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☆ Curbs on rights weaken Egypt's climate talks, campaigners say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Dominic Evans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] People walk outside of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during the COP27 climate summit opening in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2022. Climate action "requires more people on the street, more voices, more independent research, more independent reporting, more accountability when climate obligations are not met," said Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch's acting Executive Director. "That's not going to happen under governments such as the Egyptian government which is excluding civil society, independent journalism and academia," she told a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Despite those criticisms some delegates argued that there was a benefit to holding the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to shine a light briefly on Egypt's record. "This is a huge opportunity," Egyptian journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat said.

☆ Bahrain holds parliament polls; rights groups slam 'repressive' climate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ghaida Ghantous | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MANAMA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Bahrainis on Saturday voted in parliamentary elections held in an environment rights groups described as "political repression" since the Gulf Arab state has dissolved the main opposition groups and cracked down on dissent. Ahead of the vote, which includes municipal polls, rights group Amnesty International criticised "highly restrictive measures" that bar members of banned opposition groups and those who have served jail terms longer than six months. "Holding this general election will not address the atmosphere of repression and the denial of human rights that has gripped Bahrain for years," Amnesty said in a statement. The government said 344,713 voters were eligible to vote, down from 365,467 in the last polls in 2018. London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, describing the vote as a "sham", said legislation on voter inclusion appeared to target individuals who boycotted earlier polls.

☆ Iranians protest nationwide, mark 'Bloody Friday'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Summary Prominent Sunni cleric criticises security forcesUnrest in minority areasGeneral tells clerics to restore calmDUBAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Iranians protested in the restive southeast on Friday to mark a Sept. 30 crackdown by security forces known as "Bloody Friday", as the country's clerical rulers battled nationwide unrest. The region is one of the country’s poorest and has been a hotbed of tension where Iranian security forces have been attacked by Baluch militants. Thirty-nine members of the security forces had also been killed, while nearly 15,100 people have been arrested, it said. They were accused of acts of sabotage, assaulting or killing members of the security forces or setting fire to public property. Several social media videos showed a gathering at Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery to honour Amir Mehdi Farrokhipour, a 17-year-old allegedly killed by security forces 40 days ago.

☆ Gulf Arab states can’t give up oil. But they can slash their emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —As Western states try to wean themselves off their addiction to hydrocarbons, Gulf oil nations have been pushing back hard, warning that a hasty transition away from fossil fuels will be counterproductive. According to the World Bank, Qatar had the highest carbon emissions per capita as of 2019, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. So, investment in clean energy projects and renewables “makes very good business sense and PR sense for the Gulf,” he said. Gulf petro-states are warning against a quick transition away from hydrocarbons, with the UAE calling for a “mixed energy” approach that minimizes emissions without cutting hydrocarbons. Much of the hydrocarbons exported by Gulf states go to some of the world’s biggest consumers and polluters, including China and India.

☆ Why hosting the World Cup can be a bad idea for some countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Darren Geeter | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Hosting the World Cup draws massive exposure to a host country in terms of tourism, foreign trade, jobs and the potential for new development. Nevertheless, hosting the FIFA World Cup is viewed as an honor as soccer is the world's most popular sport, with over 5 billion fans. The United States, which hosted the 1994 World Cup, is viewed as the most successful of the tournaments, drawing over 3.5 million fans. But history suggests that fans will continue to tune in with hopes and aspirations of their country winning the cherished World Cup. Watch the video above to learn why hosting the FIFA World Cup can be a bad idea for some countries.

☆ Nigeria: TikTokers caned and ordered to wash toilets as court rules they defamed Nigerian governor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —Two TikTok comedians have been publicly whipped in Nigeria for making a video that a court in the northern Kano State ruled had defamed the state Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, according to a judicial spokesperson. The two friends, according to Ibrahim, were sentenced on Monday after being brought before a magistrate’s court on Friday. They didn’t even ask or beg for a lawyer to stand for them,” Ibrahim told CNN. “They were arraigned before the Kano State Magistrate Court for defaming the character of Governor Umar Ganduje on their TikTok social media account. They were also ordered to make a video on social media to publicly apologize to Governor Ganduje.

☆ Iran's army issues warning to 'rioters' as security forces struggle to suppress unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

... should he decide to deal with them, rioters will no longer have a place in the country," Brigadier General Kiumars Heydari said. Heydari was speaking 40 days after bloodshed in the mostly Sunni town of Zahedan, which has become a flashpoint in the protests. Authorities in Zahedan sacked the police chief and the head of a police station near where the killings took place. On Wednesday, shopkeepers in some Kurdish cities went on strike to show their respect to the people who were killed in Zahedan, Kurdish rights group Hengaw said. The Basij militia and other security forces have taken tough measures hoping to suppress the unrest but the fury has not eased.

☆ 'After COP, I don't know if I'll be alive or not': Sister of the jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah calls for his release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Egyptian-British activist Sanaa Seif is calling for her brother's release from an Egyptian jail. The Egyptian government has denied mistreatment, and this summer a member of the presidential-pardon committee said Abd el-Fattah was among those being considered for possible release, reported Al-Ahram, an Egyptian state-owned newspaper. He added that foreign intervention in human-rights reform in Egypt "is fated to fail" and would harm the country's people. Seif said her family has exhausted every legal route in Egypt to secure her brother's release, to no avail. "After COP, I don't know if I'll be alive or not," she said.

CNN —Qatar FIFA World Cup ambassador and former footballer Khalid Salman has said homosexuality is “damage in the mind,” in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF on Monday. As many people are expected to travel to Qatar for the World Cup, “let’s talk about gays,” Salman said. Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup 2022 from November 20 until December 18. Earlier this month, football’s world governing body FIFA urged nations participating in the 2022 World Cup to focus on football when the tournament kicks off. The countdown clock for the World Cup during the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar on December 15, 2021 in Doha.

☆ Migrant rescue ship refuses to leave Italy port in standoff with Meloni
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The captain of a charity-run migrant rescue ship refused Italian orders to leave a Sicilian port Sunday after authorities refused to let 35 of the migrants on his ship disembark — part of directives by Italy’s new far-right-led government targeting foreign-flagged rescue ships. On Sunday, Italy ordered the Humanity 1 to vacate the port of Catania after disembarking 144 rescued migrants, including with children, more than 100 unaccompanied minors and people with medical emergencies. “Free all the people, free them,″ Italian lawmaker Aboubakar Soumahoro said in an emotional appeal directed at Meloni from the Humanity 1 rescue ship. Aboard the Humanity 1, doctors in Italy identified people needing urgent medical care after the ship’s doctor refused to make a selection, said SOS Humanity spokesman Wasil Schauseil. SOS Humanity said it plans to file a civil case in Catania to ensure that all 35 survivors on board have access to formal asylum procedures on land.

☆ Egypt human rights record under fire as it hosts COP27 climate conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

When world leaders, diplomats, campaigners and scientists from nearly 200 countries arrive for the United Nations climate change conference in Egypt Monday, their focus will be on curbing global warming. They have called for the world leaders attending the event, known as COP27, to confront the Egyptian government over its alleged human-rights abuses, particularly its treatment of political prisoners. In 2019, he was jailed for “joining a terrorist group” and “spreading false news” to undermine national security. It said that Fattah, 40, a British national, was being prosecuted because of his activism and social media posts highlighting human rights violations allegedly committed by the Egyptian government. Amnesty’s head, Agnes Callamard, warned Sunday that Egypt had no more than 72 hours to save the jailed dissident's life.

☆ Jailed British-Egyptian activist escalates hunger strike by refusing water as COP27 gets underway
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Jailed British-Egyptian citizen Alaa Abdel-Fattah stepped up his hunger strike by refusing water, ratcheting up fears for the life of one of the country's leading rights activists just as world leaders arrive in Egypt for the start of the COP27 climate summit. Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard said Sunday that authorities had less than three days to save Abdel-Fattah's life, warning that failure to intervene would overshadow the U.N.'s flagship climate conference. The 40-year-old has stopped drinking water in a desperate attempt to pressure Egyptian authorities to allow him U.K. consular access. The escalation of Abdel-Fattah's hunger strike has prompted grave concerns for the prominent human rights activist and writer, who had consumed just 100 calories a day for more than 200 days. Egypt is hosting the COP27 climate summit in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh through to Nov. 18.

☆ Trump defended hosting the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament by saying 'We have human rights issues' too. Human rights experts agrees and say Trump himself was responsible for many during his presidenc
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Human rights groups have previously called Trump out for exacerbating human rights violations while president. "We have human rights issues in this country too," Trump said on October 30 after reporters asked whether he was concerned about human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. Human rights groups have acknowledged that the US, like many countries, has its share of human rights issues and violations. Alison Leal Parker, Managing Director for the US Program at Human Rights Watch, told Insider that "the wholesale assault" of fundamental human rights under Trump was "unprecedented." "Every previous administration, including the current one, including the Biden administration, has been responsible for human rights violations," Parker said.

☆ British PM to raise hunger striker Abd el-Fattah's case during COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he will raise the case of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah with Egypt's leadership during the COP27 climate summit that opened on Sunday, the same day Abd el-Fattah said he would stop drinking water. Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters' phone calls for comment on Abd el-Fattah's case, but have said previously that he was receiving meals and was moved to a prison with better conditions earlier this year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he was only consuming minimal calories and some fibre to sustain himself earlier in the year. Abd el-Fattah's family said he had told them he would stop consuming honey, tea and milk on Nov. 1 and planned to cease drinking water from Sunday. Egyptian authorities had to act within three days to save Abd el-Fattah, the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, told a press conference in Cairo.

☆ President Raisi says Iran thwarted U.S. destabilisation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As Iranian authorities marked the anniversary this week of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by radical students, President Joe Biden backed the protesters, saying: "We're gonna free Iran. In Syria, mass demonstrations against Iran's ally President Bashar al-Assad were confronted with force and the country spiralled into conflict which continues 11 years on. By contrast, Iranian cities were now "safe and sound", Raisi said, promising retribution for the unrest the country had seen. At least 14,170 people have been arrested, including 392 students, in protests in 136 cities and towns, and 134 universities, it said. The crisis has dragged Iran's currency to new historic lows.

☆ Egypt faces criticism over crackdown on activists ahead of COP27 climate summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Egypt is facing a barrage of criticism over what rights groups say is a crackdown on protests and activists, as it prepares to host the COP27 climate summit starting Sunday. According to rights groups, security forces have been setting up checkpoints on Cairo streets, stopping people and searching their phones to find any content related to the planned protests. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), an NGO, said Wednesday that 93 people had been arrested in Egypt in recent days. Then there is a separate public venue where climate exhibitions and events take place throughout the two weeks of the summit. But rights groups said the government’s initiatives amounted to little change.

☆ Qatar minister slams hypocrisy of people calling for World Cup boycott
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - People calling for a boycott of the World Cup in Qatar are from a handful of countries that do not represent the rest of the world which is looking forward to the tournament, Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has said. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup but the small nation has come under intense pressure in recent years for its treatment of foreign workers and restrictive social laws. "The reasons given for boycotting the World Cup do not add up. Several participating teams such as England, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands have highlighted the plight of migrant workers in Qatar. The letter was criticised by Amnesty, which has led calls for FIFA to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for human rights abuses by setting aside $440 million.

☆ Cleric killed in restive Iranian city, protests rage on
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Amnesty International said security forces killed at least 66 people in a crackdown on protesters in Zahedan on Sept. 30. The Sistan-Baluchistan region around Zahedan is one of the country's poorest and has been a hotbed of tension where Iranian security forces have been attacked by Baluch militants. Forty prominent Iranian human rights lawyers publicly criticised Iran's Shi'ite theocracy, saying crackdowns that have crushed dissent for decades will no longer work and protesters seeking a new political order will prevail. Human Rights Watch said Iranian authorities had escalated their assault against widespread dissent and protests by filing dubious national security charges against detained activists and staging grossly unfair trials. Iran has denied allegations by human rights groups that it abuses prisoners.

The United States on Wednesday called for Iran to be expelled from a U.N. commission on women, citing the regime’s “systematic oppression” of women and its violent crackdown on street protests. Iranian women have been at the forefront of protests across the country since a 22-year-old woman from the country’s Kurdish region, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody in September. Human rights groups have made similar allegations and issued detailed accounts of the crackdown. Two rights groups, Norway-based group Iran Human Rights and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, said last week that more than 250 protesters have been killed since the protests began. “It’s time for us to stop abetting the Islamic Republic of Iran and start supporting the freedom-loving people of Iran,” said Boniadi.

☆ Videos showing Iranian crackdown on protesters go viral as anger grows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DUBAI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Videos on social media showing Iranian security forces severely beating protesters have gone viral as anger grows at a widening crackdown with arrests of prominent figures from rappers to economists and lawyers aimed at ending seven weeks of unrest. One video dated Oct. 22 that went viral on social media showed a dozen riot police beating a man at night on a street in southern Tehran. Other videos of the beating of protesters, which Reuters has been unable to verify, have also spread online. Iran said at least 36 members of the security forces were also killed. On Monday night, security forces went to the house of prominent economist Davoud Souri and arrested him.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The oldest prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center was released and “reunited with his family” in Pakistan, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. “We are glad that a Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family,” the statement said. The Pentagon said in a statement Saturday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had “notified Congress of his intent to repatriate Saifullah Paracha to Pakistan” last month. Following Paracha’s release, 35 detainees remain in Guantanamo Bay and 18 have been cleared for release, according to Amnesty International. The most high-profile prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay prison is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

☆ Facing a wave of public anger, Iran’s regime could be in a fight for long-term survival, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

From anti-government graffiti to students heckling government officials, to women walking in the street without headscarves to workers putting down their tools, Iran’s regime looks increasingly bewildered by events. “It’s like a war, the Islamic Republic versus the Iranian people,” said the woman from Tehran. She and other Iranians say the helmeted police flooding the streets resemble an occupying force, unsure of their position and unable to trust the local population. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Friday more than 250 protesters have been killed in the six weeks since protests began. “We all know that this time we will overthrow the regime,” said the woman in Tehran.

☆ Iran protests flare again as U.N. voices concern at detainees' treatment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody last month. Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in the violent crackdown on Sept. 30. The provincial security council has said armed dissidents had provoked the clashes, leading to innocent people's deaths, but admitted "shortcomings" by police. The U.N. human rights office on Friday voiced concern at Iran's treatment of detained protesters and said authorities refused to release some of the bodies of those killed. Rights groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands arrested across Iran.

That the WNBA star, who lost her appeal Tuesday, is a gay Black woman could add unknown variables to a penal system that is known to be remote and harrowing. “Conditions in prisons and detention centers varied but were often harsh and life threatening,” a 2021 State Department report on Russian human rights abuses said. “Russian prisons are grim, even relative to prisons in other countries. Prisoners were used for farming, mining or logging in sparsely populated areas of the country or worked in sweatshop conditions. It can often take weeks for prisoners to arrive at the prisons on prison trucks and specially designed train carriages called Stolypins.

☆ Sri Lankans yearn for answers on relatives who disappeared in civil war
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jeevan Ravindran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/7] A woman holds up a photo of her missing relative during a protest in Kilinochchi, Northern Province, Sri Lanka, August 12, 2022. Thousands of people, mostly Tamils, went missing duringthe civil war in what were known as "enforced disappearances". The instances of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka rank among the world's highest, with human rights group Amnesty International estimating them to number between 60,000 and 100,000 since the late 1980s. Sri Lanka says it remains committed to pursuing tangible progress on human rights through domestic institutions. Mahesh Katundala, chairman of the Office on Missing Persons, defended the institution against criticism that it was not doing enough.

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