImagesIran is holding snap elections on June 28 following the sudden death of former Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The election will take place against the backdrop of a battered Iranian economy, widespread popular discontent and crackdowns on dissent. He described Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei⁠ as the country's "only 'voter' of significance." Iran's Presidency | WANA | Via ReutersBut with Sunday's announcement of the approved candidates, "those hopes were largely dashed," he said. It comes after turnout for Iran's parliamentary election in March was also the lowest for a legislative contest in the Islamic Republic's history at 41%.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir, Ibrahim Raisi, crackdowns, Behnam ben Taleblu, Ayatollah Khamenei⁠, ben Taleblu, Nader Itayim, it's, Raisi, Khamenei, Mahsa Amini, Sanam Vakil, Itayim, ATTA KENARE Organizations: Iran's, Tehran University, Iranian, Press, Anadolu, Getty, U.S, Guardian Council, Council, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, CNBC, Western, Argus Media, Reuters, Union for Secular Republic, Human Rights, Chatham House, Islamic Locations: Tehran, Iran, Israel, Mideast, Iran's, Islamic Republic, Kurdish Iranian, East, North Africa

☆ Israeli military announces 'tactical pause' in attempt to increase flow of aid into hard-hit Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Sunday announced a "tactical pause" in its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip to allow the deliveries of increased quantities of humanitarian aid. It said the pause was being coordinated with the U.N. and international aid agencies. That was down from 168 a day in April and far below the 500 trucks a day that aid groups say are needed. The flow of aid in southern Gaza declined just as the humanitarian need grew. COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in Gaza, says there are no restrictions on the entry of trucks.

Persons: Salah, Israel's Organizations: Humanitarian Relief Foundation, Sunday Locations: Gaza, JERUSALEM, Rafah, Israel, COGAT

☆ Israel announces ‘pause’ along southern Gaza route to allow in aid but no let up in Rafah offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Abeer Salman | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Jerusalem CNN —The Israeli military has announced a “tactical pause” of military activity along a route in southern Gaza to allow aid to be distributed but stressed that there would be no let up in fighting in and around Rafah in southern Gaza. A bottleneck of aid has built up at Kerem Shalom amid airstrikes and fighting in much of southern Gaza. It will be run in coordination with international organizations, it said, as part of efforts to increase volumes of aid reaching Gaza. Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 30, 2024. Those are Kerem Shalom on Gaza’s southern border and Western Erez in the north.

Persons: Salah, Kerem Shalom, Al Bayuk, Khan Younis, ”, “, Amir Cohen, Kerem, Western Erez Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, IDF, European Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Ministry of Health, Logistics, Shore Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, Rafah, Kerem, Khan, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza’s, Western, Ashdod

☆ Ukrainian writer and soldier says all Russians are to blame for the invasion: 'It's not Putin who is pulling the trigger in Bucha'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Within a week of the invasion, Mykhed, a renowned author who has published nine books, had enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and his former home had been destroyed by a Russian attack. Central to the work is his view that the war is not Putin's but a war carried out by all Russians. It's not Putin who is pulling the trigger in Bucha," he says, referencing the massacre that took place in 2022. In late February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia launched the invasion. Nevertheless, the war in Ukraine rages on, and Mykhed offers me a stark reminder of that fact when talking about his book.

Persons: —, Oleksandr Mykhed, Olena, Lisa, Mykhed, Putin, It's, hasn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Bucha, Chris McGrath, you'd Organizations: Service, Russia, Business, Ukrainian Armed Forces, United Nations Human Rights Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Hostomel, Kyiv, Mykhed, Chernivtsi, London, Crimea, Bucha, Russia, Kharkiv

☆ Gaza war: Flies, mosquitoes, raw sewage and mountains of garbage threaten to worsen health crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Tim Lister | Ibrahim Dahman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Raw sewage, swarms of flies and mosquitoes, garbage piled high in the streets. As the heat of summer gathers, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are contending with a crisis in sanitation. Ismail Zayda, who lives in Gaza City in the north, told CNN that water supplies had been cut off for nine months. Roads ‘full of sewage’Zayda, the Gaza City resident, told how an out-of-service swimming pool in his had become a magnet for insects. The treatment of sewage amid damage to infrastructure and a lack of fuel has become an enduring problem in Gaza.

Persons: Ismail Zayda, ”, Gaza –, –, Abed Rahim Khatib, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Issa, Reuters OCHA, ” OCHA, ” Zayda, Carl Skau, Assem, Khan Younis, Deir Al Balah Organizations: CNN, Anadolu, United Nations Security Council, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Reuters, AFP, Getty, UN, International Committee Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al, Deir al Balah, Rafah, ”, Gaza City Municipality, Khan

☆ Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Stockholm Reuters —Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, officials said, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there. “Iran used them both as pawns in a cynical negotiations game with the purpose of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Noury released from prison in Sweden. Noury was freed in a prisoner swap with Iran, Sweden said on Saturday. Swedish-Iranian dual national Saeed Azizi was arrested in Iran in November 2023 on what Sweden called “wrongful grounds.”Another Swedish-Iranian dual national, Ahmadreza Djalali, arrested in 2016, remains in an Iranian jail. An emergency medicine doctor, Djalali was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.

Persons: Hamid Noury, Noury, Ulf Kristersson, Johan Floderus, Saeed Azizi, ” Kristersson, Kristersson, Anders Humlebo, Ahmadreza Djalali, Djalali Organizations: Stockholm Reuters —, Swedish, TT, Agency, AFP, Getty, National Council of Resistance, Islamic, European Union Locations: Stockholm, Stockholm Reuters — Sweden, Iran, Sweden, Oman, Tehran, ”, “ Iran, Karaj, Islamic Republic, Floderus, Israel, Iranian, Swedish

☆ ‘We Need to Unite’: Protests Against the Far Right Are Held Across France
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Catherine Porter | Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tens of thousands of demonstrators crowded onto French streets on Saturday to denounce the rise of the country’s far-right political party and call on fellow citizens to block it from taking power in snap parliamentary elections set by President Emmanuel Macron. The protests, organized by the country’s five biggest labor unions, were widely supported by human rights associations, activists, artists and backers of a newly formed left-wing coalition of political parties, the New Popular Front. Most protesters painted a dark picture of the country under a far-right prime minister. “For the first time since the Vichy regime, the extreme right could prevail again in France,” Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party, said while addressing the crowd in Paris. That prospect brought out of retirement former President François Hollande, who announced on Saturday that he would run for legislative elections to help ensure that the far right would not take power.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, ” Olivier Faure, François Hollande Organizations: Socialist Party Locations: Vichy, France, Paris

☆ Huang Xueqin: China #MeToo journalist sentenced to five years in prison, supporters say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Huang Xueqin, an independent journalist, was found guilty by the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court Friday for “inciting subversion of state power,” supporters said. “There are so few people prosecuted because there are only so few victims who report,” she told CNN in a 2018 interview. In the months following their detention, more than 70 friends and supporters of Huang and Wang were summoned by the police for questioning, according to supporters. A close friend of Huang previously told CNN the journalist had suffered significant weight loss in detention and stopped menstruating for months. I have no sense of belonging anymore,” the friend told CNN last year ahead of the closed-door trial.

Persons: Huang Xueqin, ”, Wang Jianbin, Huang, Wang, “, ” Huang, Huang’s, menstruating, it’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist, Guangzhou, Labor, CNN, University of Sussex, Amnesty International, Communist Party Locations: Hong Kong, China, Guangzhou, United Kingdom

☆ Jared Kushner's post-White House deal-making included badly timed bet on Amazon aggregator
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

Kushner started Affinity in 2021, shortly after leaving his advisory role in the White House alongside his wife, Ivanka Trump. Neumann, who was ultimately ousted from WeWork by top SoftBank execs, introduced Kushner to Unybrands early the following year. Affinity's investment in Unybrands, which hasn't previously been reported, was one of the private equity firm's earliest deals. Following a continued slide, the company laid off roughly 10% of its staff in November 2022, according to people familiar with the matter. The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the investment in 2022, looking into whether Kushner's financial interests influenced Trump's foreign policy.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Alex Brandon, Kushner, Weeks, Ivanka Trump, Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, WeWork, Adam Neumann, Neumann, Unybrands, hasn't, —, Catterton, Jason Somerville, Somerville, it's, didn't, headcount, Donald Trump, Gary Cohn, Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Jonathan Ernst, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Carolyn Maloney, Ron Wyden, Kushner didn't, Ulrich Kratz, Goldman Sachs, Kratz, Kushner's, Ian Brekke, Asad Naqvi, Bret Pearlman, Roger McNamee, Max Fink, Neumann's, Brekke, Naqvi, Pearlman, Fink, Shahar Azran, Eugen Miropolski, Robyn Laguette, Mark Goldfinger, Joe Biden, Lex, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Ye, I've Organizations: U.S . Capitol, Capitol, Reuters, Affinity Partners, Companies, White House, Affinity, Saudi Crown, Unybrands, WeWork, CNBC, Amazon, BlackRock, Khosla Ventures, GW Partners, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, United Arab, Saudi Arabia's, Crown, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Saudi, Republicans, Crayhill Capital Management, Barclays, Goldman, Kushner, Investments II, Blackstone, Partners, Financial Services, CNBC it's, Israeli American Council, IAC, Getty, Kanye Locations: Washington, Amazon's, South Florida, Miami, Silicon Valley, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Unybrands, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Riyadh, Yemen, American, Austin , Texas, Gulf, Israel

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