Almost 12,500 people arrested in Iran protest crackdown

Almost 12,500 people have been arrested and nearly 250 killed since the street protests began in Iran , according to a prominent human rights group, HRANA. Maj Gen Hossein Salami, said security forces were close to snuffing out the remaining protests. He said: “Sedition is going through its last moments.” But protesters have insisted that defiance was continuing. One group pointed to truck drivers joining oil refinery workers on rallies, as well as demonstrations among Baloch people in Zahedan. As many as 200 refinery workers have been arrested since their protests started a fortnight ago...

UN sanctions Haitian 'gang leader'

The United Nations security council has approved a "sanctions regime" to punish criminal gangs in Haiti, as protests intensified against a possible foreign intervention. The UNSC on Friday unanimously passed a resolution proposed by the United States and Mexico that sanctioned powerful gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as “Barbecue”. The sanctions include an assets freeze and a travel ban. While Cherizier was the only target named in the resolution, the measure establishes a foundation for further sanctions going forward. “This resolution is an initial answer to the calls for help from...

New date set for Tigray Peace Talks 

The Ethiopian government have announced that peace talks with the TPLF would commence next week. Representatives from the TPLF and Ethiopian governments will meet on the 24th of October 2022 in South Africa. The announcement was made by Redwan Hussein, National Security Adviser of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, via Twitter. He also spoke on the Ethiopian government's commitments to the peace talks. "We have reconfirmed our commitment to participate." adding, "We are dismayed that some are bent on preempting the peace talks & spreading false allegations against the defensive measures." AUC...

BJP bans Popular Front India for 5 years

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) outlawed the Popular Front of India (PFI) and eight affiliate organizations for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. The ban came close on the heels of raids on PFI offices across the country. Hundreds of its leaders have been arrested. The government of Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) has alleged that the PFI has links with terror groups such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). founded...

Paris joins in TV boycott of World cup matches from Qatar

Paris has decided not to broadcast any world cup games on giant screens in public fan zones amidst concerns over the rights violations of migrant workers and the environmental impact of the tournament in Qatar. Several other French cities have joined the boycott. More than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar since it won the right to host the World Cup 11 years ago, The total death toll is significantly higher, as these figures do not include deaths from a number of countries which send large numbers of workers to Qatar, including the...

Failure to extend Yemen ceasefire leaves millions at risk

The expiry of a six-month ceasefire in Yemen has pushed the country back into conflict. Charities have criticised the failure to extend the ceasefire beyond Sunday. The truce was first agreed upon in April. “The end of the truce is terrible news for the people of Yemen. Millions will now be at risk if airstrikes, ground shelling and missile attacks resume,” said Ferran Puig , Oxfam’s country director in Yemen. “The past six months have brought hope to millions of Yemenis who have seen a 60% decrease in casualties, a significant reduction in violence, more fuel imports and much easier access...

Burkina Faso coup: ousted leader resigns

Burkino Faso ousted leader, Paul Henri Sandaogo Daminba has offered his resignation to "avoid confrontations". Religious leaders and community leaders held mediation talks between Damib and the new self-proclaimed leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore. The second change of leadership in a year started on Friday when military officers announced the deposition of Damiba, the dissolution of the transitional government and the suspension of the constitution. With a lack of strong democratic institutions in a country where the military has long been dominant, Capt Traoré seized power with a pledge to...

Russia annexes four regions of Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has signed “accession treaties” formalising Russia’s illegal annexation of four occupied regions in Ukraine, The Russian government spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the signing of the “treaties on the accession of territories into the Russian Federation” would take place at 3pm local time in the Kremlin’s St George’s Hall. Putin would deliver a “major” speech at the ceremony. The announcement set off a fresh round of international condemnation. “Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal...

Guinea puts ex-leader on trial for stadium massacre

Over a decade after 150 were killed Guinea puts Ex-President Moussa Dadis Camara on trial. The trial of Guinea's former President and 10 others accused of responsibility for a 2009 stadium massacre and mass rape began on Wednesday in the country's capital. 13-years ago, on September 28, 2009, security forces stormed a stadium where tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters were demonstrating against the president at the time, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, who had seized power in a coup. Capt Camara, 58, seized power in 2008 when long-time President Lansana Conté died, but he was ousted and...

Myanmar Junta attack on school condemned

At least 11 schoolchildren have died after an airstrike on a village in Myanmar, according to the United Nations children’s agency, in what could be the deadliest attack on children since the junta seized power last year. UN chief António Guterres on Tuesday condemned the strike, according to his office, which stated that the death toll had climbed to at least 13 people died, including the 11 students whose school was hit. The south-east Asian country has been in chaos since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, with nearly 2,300 civilians killed in a crackdown on dissent...

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