~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (58)

First payments to be made during an ongoing conflict is ‘important step towards restoring justice’, says first lady, Olena Zelenska The first reparation payments are to be made in the next few weeks to survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine, in a move that Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, called “an important step towards restoring justice”.Up to 500...

Human Rights Watch demands investigation into killings in two villages just weeks after Russian troops fly in, amid intensifying conflictBurkina Faso’s military summarily executed 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in a single day in late February, according to an investigation into one of the worst abuses by the country’s armed forces for years.The mass killings have been linked to a widening military...

Video evidence shows multiple arrests after regime launched new draconian campaign against women and girlsHarrowing first-hand accounts of women being dragged from the streets of Iran and detained by security services have emerged as human rights groups say country’s hijab rules have been brutally enforced since the country’s drone strikes on Israel on 13 April.A new campaign, called Noor (“light” in Persian), was announced...

The African country accounted for two-thirds of the additional 13.5m people needing urgent help as displacement drove food insecurity globallySudan had the world’s largest number of people facing extreme food shortages in 2023 as conflict and displacement drove food insecurity globally, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).The war between rival generals meant Sudan accounted for two-thirds of the additional 13.5 million...

Petition filed on behalf of woman known as as Fausia, who underwent a forced pregnancy after being raped Honduras is being taken to a global human rights body for the first time over its total abortion ban, which campaigners say violates women’s fundamental rights and the country’s international commitments.The Center for Reproductive Rights and the Honduras-based Centro de Derechos de la Mujer (Center for...

Plan to expand Ruaha national park has been beset by allegations of abuse, leading bank to withhold final $50m of $150m budgetThe World Bank has suspended financing intended to develop tourism in southern Tanzania after allegations of killings, rape and forced evictions.The bank began investigating last year after being accused of enabling abuses around Ruaha national park, which was due to double in size...

While conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine have captured global attention, the civil war in Sudan has been largely ignored. That can’t be allowed to continue, says the Guardian’s Nesrine MalikWith so much of the world’s attention on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times is playing out almost unnoticed. Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023...

Adding another insecticide to the protective netting has proved effective in fight against the disease that killed 600,000 in 2022Two new types of mosquito bed nets have been found to reduce cases of malaria by up to a half, raising hopes of combating the disease, which is becoming increasingly resistant to treatments and prevention efforts.Nets treated with two types of insecticide rather than one...

Satellite data indicates growing number of airstrikes on settlements, in a war that has already killed thousandsThe number of villages in Sudan that have been destroyed or severely damaged by fire has risen sharply in recent weeks, suggesting the country’s conflict is intensifying as it enters its second year.Satellite data revealed the number of Sudanese settlements set on fire in March increased to 30,...

Swiss food firm’s infant formula and cereal sold in global south ignore WHO anti-obesity guidelines for Europe, says Public EyeNestlé, the world’s largest consumer goods company, adds sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries, contrary to international guidelines aimed at preventing obesity and chronic diseases, a report has found.Campaigners from Public Eye, a Swiss investigative organisation, sent...

The court will investigate crimes against humanity committed during the African country’s two civil wars between 1989 and 2003Senators in Liberia have voted overwhelmingly to establish a war crimes court, two decades after civil conflict ended in the west African country.The new court will investigate and try crimes against humanity and corruption committed during Liberia’s two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, which killed...

Exclusive: Rights groups denounce negotiations with Rapid Support Forces, accused of ethnic cleansing and war crimesInside South Sudan’s worsening refugee crisis – in picturesForeign Office officials are holding secret talks with the paramilitary group that has been waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Sudan for the past year.News that the British government and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are engaged in clandestine negotiations...

Some people in Ambelia camp waiting for treatment to wounds resulting from ethnic violence last yearHundreds of displaced Sudanese people living in a refugee camp across the border in Chad have been unable to access vital medical care for injuries sustained during fierce battles in the Sudanese city of Geneina in the past year.Some of those in the vast Ambelia camp near the city...

Delivering a baby was already risky, but an unprecedented surge in gang violence has forced clinics and hospitals to closeThe worst fears of midwives at Heartline Haiti were realised last week. As they prepared the maternity clinic for patients that evening, armed men laid siege to their neighbourhood in eastern Port-au-Prince, spraying bullets at police and rival gangs, setting cars on fire and ransacking...

Rights groups condemn arrest of Macmillan Mhone, who was charged with ‘publication of news likely to cause fear and alarm’Human rights watchdogs have condemned the arrest of a journalist in Malawi in connection with an article accusing a wealthy businessman of corruption.Police in Blantyre detained Macmillan Mhone on Monday over a story that was published online last August on the Malawi 24 news site....

Semi-autonomous state of Puntland refuses to recognise changes to the fragile country’s constitution and has withdrawn from the federal systemAn overhaul of Somalia’s constitution, scrapping its power-sharing system and handing the president increased control, is threatening to destabilise the fragile country, as its wealthiest and most stable state refuses to recognise the changes.The amendments risk worsening violence, the information minister from the semi-autonomous state...

Researchers find that in low and middle-income countries owning spectacles can help people over 35 can increase their incomeOwning a pair of reading glasses might help people increase their earnings by a third, according to new research.The study, conducted in Bangladesh, is the first to examine the impact of having a decent pair of spectacles, and researchers found monthly median earnings among one group...

Detention of influencer Oscar Alejandro Pérez at Caracas airport en route to southern national park raises free speech concerns A popular Venezuelan YouTuber has been arrested in Caracas on terrorism charges as President Nicolás Maduro’s government steps up its crackdown on free speech ahead of upcoming elections.Oscar Alejandro Pérez was detained in the capital’s main airport on Sunday by police on accusations of terrorism,...

Exclusive: Satellite analysis revealed to the Guardian shows farms devastated and nearly half of the territory’s trees razed. Alongside mounting air and water pollution, experts says Israel’s onslaught on Gaza’s ecosystems has made the area unlivableIn a dilapidated warehouse in Rafah, Soha Abu Diab is living with her three young daughters and more than 20 other family members. They have no running water, no...

Afghan regime’s return to public stoning and flogging is because there is ‘no one to hold them accountable’ for abuses, say activistsThe Taliban’s announcement that it is resuming publicly stoning women to death has been enabled by the international community’s silence, human rights groups have said.Safia Arefi, a lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, said the announcement...

Investigation reveals reports of miscarriages, infections and birth defects among women and girls in mining communitiesWomen and girls living in cobalt-mining communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are reporting a “staggering” rise in serious reproductive health issues, including miscarriages and birth defects, according to a new report.An investigation published by the UK-based human rights group Rights & Accountability in Development (Raid) and...

Eleven found guilty of crimes against humanity after trial that heard testimony on torture, rape and forced disappearances A court in Argentina has convicted 11 former military, police and government officials of crimes against humanity committed during the country’s last dictatorship in a sprawling trial that heard, for the first time, about atrocities suffered by trans women.The three-year case focused on the forced disappearances,...

African nurse leaders say poorer nations face severe shortages despite rules intended to stop wealthy countries poaching staffThe UK and other wealthy countries have been accused of adopting a “new form of colonialism” in recruiting huge numbers of nurses from poorer nations to fill their own staffing gaps.International nursing leaders said the trend was leading to worse patient care in developing nations, which were...

Committee will examine for at least three months a bill proposing repeal of ban on female genital mutilation A decision on whether to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Gambia has been postponed for three months after MPs called for more consultation.FGM was outlawed in the country eight years ago and is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. Continue...