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BERLIN (AP) — Tigst Assefa broke the women's world record by more than two minutes Sunday at the Berlin Marathon, as Eliud Kipchoge won the men's race for the fifth time but couldn't break his own record. Ethiopian runner Assefa, the winner in Berlin a year ago, ran 2 hours, 11 minutes, 53 seconds to break the previous women's record of 2:14:04 set by Brigid Kotsgei at the Chicago Marathon in 2019. His time of 2 hours, 2 minutes, 42 seconds was more than a minute and a half off the record he set in Berlin last year. Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier in Vienna in 2019 when he ran 1:59:40 but it was not officially considered the world record. The German environmental group Last Generation had signaled it intended to disrupt the Berlin Marathon.

Persons: Tigst Assefa, Eliud Kipchoge, Assefa, Brigid Kotsgei, Kipchoge Organizations: BERLIN, Berlin, Chicago Marathon, Marathon . Police Locations: Berlin, Vienna

☆ Tigist Assefa obliterates women’s marathon world record in Berlin while Eliud Kipchoge makes history
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa obliterated the women’s marathon world record on Sunday as she won the Berlin Marathon, completing the course in 2:11:53 and shaving more than two minutes off the previous best. It was a blistering race from the very start with the leading 12 women all running within world record pace through the opening 15 kilometers. By the halfway point, Assefa was more than a minute inside world record pace and alone at the head of the race, streaking ahead of the field. Eliud Kipchoge won his fifth Berlin Marathon title. The speed of this year’s Berlin Marathon was underscored by a record nine men finishing inside 2:05 and a record eight women finishing inside 2:20.

Persons: Assefa, Brigid Kosgei’s, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui, Magdalena Shauri, Eliud Kipchoge, Tobias Schwartz, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, Derseh Kindie Organizations: CNN, Berlin, Marathon, Athletics, Getty

☆ Ethiopia's Assefa smashes women's marathon world record in Berlin
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa shattered the women's marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, lopping off more than two minutes from the previous best to clock an official time of two hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds. "I knew I wanted to go for the world record but I never thought I would do this time," said the 26-year-old, a former 800-metre runner. Her remarkable victory overshadowed men's world record holder Eliud Kipchoge's record fifth victory on Berlin's quick and flat inner-city course. Compatriot Vincent Kipkemoi was second, with a time of two hours three minutes 13 seconds and Ethiopia's Tadese Takele third. She had no problem maintaining her pace and at the 37km mark she was just three seconds per kilometre slower than Kipchoge's time at the same stage, cruising to a sensational world record.

Persons: Assefa, lopping, pulverise Kenyan Brigid Kosgei's, Eliud, Kipchoge, Vincent Kipkemoi, Tadese, Workenesh Edesa, Sheila Chepkirui, Tanzania's Magdalena Shauri, Karolos Grohmann, Hugh Lawson Organizations: pulverise Kenyan, Ethiopian Olympic, National Committee, Climate, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Paris, Kenya

Over the past few years, she has administered some 10,000 coronavirus vaccines in her community in eastern Ethiopia. “But I keep going because I value the work.”Ms. Yusuf is one in a legion of more than three million community health workers globally and is one of a small minority that are actually paid anything at all. Eighty-six percent of community health workers in Africa are completely unpaid. But now, spurred by frustrations that arose during the Covid pandemic and connected by digital technologies that have reached even remote areas, community health workers are organizing to fight for fair compensation. The movement stretches across developing countries and echoes the labor actions undertaken by female garment workers in many of those nations 40 years ago.

Persons: Misra Yusuf, ”, ” Ms, Yusuf Organizations: Ethiopian Locations: Ethiopia, Africa

☆ State Dept. Contractor Is Accused of Stealing Satellite Imagery of Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Adam Goldman | More About Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While the complaint does not disclose what country Mr. Lemma was working for, U.S. officials identified it as Ethiopia and described the suspected spying as narrow in focus. In a statement, the State Department said it would work with intelligence agencies and conduct a review of the national security and foreign policy implications of the case. According to a court filing, Mr. Lemma had been employed by the State Department since at least 2021, working during the evenings at a secure facility in Washington. At the State Department, Mr. Lemma served as an information technology administrator in its intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, known as I.N.R., and had access to classified systems, the filing said. The intelligence arm handles some of the most sensitive American intelligence, which is used to better inform ambassadors and other senior diplomats.

Organizations: State Department, Justice Department, of Intelligence, Research Locations: Ethiopia, Washington, Eritrea

GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed human rights experts say war crimes continue in Ethiopia despite a peace deal signed nearly a year ago to end a devastating conflict that has also engulfed the country's Tigray region. The violence has left at least 10,000 people affected by rape and other sexual violence — mostly women and girls. The violence erupted in November 2020, centering largely — though not exclusively — on the northern Tigray region, which for months was shut off from the outside world. Citing consolidated estimates from seven health centers in Tigray alone, the commission said more than 10,000 survivors of sexual violence sought care between the start of the conflict and July this year. The commission said it knows of only 13 completed and 16 pending military court cases addressing sexual violence committed during the conflict.

Persons: — U.N, Abiy Ahmed, Mohamed Chande Othman, ”, ” Othman, Radhika Coomaraswamy Organizations: GENEVA, Human Rights, Ethiopian Locations: Ethiopia, Tigray, Amhara, Eritrea

☆ UN experts say war crimes committed in Ethiopia despite formal end to conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

GENEVA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - War crimes and crimes against humanity are still being committed in Ethiopia nearly a year after government and regional forces from Tigray agreed to end fighting, U.N. experts said in a report published on Monday. Thousands died in the two-year conflict, which formally came to an end in November last year. "I must admit the worst of this was that perpetrated by Eritrean forces in Tigray. Though, of course, Ethiopian forces were also responsible," she said, adding that Tigrayan forces had also perpetrated sexual violence in Amhara. Authorities from the Ethiopian region of Amhara have also denied that their forces committed atrocities in neighbouring Tigray.

Persons: Thousands, Mohamed Chande Othman, Yemane Ghebremeskel, spokespeople, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Andrew Heavens, William Maclean Organizations: International Commission of Human, Eritrean Defence Forces, EDF, Ethiopian, Reuters, Eritrean, Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Hereward, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Ethiopia, Tigray, Eritrea, Amhara, Ethiopian, Geneva, Hereward Holland, Nairobi

☆ Tsegay, Duplantis topple records at Eugene Diamond League
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Gudaf Tsegay smashed the women's 5,000 metres world record and Armand Duplantis raised the bar again for the men's pole vault on Sunday, as the season-ending Eugene Diamond League meet concluded on a high. Shericka Jackson came off the turn with a massive lead to retain her women's 200 metres Diamond League championship title in 21.57, but came short of her goal to break Florence Griffith-Joyner's world record. The Jamaican Jackson won the 100 metres Diamond League championship a day earlier and finished more than half a second ahead of Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou on Sunday, as Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas took third in 22.16. The Canadian Arop finished five hundredths of a second slower and Algerian Djamel Sedjati took third in 1:43.06. Dutch World Champion Femke Bol collected her third Diamond League championship with a confident 51.98 performance in the 400 metres hurdles, as American Shamier Little took second in 53.45 and Jamaican Rushell Clayton finished third in 53.56.

Persons: Tsegay, Armand Duplantis, Eugene Diamond, Sweden's Duplantis, Shericka Jackson, Florence Griffith, Jackson, Ivorian Marie, Josee, Lou, Anthonique Strachan, Andre De, Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton, It’s, De, Mu, Britain's Keely Hodgkinson, Toppin, Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Marco Arop, Canadian Arop, Djamel Sedjati, Femke Bol, Little, Rushell Clayton, Yaroslava, Joe Kovacs, Ryan Crouser, Amy Tennery Organizations: Eugene Diamond League, Kenyan, Diamond, Diamond League, Bahamas, Canadian, Thomson Locations: Budapest, Ivorian, Andre De Grasse, Canada, United States, Tokyo, De Grasse, Ukrainian, New York

☆ Ethiopian forces clash with al Shabaab in western Somalia, residents say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOGADISHU, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Ethiopian forces engaged in fierce clashes with al Shabaab fighters near the town of Rab Dhuure in western Somalia on Sunday morning, local residents said. At around 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) local residents heard large explosions followed by a heavy near the town of Rab Dhuure in Bakool region, around 20 km (12 miles) from the Ethiopia border. Al Shabaab claimed to have ambushed a large convoy of Ethiopian troops, who are operating in the area as part of regional efforts to wipe out the al Qaeda-affiliated group. "We heard about three huge explosions and then an exchange of heavy guns followed," said local resident Hassan Abdulle. In February Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya agreed to begin what they described as "search and destroy" operations against al Shabaab, in addition to the African Union-mandated peacekeeping force, which is expected to leave Somalia by the end of next year.

Persons: al, Rab Dhuure, Al Shabaab, Hassan Abdulle, Fatuma Ali, Abdi Sheikh, Hereward Holland, Susan Fenton Organizations: African Union, Thomson Locations: MOGADISHU, al Shabaab, Rab, Somalia, Bakool, Ethiopia, Al, Qaeda, Djibouti, Kenya

☆ The global treasures in the running for UNESCO’s World Heritage status
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Tamara Hardingham-Gill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is reviewing nominations from both 2022 and 2023, with participants from across the world attending the session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to examine almost 50 contenders. According to UNESCO, sites must be of “outstanding universal value” to be included on the World Heritage List. So far, the World Heritage Committee has inscribed approximately 1,157 sites in 167 different countries onto the World Heritage List. Seo Heun Kang/UNESCO World Heritage Nomination OfficeOnly those countries that sign the convention creating the World Heritage Committee and list are permitted to nominate sites. Gordion, the capital city of ancient Phrygia in Ankara, Turkey, is also nominated for a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Persons: John E, Seo Heun Kang, Bale, Gordion, Mustafa Ciftci, Midas, Morten Rasmussen, Sarah Langrand, Dominique Marck, Bani Ma’arid, Bani Ma'arid, Hamad Al Qahtani, Koh Ker, Mount Pelée, Canada Bale, Francesca Street Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage, Heritage, World, Anadolu Agency, Danish Agency for Culture, Fine Arts Department, de Nîmes, National Center for Wildlife, Architectural Museum, Kazan Federal University, Khinalig, Tunisia ESMA Museum, Clandestine Center of Detention, Wooden Posts, Greece Historic Center of Guimarães Locations: Gaya, Denmark, Thai, Ohio, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Hancock, United States, Goryeong, South Korea, Addis Ababa, Phrygia, Turkey, Ankara, B.C.E, Madagascar, Si Thep, Thailand, Si, Nîmes, France, Gorokhovets, Russia, Vladimir Oblast, Erfurt, Germany, Cambodia, Khmer, Courland, Latvia, Kaunas, Lithuania, Ab’aj, Guatemala, India, Karakum, Tajikistan, Menorca, Spain, Ethiopia, Iran, Klondike, Canada, Czech, Odzala, Kokoua, Congo, Mount, Northern Martinique, Benin Ha Long, Ba Archipelago, Vietnam, Forests, Azerbaijan, Jericho, Palestinian Territories, Kazan, Tunisia, Argentina, Belgium, Suriname Royal, Netherlands, Anatolia, Bisesero, Rwanda, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Masouleh, Turan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Northern Apennines, Italy, Tajikistan Highlands, Mongolian, Mongolia, Greece, Portugal

☆ Blue Nile: Ethiopia says it has filled the reservoir on its highly controversial megadam project
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Ethiopia announced on Sunday it had completed the fourth and final phase of filling a reservoir for its huge and controversial hydroelectric power plant on the Blue Nile, a project that Egypt and Sudan have long opposed. Construction of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) began in 2011 and Ethiopia sees the project as crucial to powering its economic development. Egypt and Sudan, however, consider the project a serious threat to their vital water supplies. “Congratulations to all on the fourth filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. With a projected capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts, Ethiopia sees GERD as the centerpiece of its bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter.

Persons: GERD, Abiy Ahmed’s, Abdel Fattah el, Abiy, …, ” Organizations: Reuters, ” Locations: Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan

☆ Ethiopia says it has completed filling of disputed dam project's reservoir
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Sunday it had completed the fourth and final phase of filling a reservoir for its planned massive hydroelectric power plant on the Blue Nile, a project that Egypt and Sudan have long opposed. Construction of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) began in 2011 and Ethiopia sees the project as crucial to powering its economic development. "Congratulations to all on the fourth filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. With a projected capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts, Ethiopia sees GERD as the centrepiece of its bid to become Africa's biggest power exporter. Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: GERD, Abiy Ahmed's, Abdel Fattah al, Abiy, Dawit Endeshaw, Elias Biryabarema, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Thomson Locations: ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Climate change is “relentlessly eating away” at Africa’s economic progress and it’s time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax on polluters, Kenya’s president declared Tuesday as the first Africa Climate Summit got underway. He and other leaders urged reforms to the global financial structures that have left African nations paying about five times more to borrow money than others, worsening the debt crisis for many. Africa has more than 30 of the world’s most indebted countries, Kenya’s Cabinet secretary for the environment, Soipan Tuya, said. Africa’s GDP should be revalued for its assets, which include the world's second-largest rainforest and biodiversity, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said. “It is an African story, and I daresay it’s a global story, too.”___Follow AP’s coverage of the climate at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment and of Africa at https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Persons: William Ruto, Tuya, John Kerry, Kerry, Joe Biden, ” Ruto, ”, Ruto, “ It’s, Sahle, Zewde, Akinwumi Adesina, Adesina, Martha Lusweti, Antonio Guterres, Ursula Von der Leyen, lullabies, Sierra, Julius Maada Organizations: Africa Climate Summit, European Union, Kenyan, United, United Arab Emirates, Development Bank, ”, International Monetary Fund Locations: NAIROBI, Kenya, Africa, China, United States, U.S, United Arab, United Nations, Europe, U.N, Africa's, Nigeria's Niger Delta, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Congo, africa

☆ The Biden administration wants to know if Saudi Arabia used American weapons to kill 'hundreds' of migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The United States is investigating a report that Saudi Arabia killed "hundreds" of migrants. Human Rights Watch said border guards in Saudi Arabia killed scores of migrants in Yemen. The attacks included the use of explosive weapons and execution-style killings of people who had just been released from detention in Saudi Arabia itself, the group charged. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the report, HRW cited eyewitnesses who reported migrants being struck by mortar fire as they approached the Saudi border. Saudi Arabia has denied the allegation.

Persons: Biden, Bill Frelick, Frelick, Michal Ratney Organizations: Rights Watch, Service, The Washington Post, Ethiopian, The Washington, HRW, Saudi, Associated Press Locations: States, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Wall, Silicon, Saudi, United States, Washington, Ethiopia

☆ Uganda's Kiplangat takes marathon gold
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kiplangat broke away on his own with about 4 km (2.5 miles) to go, crossing the finish line with an advantage of 19 seconds. An exhausted Gebresilase was then overtaken by Teferi, a silver medallist at last year's European Athletics Championships, in the last 200 metres. Defending champion Tamirat Tola, who was part of a three-man breakaway with Kiplangat and Gebresilase before fading, did not finish the race and dropped out after 39 km. A pack of about 30 runners then slowed the pace and took control of it, before Kiplangat, Gebresilase and Tola made their move with 10 km to go. The women's marathon took place on Saturday, with Ethiopia's Amane Beriso claiming gold.

Persons: Victor Kiplangat, Kiplangat, Leul, Gebresilase, Tamirat Tola, Ser, Tola, Ethiopia's Amane, Aadi Nair, William Mallard Organizations: Commonwealth Games, Teferi, Thomson Locations: BUDAPEST, Israel, Budapest, Mongolia, Bengaluru

☆ Beriso leads Ethiopian 1-2 in women's marathon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Athletics - World Athletics Championship - Women's Marathon - National Athletics Centre, Budapest, Hungary - August 26, 2023 Ethiopia's Amane Beriso Shankule reacts after crossing the line to win the women's marathon final REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Acquire Licensing RightsBUDAPEST, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Amane Beriso produced an authoritative performance to win the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday, overcoming baking morning conditions to finish well clear of compatriot and defending champion Gotytom Gebreslase. Beriso, who ran the third-fastest marathon ever when winning in Valencia last December, pulled clear soon after entering the last of four 10km laps and came home in 2:24.23. Beriso then forged ever more strongly ahead and split the group, putting 20 metres into Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who herself was clear of Gebreslase. Neither of them, however, were able to make any inroads into the leader and Beriso was an impressive winner. The men's marathon is on Sunday morning, the final day of the championships.

Persons: Shankule, Dylan Martinez, Beriso, Gotytom Gebreslase, Gebreslase, Fatima Gardadi, Morocco's, Yehualaw, Mitch Phillips, Robert Birsel, Jason Neely Organizations: National Athletics Centre, Rights, Valencia, Boston Marathon, Thomson Locations: Budapest, Hungary, Valencia

Last fall, American diplomats received grim news that border guards in Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. partner in the Middle East, were using lethal force against African migrants who were trying to enter the kingdom from Yemen. The diplomats got more detail in December, when United Nations officials presented them with information about Saudi security forces shooting, shelling and abusing migrants, leaving many dead and wounded, according to U.S. officials and a person who attended the meetings, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak to journalists. In the months since, American officials have not publicly criticized the Saudis’ conduct, although State Department officials said this past week, following a published report of the killings, that U.S. diplomats have raised the issue with their Saudi counterparts and asked them to investigate. It remains unclear whether those discussions have affected Saudi actions. The Saudi security forces’ violence along the border came to the fore in a report by Human Rights Watch on Monday that accused them of shooting and firing explosive projectiles at Ethiopian migrants, killing hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of them during the 15-month period that ended in June.

Organizations: United Nations, State Department, Saudi, Human Rights Locations: Saudi Arabia, U.S, Yemen, Saudi

☆ The Iten killings: Deaths of elite athletes casts spotlight on domestic violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Iten, Kenya (CNN) Martin Tirop pumps his fists in the air as Faith Kipyegon wins her third 1,500-meter gold medal at the World Athletics Championships on Tuesday in Budapest. Instead, on October 13, 2021, Martin Tirop made a gruesome discovery inside his sister's three-bedroom bungalow in Kenya's capital of distance running. In October 2021, Martin Tirop found the body of his sister, Agnes Tirop. In fact, their March 2016 marriage had been a secret, with Agnes' family only finding out after her death at 25. "Agnes Tirop.

Persons: Martin Tirop, Kipyegon, Agnes, Agnes Tirop, she'd, Martin, gurney, Jurkenaite, David Blood, Iten, Joan Chelimo, they're, Weeks, Eliud Kipchoge, She'd, Irungu Houghton, Njeri Migwi, Martin Tirop's, Ibrahim Rotich, Rotich, Tirop, Richard Warigi, Ngigi Mbugua, Mutua, CNN's, Houghton, Joan Chelimo's, Agnes Tirop's, Chelimo, Dinah, Vincent Tirop, Dinah Tirop Organizations: CNN, Adidas, Tokyo, Toyota, David Blood Investigators, crowing roosters, Boston Marathon, New, New York City Marathon's, Amnesty International, Kenyan, Criminal Investigations, Bahraini, Investigations, Investigators, Amnesty, Tirop's, Tirop's Angels, UN Locations: Iten, Kenya, Budapest, Kenya's, Switzerland, Germany, Nairobi, It's, Kaptagat, New York, Amnesty International Kenya, Mombasa, Ethiopia, Nandi County

BRICS - whose acronym was originally coined by an economist at Goldman Sachs, currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called the BRICS leaders' decision to invite Ethiopia to join "a great moment". "It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries." More than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say South African officials, and 22 have formally asked to be admitted. "The expansion and modernization of BRICS is a message that all institutions in the world need to mould themselves according to changing times," he said.

Persons: Cyril Ramaphosa, Narendra Modi, Sergei Lavrov, Alet Pretorius, Goldman Sachs, BRICS, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ramaphosa, Lula, globalisation's, Mohammed bin Zayed, Abiy Ahmed, Antonio Guterres, Xi Jinping, Bhargav Acharya, Sergio Goncalves, Ethan Wang, Vladimir Soldatkin, Joe Bavier, Toby Chopra, Emelia Organizations: South, India's, Russia's, REUTERS, United Arab, United, United Arab Emirates, New Development Bank, Ethiopian, United Nations, . Security, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, BRICS, Indian, Thomson Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, UAE, JOHANNESBURG, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, United States, Beijing, Moscow, United Arab, Lisbon

☆ Kenyan court orders mediation in Meta labour dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNAIROBI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A Kenyan court has given Facebook's parent company Meta (META.O) and content moderators suing it for unfair dismissal 21 days to resolve their dispute out of court, a court order showed on Wednesday. The 184 content moderators are suing Meta and two subcontractors after they say they lost their jobs with one of the firms, Sama, for organising a union. "The parties shall pursue an out of court settlement of this petition through mediation," said the order by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which was signed by lawyers for the plaintiffs, Meta, Sama and Majorel. Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Meta, Kenya's, Willy Mutunga, Hellen Apiyo, Majorel, George Obulutsa, Mark Potter Organizations: Meta, REUTERS, Rights, Kenyan, Sama, Facebook, Employment, Labour Relations Court, Thomson Locations: Rights NAIROBI, Luxembourg, Kenya, U.S, Sama, Ethiopia

☆ Podcast: Fukushima's release, Prigozhin's video, Panama Canal gridlock and HRW's Saudi report
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japan said it would begin the release of treated radioactive water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant this week. Human Rights Watch accuses Saudi border guards of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants at the Yemen border. Donald Trump plans to turn himself in to Georgia prosecutors on Thursday. Plus, Thailand's fugitive ex-PM returns and the Panama Canal experiences gridlock. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices.

Persons: Donald Trump, Africa Trump Organizations: Apple, Google, Reuters, Rights Watch, Thomson Locations: Japan, Saudi, Yemen, Georgia, Panama, Africa

CNN —Saudi border guards killed “hundreds” of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, Human Rights Watch alleged in a report released Monday. Several videos purportedly recorded near an informal migrant camp appear to show Saudi border guard posts, and newly constructed fences next to one. “Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons indiscriminately and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. But despite a reduction in abuses, human rights groups say violence has continued, and some migrants HRW interviewed said they had fled because of the recent conflict. Interviewees described being attacked by Saudi border guards, describing their uniforms and describing the explosive weapons being “like a bomb.”“We were fired on repeatedly.

Persons: HRW, ” HRW, ” Organizations: CNN, Human Rights Watch, HRW, Maxar Technologies CNN, Saudi, Human Rights, Reuters, United Nations Locations: Saudi, Yemen, Al Raqw, Horn of Africa, Aden, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia’s, Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Djibouti, Houthi, Saada, United States, Iran

Human Rights Watch/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI/HARAR, Ethiopia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian border guards have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, including women and children, who attempted enter the kingdom along its mountainous border with Yemen, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. In a 73-page report, the rights group said Saudi guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range. Saudi authorities have also strongly denied allegations made by U.N. officials in 2022 that border guards systematically killed migrants last year. HRW said it based its report on witness testimony as well as 350 videos and photos of wounded and killed migrants, and satellite imagery showing the location of Saudi Arabian guard posts. A letter issued by the kingdom's U.N. mission in March 2023 rejected the allegation, saying that Saudi border security regulations "ensure humane treatment...no form of mistreatment or torture is tolerated."

Persons: U.N, Nadia Hardman, Hardman, Mustafa Sofian Mohammed, Mustafa, Sofian Mohammed Abdulla, Mustafa's, Stephane Dujarric, Andrew Mills, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Dawit, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Human Rights, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Rights Watch, Saudi, Ethiopian, Reuters, State Department, Al, Al Thawra Hospital, International Organization for Migration, Hallelujah, HRW, Rehabilitation, Torture, UN Human Rights, Gulf Bureau, Tiksa, Milan Pavicic, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rights DUBAI, HARAR, Saudi Arabian, Saudi, Addis Ababa, U.S, Tigray, Horn of Africa, Aden, Ethiopian, Harar, Al Thawra, Sanaa, Addis, New York, Gulf, Tiksa Negeri, Milan, Gdansk, Geneva, Washington

☆ Ethiopian Airlines to manufacture parts in venture with Boeing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An Ethiopia’s Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane to take off on a demonstration trip to resume flights from the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri Acquire Licensing RightsNAIROBI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines will start manufacturing aircraft parts in a venture with Boeing (BA.N) at an initial cost of $15 million, the government's investment agency said on Friday. The state-owned carrier, which is the biggest in Africa, has already signed the deal that also involves the local state Industrial Parks Development Corporation, the Ethiopian Investment Commission said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The venture will make "aerospace parts, including aircraft thermo-acoustic insulation blankets, electrical wire harnesses, and other parts," the commission said. It was not immediately clear if Ethiopian Airlines has also suffered from similar lack of parts.

Persons: George Obulutsa, Duncan Miriri, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Ethiopia’s Airlines Boeing, Max, REUTERS, Tiksa, Acquire, Rights, Ethiopian Airlines, Boeing, Industrial Parks Development Corporation, Ethiopian Investment Commission, Twitter, Kenya Airways, Thomson Locations: Bole, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Rights NAIROBI, Africa, Ukraine

CNN —At least 26 people have been killed in an explosion in the town of Finote Selam in northwestern Ethiopia, amid heavy fighting between government forces and a local militia group. Tenaw told CNN that people reported hearing only one explosion, the cause of which is unclear. The Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency in the Amhara region on August 4 after days of clashes. The United Nations “called on all sides to respect human rights and take steps to deescalate the situation,” noting that “previous states of emergency have been accompanied by violations of human rights” in a statement Friday. CNN has reached out to the federal government, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, and the Amhara regional government for comment.

Persons: Manaye Tenaw, Tenaw, EHRC, ” “ EHRC, Finote Selam, ”, United Nations “, Antony Blinken, “, I’ve, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Human Rights, Ethiopian, Dar, United Nations, Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Amhara, Eritrean Defense Forces, Front, State Locations: Finote, Ethiopia, Fano, Amhara, Debre Birhan, Gondar, Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, America, Tigray

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