WHO warns death toll from Turkey and Syria earthquakes could surpass 20,000 as 4,300 bodies recovered
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the death toll from the Turkey and Syria earthquakes could rise to over 20,000. The warning comes on the back of 4,300 confirmed deaths in either country, with reports saying more than 18,000 are still not accounted for more than 40 hours...
Taliban vowed no revenge, an Afghan family details their experience under the new rulers
When the Taliban won back control of the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar last month, they set out to settle a score with an old foe. As they searched for prominent local politician Ajmal Omar, who had helped drive the militants out of a Nangarhar district a year earlier and...
Middle East crisis: Lebanon’s economic crash drives women to fight period poverty with eco-friendly alternatives
As the price of sanitary products skyrockets amidst Lebanon’s prolonged economic crash, a cohort of young women have taken it upon themselves to fight the country’s growing problem of period poverty. In doing so, they’ve also stirred up a conversation about eco-friendly alternatives, and challenged long-held cultural norms. Lebanon’s financial...
Afghanistan: Humanitarian work at risk after Taliban took control of ‘keys to the server room’ with biometric data
From ethical dilemmas on data security to worst-case scenarios unfolding in real time – the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan is spurring urgent concern about the safety of data that aid groups have collected over the past 20 years. Data protection experts warn that aid groups must quickly review...
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...
