Opposition leader Muhammad Safdar released on bail after spending hours in custody following anti-government protest. Supporters of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of political opposition parties, react as they listen to their leaders during an anti-government rally in Karachi, Pakistan [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters] By  Asad Hashim 19 Oct 2020 Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani opposition political leader Muhammad Safdar has been released on bail, hours after being arrested by authorities on charges related to a speech at a mausoleum ahead of a major anti-government rally on Sunday. Safdar was arrested at his hotel room in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi early on Monday, his wife Maryam Nawaz, the daughter and political heir to former three-time Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said. Later on Monday, Nawaz confirmed at a news conference that Safdar had been released on bail. “We will both be leaving Karachi together because I have just received a message … that he has been granted bail,” Nawaz said. Safdar was taken into custody in connection with charges against him for raising political slogans at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder, on Sunday. That incident came hours ahead of a political rally of tens of thousands in Karachi that is part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) countrywide drive to attempt to overthrow Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. Formed last month, the PDM is an alliance of 11 opposition political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League’s Nawaz faction (PML-N), the Pakistan People’s Party, the Jamiat Ulema Islam’s Fazl faction (JUI-F) and others. The PDM alleges Khan’s victory in the 2018 general election was rigged by the country’s military, which has directly ruled the country for roughly half of its 73-year history. Khan and the military have routinely denied the accusation, with the prime minister accusing the opposition of attempting to deflect or discredit his government’s anti-corruption campaign, which has seen several top political opponents jailed or investigated for alleged corruption. The military has taken an increasingly overt role in governance under Khan, with serving and retired military officials taking key positions in his administration, including in the areas of health, telecommunications, economic affairs and the $60bn China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Dwindling economy At the rally in Karachi on Sunday, PDM leaders repeated their accusations against Khan and criticised him for his handling of the country’s economy. It was the second major protest by the group, which launched its anti-government campaign with a protest by thousands in the central city of Gujranwala on Friday. At that demonstration, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, addressing the gathering by video link from London, took blunt aim at the military, accusing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of rigging the 2018 elections and engineering his removal as prime minister in 2017. Sharif left for London on medical bail last year, as appeals against his conviction and sentencing to 10 years in prison on corruption charges continue. Supporters of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) react to party songs during an anti-government protest rally in Karachi [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters] Last month, an Islamabad court issued arrest warrants for him, demanding he returns to the country and appears in person for hearings. Sharif is also facing sedition charges for criticising the military’s alleged role in politics. The opposition’s movement to overthrow Khan comes as Pakistan’s economy – already struggling before the pandemic – is grappling with double-digit food inflation and negative economic growth. Khan’s government says it will be taking on the issue of food inflation in the coming weeks, and blames the economic slowdown on the coronavirus pandemic and the state of the economy it inherited from Sharif’s PML-N in 2018. The PDM will continue its countrywide protest movement with further anti-government demonstrations in the coming days, PDM leaders said on Monday. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera’s digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim

Pakistan court grants police custody of Muhammad Ismail, father of prominent human rights activist Gulalai Ismail. By Asad Hashim 3 Feb 2021 Islamabad, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has granted police custody of Muhammad Ismail, the father of a prominent Pakistani human rights activist, on “terrorism” charges that rights groups say are part of a sustained campaign of harassment. The court in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar granted police custody of Muhammad for three days during proceedings on Wednesday, his daughter, Gulalai Ismail, told Al Jazeera. The 66-year-old had been arrested a day earlier at a bail confirmation hearing. Gulalai, a prominent and award-winning women’s rights activist, is a leading member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) rights group that calls for accountability for Pakistan’s powerful military for alleged rights abuses committed during its war against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its allies. The PTM and other rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances and alleged extrajudicial killings during the campaign in the country’s northwest. Its leaders, including members of Parliament, have faced a widespread campaign of arrests and legal cases against them across Pakistan since the group’s formation in 2018. In 2019, Gulalai was forced into hiding due to threats against her life, with security services seeking her arrest in a number of cases, including charging her with “sedition” for remarks made during a speech at a PTM rally. Later that year, she surfaced in the United States, where she is seeking political asylum. “They just want to harass my family and to break their nerves,” said Gulalai. “To break their morale to set a precedent, that if any […] father lets his daughter speak her mind and use her freedom of expression, then the parents will also not meet a good fate.” ‘Goodbye’ Facebook and Twitter Muhammad is a retired professor of Urdu language and lives with his 62-year-old wife, Uzlifat, in a modest suburb of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Following Gulalai’s escape from the country, both her parents were charged with “terrorism financing” in a case that went on for more than a year. In July 2020, that case was dismissed by a Peshawar anti-terrorism court judge for lack of evidence. Weeks later, authorities refiled the charges with the additional allegation that Gulalai’s parents had directly facilitated a 2013 attack on a Peshawar church that killed more than 78 people and a 2015 attack on a Shia Muslim mosque that killed more than 20 worshippers. The Ismail family denied the allegations. Separately, authorities filed a second case against Muhammad alleging he was sharing “anti-state” content on social media. Hearings, in that case, are ongoing, with a judge in January ordering him to stop sharing “objectionable content”. “Honouring the orders of the court, I hereby surrender my right to share my dissident voices on social media, therefore say goodbye to Facebook and Twitter,” Muhammad told Al Jazeera after that hearing. He was arrested on Tuesday after a judge ruled to deny him confirmation of interim bail granted a day earlier in the “terrorism” case. Uzlifat, his wife, implicated in the same case, was granted bail. “The continued and relentless harassment of Professor Ismail’s family is an affront to human rights,” said Rimmel Mohydin, South Asia campaigner for rights group Amnesty International. “He has been abducted, forced to make multiple court appearances and faces a travel ban since 2019. Now that he’s been detained, at great risk to his already precarious health – made worse by a recent COVID-19 diagnosis – the charges against him must be dropped immediately.” Prominent Pakistani rights activist Gulalai Ismail [File: Ian Langsdon/EPA] The arrest of Muhammad comes amid a tightening of space for freedom of expression, particularly criticism of the powerful military, and human rights work in Pakistan. On Monday, the Peshawar High Court ruled to allow the trial of human rights activist Idrees Khattak by a military court on espionage charges. Khattak, a prominent rights activist, was abducted by unidentified men in November 2019 while travelling in his car. Months later, Pakistan’s military admitted he was in their custody as they investigated him under the country’s Official Secrets Act. On Monday, the government’s lawyer contended Khattak was being tried for having held meetings more than 10 years ago with Michael Semple, an academic and former United Nations official who Pakistan considers an agent of British foreign intelligence agency MI6. “Currently, the situation for human rights activists in Pakistan is very restricted, civic spaces are being eliminated and human rights are being criminalised,” said Gulalai. © Al Jazeera News Agency 2021

BBC By George Wright and Will Vernon A flower and a picture are left as a tribute to murdered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, near to the Russian Embassy in London, Feb. 18, 2024. KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH (AP) The US has announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. These include measures against Russia's main card payment system, financial and military institutions, and officials involved in Navalny's imprisonment. The EU has also announced new sanctions on access to military technology. The measures mark a week since Navalny suddenly died in an Arctic Circle jail. US President Joe Biden, who met Navalny's widow and daughter in San Francisco on Thursday, has said there can be "no doubt" the Russian president was to blame for his death. The newly-announced US measures also include nearly 100 firms and individuals which will also face export restrictions. Others target the state-owned operator of Mir, Russia's main payment system, which has become more prominent since Visa and Mastercard suspended their services there. Companies involved in powering Russia's war effort, developing the country's future energy production and its co-operation with Iran over drones will also be hit. More than two dozen entities outside of Russia - including people in China, the UAE, Vietnam and Liechtenstein - have also been sanctioned, accused of being connected to businesses that send materials to Russia's military. The sanctions are unlikely to have an impact on Russia's economy. It is already the most sanctioned country in the world, and there are very few key entities or sectors that are not already subject to US and European restrictions. Russian banks and military-industrial enterprises have adapted, and developed workarounds to evade existing sanctions. Ukrainian officials have published details of US and European microchips and other technology they have found in captured Russian drones. Many of these parts are imported to Russia from third countries such as China. In a statement, President Biden said they new sanctions would "ensure" Russian President Vladimir Putin "pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home". This latest package brings the number of entities sanctioned to over 4,000, and comes on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Two years ago, he tried to wipe Ukraine off the map. If Putin does not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going," Mr Biden said in the statement. On Friday, the EU also announced its 13th raft of sanctions - targeting nearly 200 companies and people accused of helping Russia procure weapons, or of involvement in kidnapping Ukrainian children - something Moscow denies. They included 10 Russian companies and individuals involved in the shipping of North Korean armaments to Russia, including North Korea's defence minister. "We remain united in our determination to dent Russia's war machine and help Ukraine win its legitimate fight for self-defence," said EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. The EU has now listed more than 2,000 individuals since the war started. In response, Russia's foreign ministry said it had significantly expanded a list of EU officials and politicians banned from entering Russia. "The European Union is continuing its fruitless attempts to put pressure on Russia through unilateral restrictive measures," it said in a statement. The Russian president himself was sanctioned by the US, EU and UK days after the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. His assets were frozen and companies were banned from providing them with goods. People close to him, including his daughters, are also under sanctions. The International Criminal Court served Mr Putin with an arrest warrant last year, alleging he was responsible for war crimes and focusing on the deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Mr Putin regularly praises the performance of the Russian economy in spite of international sanctions."We have growth, [the West has] decline," he said last month during a visit to the remote Russian region of Chukotka. "They depend on us more than we depend on them." Its economy is around 1% larger than it was in February 2022. Moscow can still find plenty of buyers for oil, gas and minerals, especially in Asia. But Western officials say this is a marathon, not a sprint, and sanctions can take years to show results. © 2024 BBC.

Originally published on BBC on November 10, 2020 Parents and local residents were outside the school on Monday ahead of a planned protest Violence outside a South African school between residents and activists from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) over alleged racism could be used to "cause racial polarisation", President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned. The EFF said its members were attacked by "right-wingers" while protesting against a whites-only graduation party. The school in Cape Town said it had nothing to do with the event. White-minority rule ended in South Africa in 1994. In a statement, Mr Ramaphosa said that "the spectacle of parents and protestors coming to blows at the school gate is deeply unfortunate". "What happened... brings back hurtful memories of a past we should never seek to return to." He called on all sides to exercise restraint and resolve the tensions peacefully. A legalised system of racial discrimination, known as apartheid, was abolished in the run up to the country's first democratic election in 1994, when all race groups voted. Residents and protesters began shouting at each other before violence broke out Racist education policies under the system became a rallying point for anti-apartheid activists. On Monday, in response to the call by the EFF opposition party for a protest at Brackenfell High, parents, residents and security guards gathered outside the school, the Cape Argus newspaper reports. Pictures and video being shared online showed EFF members being shouted at and then fighting breaking out, which the police struggled to contain. One man has been arrested for allegedly firing shots in the air. The police struggled to contain the situation In a statement, the EFF, which is the second-biggest opposition party in South Africa, said the protest was peaceful and "armed right-wingers" attacked its members "in what was a display of pure white arrogance". "It must be further noted that since 1994, there has never been a single black teacher at Brackenfell High School, which reveals how entrenched racism is at the school at an institutional level," the party added. A parent and former pupil were quoted by local media as saying the school was not racist, and the protest was uncalled for. Brackenfell High has distanced itself from the private graduation party, which, the EFF said, was only attended by white people. Two school teachers were also reportedly present. 'Don't bring back segregation' "The masked ball... was a private party organised by the parents... and did not fall under the control of the school," the school authorities said in a letter to parents sent on Sunday. They added that only 42 of the school's 254 graduating students attended and that Brackenfell High does not "condone or accommodate any events that are exclusively reserved for certain groups". The school also asked parents not to get involved in any violence. What was apartheid? A 90-second look back at decades of injustice Referring to the reports that only white people attended the party, the South African Human Rights Commission, which is a statutory body, said that "no-one should be allowed to bring back racial segregation to this country". "The deep racial divisions of South Africa's apartheid and colonial past cannot be healed while children are socialised separately on the basis of race," it added. © 2020 BBC

The ICC ruled last month that it could exercise its criminal jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories. (Photo Credit: ANADOLU AGENCY) The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has opened a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories. Fatou Bensouda said the probe would cover events in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since June 2014. Last month, the Hague-based court ruled that it could exercise its criminal jurisdiction over the territories. Israel rejected Ms Bensouda's decision, while Palestinian officials praised it. The ICC has the authority to prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes on the territory of states party to the Rome Statute, its founding treaty. Israel has never ratified the Rome Statute, but the court ruled that it had jurisdiction because the United Nations secretary general accepted the Palestinians' accession to the treaty in 2015. Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians claim the territories for a future independent state. What prompted the prosecutor's decision? In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ms Bensouda explained that her office was obliged to act "where a state party has referred a situation" to it and "it is determined that a reasonable basis exists to commence an investigation". Ms Bensouda said she had carried out a "painstaking preliminary examination" that lasted close to five years and promised that the investigation would be conducted independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favour. Fatou Bensouda said the "central concern must be for the victims of crimes". (Photo Credit: Reuters) "We have no agenda other than to meet our statutory duties under the Rome Statute with professional integrity," she said, noting that she had declined to investigate the 2010 killing by Israeli troops of 10 Turkish activists on the Gaza-bound ship Mavi Marmara. "In the current situation, however, there is a reasonable basis to proceed and there are admissible potential cases," she added. Ms Bensouda, who will be succeeded by British prosecutor Karim Khan in June, also stressed that the "central concern must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides". Analysis by Tom Bateman, Middle East correspondent The prosecutor's decision came moments before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's glitzy online election campaign launch. He used the stage to give an excoriating response, saying the probe was an anti-Semitic attack on the only Jewish state. This approach will continue in public - to undermine the court itself. Behind the scenes though, concerned officials are working to offset, delay and limit its impact. They will try to show that Israel can investigate itself and that an outgoing prosecutor is tying her successor's hands. They will roll out a plan - understood to be no-expense-spared - to minimise the chance of any future arrest of officers or politicians abroad. Israel's defence minister has acknowledged that "hundreds", including himself, could be at risk, adding: "We will take care of everybody." And they will rely on the US and other allies for backing. But the level of rhetoric suggests Israel's leadership feels increasingly worried by the progress of the case. What has been the reaction? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ICC's decision was "the essence of anti-Semitism and the essence of hypocrisy." "It found that our brave and moral soldiers, who are fighting the most brutal terrorists on earth, are, of all people, war criminals." "The court, which was established to prevent a recurrence of the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jewish people, is now turning against the state of the Jewish people," he asserted. Ms Bensouda has said Palestinian militants could face prosecution for intentionally attacking Israeli civilians. (Photo Credit: Reuters) Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said: "The crimes committed by the leaders of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people - which are ongoing, systematic and widespread - make this investigation necessary and urgent." The militant Hamas movement, which controls Gaza, welcomed the decision as "step forward on the path of achieving justice", while also defending its actions as "legitimate resistance". Campaign group Human Rights Watch said "all eyes" would be on incoming prosecutor Karim Khan to "pick up the baton", and that "ICC member countries should stand ready to fiercely protect the court's work from any political pressure". What alleged crimes are being investigated? Ms Bensouda's preliminary examination is believed to have focused on issues such as Israeli military operations in Gaza and the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank - which most of the international community consider illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. When the Palestinians asked to accede to the Rome Statute, they recognised ICC jurisdiction for the purpose of prosecuting alleged perpetrators of crimes from 13 June 2014 onwards. The ICC investigation will include the 50-day conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza in 2014. (Photo Credit: Reuters) That is one month before a war erupted between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. In the fighting, 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, were killed while on the Israeli side 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed. Following the preliminary examination, Ms Bensouda said there was a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes were committed in the context of the war, and that charges could be filed against Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel and members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. The prosecutor also concluded that there was a reasonable basis to believe that in the context of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, members of the Israeli authorities had committed war crimes. © 2021 BBC

The signing of a peace deal between the Sudanese government and the rebel coalition has been delayed until further notice. The event had been scheduled for Tuesday. The postponement comes after attacks in north Darfur at a settlement for internally displaced people that left nine people dead and 16 wounded. Clashes between security forces and groups protesting the violence had earlier led to a declaration of a state of emergency in the region. Rebel groups participating in the peace talks blame the transitional government and the state's authorities for failing to deal with militias in the region, according to media reports. The rebel groups under the Revolutionary Front Alliance, who are participating in peace talks with the Sudanese government in the South Sudanese capital Juba, have demanded an investigation into the attacks and the protection of citizens. The peace talks incorporate rebel groups operating in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions which had been fighting the government of former President Omar al-Bashir before his overthrow in April 2019. Source: BBC

By Jack Losh Amid a Russian-backed advance, the growing threat of landmines and improvised explosives in the Central African Republic (CAR) points to a dangerous tactical shift in a new and unfolding guerrilla war. Areas of the north-west have become inaccessible to the UN and aid workers [AFP] Earlier this month, a convoy driving across CAR's volatile north-west struck an explosive device, killing an aid worker from the Danish Refugee Council. Even in one of the world's most dangerous countries for aid workers, who routinely face violence and intimidation, the tragic incident stood out - highlighting a growing and unprecedented threat after years of civil war. These indiscriminate devices, which can kill or cause horrific injuries, are keeping aid and human-rights investigators out of hotspots - and leaving desperate communities without a lifeline. "Fighting is happening behind closed doors," said Christine Caldera, from advocacy group the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, adding that it was civilians who were paying the price for the increasing use of explosive devices. Documented atrocities While instability has wracked CAR for decades, the origins of this new chapter in the crisis stretch back to 2013 when a rebel coalition seized power, triggering reprisals from militias loyal to the ousted regime amid a spiral of war crimes and crimes against humanity. As the warring parties fragmented, Russia entered the fray in 2017 as part of efforts to expand its influence across the continent - backing the beleaguered government in the capital, Bangui, and giving it weapons, ammunition and 175 military instructors. Evidence suggests these so-called instructors include Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a private military company with combat experience in Ukraine, Syria and Libya - though both governments deny this. CAR's rebel groups - including Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation (3R) - are largely drawn from the country's Muslim minority, which has long faced marginalisation. Ahead of presidential elections last December, 3R joined a loose rebel alliance, causing the collapse of peace agreements signed in 2019. With Russian help, the armed forces have since driven them back, retaking towns and villages which have languished beyond state control for years. But according to a recent UN report, they have committed almost as many documented abuses as the rebels over the past year, ranging from abductions and arbitrary detentions to rape, torture and summary killings. Black-market landmines Compounding this violence is the emerging threat of landmines and IEDs, which are increasingly prevalent in the region, particularly in northern Nigeria, the Lake Chad basin and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first known use of them in CAR came in June 2020 during a UN-backed offensive against 3R, which began using these weapons in a brutal attempt to cling on to territory. Among the devices being laid was a type of anti-tank mine known as a PRB-M3, a powerful, Belgium-made explosive from the 1970s and 1980s. Weapons experts say these mines are probably being trafficked from Libyan stockpiles or harvested from active minefields in Chad and Sudan before entering the black market. David Lochhead, a senior researcher with the Small Arms Survey, says CAR's rebels appear to be copying jihadist groups in Mali who have incorporated this type of mine into IEDs alongside other homemade explosives to create bigger blasts that destroy armoured vehicles. "It's a very worrying trend," he said. "An IED may cost $35 (£26) to build and you can defeat an armoured vehicle that costs $500,000." After the UN force ended its brief assault on 3R's strongholds, mine-related incidents all but stopped until the government's bid to rout rebels from provincial towns began this year. In total, between January and August, explosive ordnance killed at least 14 civilians, including a pregnant woman and two children, injured a further 21 as well as two peacekeepers in more than two dozen incidents, according to the UN's humanitarian agency Ocha. "Access here has been extremely complex - you have shifting conflict lines, poor infrastructure, now the rainy season. But explosive ordinance is a new ballgame," Ocha's Rosaria Bruno said. 3R rebels are based in the north-west of CAR [AFP] The impact on civilians is calamitous. Planted on roads and even near schools, the landmines and IEDs cut villagers off from peacekeeper patrols and humanitarian help, and force people from their homes. More than 1.4 million people are currently displaced nationwide - the highest level for five years. For example, around 1,000 people fled their village in the Nana-Mambéré region after a device exploded there in May; the village remains inaccessible because of the continuing lethal threat. Some aid has been airlifted in by helicopter, including 1.5 tonnes of medicine, hygiene products and food for the villagers. But such operations are costly and unsustainable in a humanitarian emergency to which the response plan faces a funding gap of almost $190m - more than 40% of the required amount. Smear campaigns The impact is felt too by the UN's 15,000-strong peacekeeping force (Minusca), which has been hit by numerous sexual abuse allegations. The beleaguered force has also been the target of smear campaigns from all sides, while its mission has been obstructed by the presence of explosives and also by Russian personnel deployed in the field. Last month it faced rumours that it was supplying rebels with landmines, even as it was deploying personnel to remove these devices. The UN has experts in the CAR to deal with unexploded weapons [MINUSCA] © 2021 BBC. "Minusca has never used mines," said UN forces spokesman Maj Ibrahim Atikou Amadou, adding that de-mining operations were still at an impasse because of the accusations. Though it seems responsibility for laying landmines may not lie solely with the rebels. A UN report in June revealed that government troops had warned local communities in two different parts of the country that Russian soldiers had placed mines on a road and near a bridge. Other sources said this was not the case but that such rumours had been circulated in a bid to deter rebels from launching attacks. Regardless of whether the bomb presence is genuine, the fear created is real, limiting farming and preventing children going to school, the UN report said. Both CAR and Russia deny that their forces have committed human-rights abuses or used landmines or other explosive devices. While 3R has been widely blamed for planting mines, the group denies this, blaming the Russians. More than 20 years ago, a global treaty banned the use of landmines targeted at individuals, though Russia is not a signatory and mines intended to destroy vehicles fall outside the convention. 'No military solution' Experts warn that, despite their breath-taking advance, government forces have not eliminated the rebels, simply pushing them to peripheral areas and forcing them to adopt guerrilla tactics. Neither have they addressed the underlying grievances that fuelled their appearance in the first place - the state's long-term and violent discrimination against the Muslim population. "It is clear that there isn't a military solution to this conflict," said Ms Caldera. "While the security forces are making progress in recapturing territory, they are wreaking havoc on the civilian population and not restoring stability whatsoever." This week, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra shrugged off criticism of his alliance with Russia, and insisted he was open to dialogue with the rebels, saying: "I did not choose this war." As the country slips deeper into disaster, civilians bearing the brunt of the clashes will be hoping he pursues another course. © 2021 BBC.

By Joel Gunter Uyghurs have staged protests in London urging the government to accuse China of genocide. PA Media. China has committed genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, an unofficial UK-based tribunal has found. The Uyghur Tribunal cited birth control and sterilisation measures allegedly carried out by the state against the Uyghurs as the primary reason for reaching its conclusion on Thursday. Sir Geoffrey Nice, a prominent British barrister who chaired the tribunal hearings, said its panel was satisfied China had carried out "a deliberate, systematic and concerted policy" to bring about "long-term reduction of Uyghur and other ethnic minority populations". He added that the panel believed senior officials including the Chinese president Xi Jinping bore "primary responsibility" for the abuses against Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region. The tribunal's panel was made up of lawyers and academics. Its findings have no legal force and are not binding on ministers, but its organisers said at the outset they intended to add to the body of evidence around the allegations against China and reach an independent conclusion on the question of genocide. The Chinese government denies all accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. Responding to the tribunal's ruling on Thursday, a spokesman told the BBC the body was a "pseudo tribunal" and a "political tool used by a few anti-China elements to deceive and mislead the public". Reading the tribunal's judgement, Sir Geoffrey said there was "no evidence of mass killings" in Xinjiang, but he said that the alleged efforts to prevent births amounted to genocidal intent. The panel also said it had found evidence of crimes against humanity, torture, and sexual violence against the Uyghur people. Speaking to the BBC after the judgment, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader and co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said it was time for the UK government to accuse China of genocide. "The British government said the evidence needed to be assessed by a competent court, well it doesn't get more competent than this," he said. "The government now needs to stop messing around. The genocide taking place in Xinjiang has got to dominate our relationship with China." Conservative MP Nus Ghani called the conclusion of the tribunal "groundbreaking". "This tribunal was set up to the highest legal standards and the evidence that that was put forward today shows that there is enough proof beyond reasonable doubt that there was an intent to commit genocide," she told the BBC. "What is particularly troubling is the evidence that this genocide is in particular targeted at women, and focused on preventing births." The Chinese state has been accused of crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang, a large region in the country's north-west which is home to the Uyghurs and other minority Muslim groups. Experts say that at least a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained in the region and held in extra-judicial camps or sent to prisons. Former detainees and residents of Xinjiang have made allegations of torture, forced sterilisation and sexual abuse. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who led the prosecution of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, chaired the tribunal's hearings The Uyghur Tribunal heard from more than 70 witnesses over two sets of hearings in London in June and September, including former detainees and experts. Among the witnesses was the Uyghur linguist Abduweli Ayup, who testified about the harassment of his family in Xinjiang and the 15-month sentence imposed on him in his absence for inciting terrorism - a common allegation levelled by the Chinese state against Uyghurs. Mr Ayup told the BBC the finding of genocide was "very encouraging". "I was sentenced by the Chinese government, now I hope after this ruling someone can sentence them. Many Uyghurs have been sent to prison only for being Uyghur, now it is time their oppressors are also sentenced," he said. The issue of whether China's alleged abuses amount to a genocide has divided the international community. The US government has accused China of a genocide against the Uyghurs, and the parliaments of the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, and Lithuania have passed resolutions making the same declaration. But the UK government has declined to accuse China of genocide. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has argued that genocide is a specific term with legal force that should only be determined by a criminal court. The case for genocide is based on reports that China is taking steps to erase the culture of the Uyghurs and assimilate or diminish the population through programmes of forced relocation and birth control. In a report published in April, the US-based charity Human Rights Watch concluded that China was responsible for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang - but stopped short of calling the state's actions a genocide. Amnesty International reached the same conclusion in its own report. Erbakit Otarbay, an ethnic Kazakh, describes being subjected to forced labour, indoctrination and beatings in Xinjiang The Uyghur Tribunal was established by Sir Geoffrey at the urging of the World Uyghur Congress, a global activist group. The president of the WUC, Dolkun Isa, told the BBC the tribunal's judgment represented a "historic day" for the Uyghur people. "Now there is no excuse for the international community to continue its silence on the Uyghur genocide," he said. "It is the legal obligation of all countries who signed the 1948 genocide convention to take legal action." Reading the judgment on Thursday, Sir Geoffrey said the tribunal had formed in part because no international criminal court had taken up an investigation into the alleged abuses in Xinjiang. The International Criminal Court announced in December last year that it would not investigate the allegations because China, as a non-member, was outside of its jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice can only take a case that has been approved by the UN Security Council, over which China has veto power. "Had any other body, domestic or international, determined or sought to determine these issues, the tribunal would have been unnecessary," Sir Geoffrey said. The tribunal's final report follows announcement by the US, UK and Canadian government of diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Olympics in China next year. Mr. Johnson said on Wednesday that the UK, like the US and Canada, would not pursue a sporting boycott of the games. © 2021 BBC.

By Rebecca Henschke, Kelvin Brown and Ko Ko Aung Watch: BBC investigates Myanmar military's mass killings The Myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in July that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 men, a BBC investigation has found. Eyewitnesses and survivors said that soldiers, some as young as 17, rounded up villagers before separating the men and killing them. Video footage and images from the incidents appear to show most of those killed were tortured first and buried in shallow graves. The killings took place in July, in four separate incidents in Kani Township - an opposition stronghold in Sagaing District in Central Myanmar. It's thought the killings were a collective punishment for attacks by militia groups demanding a return to democracy following a military coup in February. A spokesman for the military government did not deny the allegations. The military has faced resistance from civilians since it seized control of the country, which is also called Burma, deposing a democratically-elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The BBC spoke to 11 witnesses in Kani and compared their accounts with mobile phone footage and photographs collected by Myanmar Witness, a UK-based NGO that investigates human rights abuses in the country. The largest killing took place in Yin village, where at least 14 men were tortured or beaten to death and their bodies thrown in a forested gully. The witnesses in Yin - whose names we have withheld to protect their identities - told the BBC the men were tied up with ropes and beaten before they were killed. "We couldn't stand to watch it so we kept our heads down, crying," said one woman, whose brother, nephew and brother-in-law were killed. "We begged them not to do it. They didn't care. They asked the women, 'Are your husbands among them? If they are, do your last rites'." A man who managed to escape the killings said that soldiers inflicted horrifying abuse on the men for hours before they died. "They were tied up, beaten with stones and rifle butts and tortured all day," the survivor said. "Some soldiers looked young, maybe 17 or 18, but some were really old. There was also a woman with them." In nearby Zee Bin Dwin village, in late July, 12 mutilated bodies were found buried in shallow mass graves, including a small body, possibly a child, and the body of a disabled person. Some were mutilated. The body of a man in his sixties was found tied to a plum tree nearby. Footage of his corpse, reviewed by the BBC, showed clear signs of torture. His family said that his son and grandchild had fled when the military entered the village, but he had stayed, believing his age would protect him from harm. The killings appeared to be a collective punishment for attacks on the military by civilian militia groups in the area, who are demanding that democracy is restored. Fighting between the military and the local branches of the People's Defence Force - a collective name for civilian militia groups - had intensified in the area in the months before the mass killings, including clashes near Zee Bin Dwin. It is clear from the visual evidence and testimony gathered by the BBC that men were specifically targeted, fitting with a pattern observed across Myanmar in recent months of male villagers facing collective punishment for clashes between the People's Defence Forces and the military. The families of those killed insisted that the men were not involved in attacks on the military. A woman who lost her brother in the Yin village massacre said she pleaded with the soldiers, telling them her brother "could not even handle a catapult". She said a soldier replied, "Don't say anything. We are tired. We will kill you." Foreign journalists have been barred from reporting in Myanmar since the coup, and most non-state media outlets have been shut down, making on-the-ground reporting all but impossible. The BBC put the allegations raised in this story to Myanmar's Deputy Minister for Information and military spokesperson, General Zaw Min Tun. He did not deny soldiers had carried out the mass killings. "It can happen," he said. "When they treat us as enemies, we have the right to defend ourselves." The United Nations is currently investigating alleged human rights abuses carried out by the Myanmar military. © 2021 BBC.

Construction workers cover parts of a painted slogan along the Swire Bridge in Hong Kong. Source: Reuters One of the last public memorials in Hong Kong to those killed in the Tiananmen protests has been covered up. The calligraphy - painted on the pavement of a bridge - paid tribute to the pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese authorities in Beijing in 1989. It was covered with metal on Saturday by the University of Hong Kong, which called the work routine maintenance. But its removal comes as Beijing has increasingly been cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong. Hong Kong used to be one of few places in China that allowed public commemoration of the Tiananmen protests - a highly sensitive topic in the country. The Tiananmen Square massacre came amid large-scale demonstrations calling for greater political freedoms. Thousands of people camped for weeks in the square, but in June 1989 the military moved in and troops opened fire. The Chinese government says 200 civilians and several dozen security personnel died - but other estimates have ranged from hundreds to as many as 10,000. Since China has begun tightening its grip over Hong Kong, it has cleared the city of criticism of the ruling Communist party. Last month, a famous statue at the University of Hong Kong - the Pillar of Shame - was removed. The following day, two more universities in the city took down monuments. Media caption,Watch what happened when the BBC tried to film the Pillar of Shame being removed The latest memorial to be taken down is calligraphy painted on a pavement on Swire Bridge outside a university dormitory. The slogan celebrated martyrs it said were slaughtered in cold blood, and every year students would repaint it in an act of remembrance. But on Saturday construction workers were seen putting up hoardings around the words. The university gave no explanation, merely saying it had carried out routine maintenance. Earlier this month, a pro-democracy Hong Kong activist was jailed for organising a vigil to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Hong Kong authorities have banned the vigil for the past two years, citing Covid restrictions - though activists have accused local officials of bowing to pressure from Beijing. © BBC News 2022

By Tom Bateman for BBC News A Palestinian child walks near cars burnt near Hawara - Reuters Homes in Hawara are charred black alongside burned-out cars cloaked in a layer of ash. The air tastes acrid as people speak of the night their town burned. Residents told the BBC a mob had gone on an hours-long rampage armed with iron bars and rocks before torching buildings, cars and trees. On Sunday the Palestinian town was subjected to one of the worst cases of mass Israeli settler violence in years, hours after two settlers were shot dead by a Palestinian gunman. "The settlers attacked our house, they smashed the windows and burned my nephew's cars and trucks. They tried to break into my car showroom and set it on fire," said Abdel Nasser al-Junaidi, speaking outside his home. He described how he had rushed his children up to the rooftop to try to keep them safe. "The army did nothing to protect us. It supported the settlers and protected them. The shooting was from both settlers and soldiers. We were terrified. What happened was a horrific and barbaric attack," said Mr al-Junaidi. The scale of the damage becomes clear when you keep walking the length of this town that sits astride Route 60 - the main highway running north-south through the occupied West Bank. Home after home is wrecked, shop-fronts are torched as are dozens of cars- including many in a used car lot that went up in flames. The Palestinian health ministry says 37-year-old Sameh Aqtash died after being shot in the stomach during an attack by settlers in Zaatara on Sunday night. Dozens more were wounded. One family had to be rescued by paramedics after becoming trapped in their house when settlers laid burning tyres outside their front door, blocking the route out. "My wife, my brother's wife, and our young children were in the house, they were screaming, and the children were crying, and they were crying out for protection from the settlers' oppression, and we could not reach them," said Oday al-Domadi, speaking to the BBC in the remains of his burned-out lounge. He rushed home from his work in Nablus after hearing that settlers were planning a march of "revenge" after the killing earlier of two Israeli settlers in the town. Hillel and Yagel Yaniv lived in the settlement of Har Bracha, which is 1.9km (1.2 miles) south of Nablus. "There were about 30 masked settlers carrying pistols who were destroying the house… The moment we entered the house, they discovered us, threw stones at us and broke my brother's shoulder. "I shouted at the soldiers to protect the children and prevent the settlers from frightening them, but the soldiers responded by shooting at me and shouting at me to stay at home," said Mr al-Domadi, who eventually managed to ensure his children were safely in another part of the building. "The worst thing is what the kids experienced - the terror and the panic they felt. Afterwards, they were trembling in fear and sheltering in my lap, begging me to stay beside them." The Israeli army has defended its handling of the violence but a military official said, "The wisdom of the deployment could be challenged." Human rights groups have long blamed violence against Palestinian civilians on an atmosphere of impunity surrounding settler violence in the occupied West Bank, particularly in some of the most ideological settlements in the area around Hawara and Nablus. They say this has been now amplified with the powerful pro-settler, far-right component of Israel's new government. Israel's police routinely says it investigates such cases but campaigners say these are often a whitewash. Alongside waves of Israeli military search and arrest raids in Palestinian cities, and growing numbers of Palestinian armed attacks against Israelis, there is growing concern about a slide into uncontrollable violence. It increasingly feels like a tipping point is being reached, particularly amid increasing signs that the Palestinian Authority is unable to regain a grip on its limited security control of key cities, despite American-led attempts to help it do so. © 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

BBC Great Lakes Residents say their basic rights are being violated by the government (BBC) People living in a slum next to a wealthy area of Rwanda's capital city have been barred from leaving or entering their homes by police, while drones fly overhead announcing on loudspeakers that they should move immediately to a new purpose-built estate some 20km (12 miles) away. Residents of Kibiraro/Kangondo settlement, which neighbours the upmarket district of Nyarutarama, have told a BBC reporter that their basic rights were being violated by the government. This is part of an estate on the outskirts of the city to where residents are being urged to relocate (City of Kigali) The new estate was built by some investors, and government officials say the residents have to relocate "for common interest and proper city planning". But residents allege they are being relocated so the investors can exploit their land, which is in a prime location. Around 1,500 families have been living in the slum. Hundreds have already moved to the estate built for them, while many others who have stayed have sued the government saying their properties were undervalued. Copyright © 2022 BBC