Egypt frees comedian, journalist and political activist to clean image of being among world’s top jailers
Egypt has released an online comedian, a journalist and a political activist after they spent months in pre-trial detention, two lawyers say. It was the latest in a series of recent releases amid concerns by the United States and international rights groups over the arrest and harassment of rights advocates...
Media organisations appeal to Biden administration to protect 300 journalists caught up in Afghanistan’s swift fall
An international organisation that that defends freedom of expression, safety and rights of journalists to carry out their work without inhibitions has called upon the United States to protect media workers in Afghanistan after the Middle East country fell under the control of the Taliban Islamic fundamentalists. In a statement...
Ukrainian women and children detained in Syria need consular support
Regional authorities in northeast Syria are unlawfully detaining an estimated 40 Ukrainian women and children in inhuman and degrading conditions in camps. Investigations by Human Rights Watch revealed that the women and children are among more than 43,000 foreigners that have been linked to the extremist armed group Islamic State...
Alarm as execution looms for scientist on death row in Iran
A medical researcher sentenced to death in Iran three years ago on a charge of spying, which he denies, is under threat of imminent execution, Nature has been told. Ahmadreza Djalali, a scholar in disaster medicine who has dual Iranian-Swedish nationality, is nearing the end of a week of solitary...
African cheetah population faces serious threats from Asian traders
While the elephant is the symbol endangered flora and fauna in the world, obscured from global attention is the threat the cheetah in eastern Africa wilds faces. Illicit trade between eastern Africa and the Middle East has significantly depleted the population to the extent Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) says the...
Human rights defenders from Iran, Belarus among 2020 Right Livelihood laureates
Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, US civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, indigenous rights and environmental activist Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua and Belarusian pro-democracy activist Ales Bialiatski and the non-governmental organisation Human Rights Centre “Viasna” have been selected as the 2020 Right Livelihood Laureates, the Swedish Right Livelihood...
Ambitious Abu Dhabi to build world’s largest indoor farm
GreenFactory Emirates, a United Arab Emirates firm, plans to produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce per year and combine vertical and flat farming techniques in a project billed to be the largest indoor farm. The AED650 million ($176,930,000) project will develop an innovative indoor farming with the world’s most advanced...
