Rubrika: Zahranicne

(LES MUREAUX, France) — Sylvia. Dalila. Aminata. Céline. Julie. Their names are plastered on buildings and headlines across France, calling attention to their shared fate: Each was killed, allegedly by a current or former partner this year.

More than 130 women have died from domestic violence this year alone in France, according to activists who track the deaths.

European Union studies show France has a higher rate of domestic violence than most of its European peers. And frustrated activists have drawn national attention to a problem President Emmanuel Macron has called “France’s shame.”

Under cover of night, activists have glued posters with the names of the dead and calls to action to French city walls. “Complaints ignored, women killed,” read the black block letters on one such sign. They have also posted anti-violence slogans, tagged with Macron’s name.

By the hundreds, women have walked silently through city streets after each new death.

Two years after Macron made a campaig..

Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation this week supporting the protests in Hong Kong, which have raged for nearly half a year. The bill, known as the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,” will head to President Donald Trump’s desk to review within the coming days.

Protesters would herald the passage of the act as a victory, believing it could pressure the Hong Kong government into acceding to their political demands. But the policy would likely further strain the U.S.-China relationship, which is already hampered by a bruising trade war. Chinese officials have ominously warned of harsh countermeasures against the U.S. if the bill becomes law.

As the act awaits Trump’s decision, here’s what to know about it.

What is the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act”?
The legislation aims to safeguard Hong Kong’s civil rights and freedoms by linking the former British Colony’s special trade status to its continued autonomy from Beijing,

Introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern, Sen. Ma..

Amnesty International called Friday for its supporters to speak out on behalf of the residents of Lahore, where hazardous smog is putting thousands of lives at risk.

Pakistan’s second-largest city has not had a single day of healthy air this year, the rights group says.

“The government’s inadequate response to the smog in Lahore raises significant human rights concerns,” Rimmel Mohydin, South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International, said in a statement. “The hazardous air is putting everyone’s right to health at risk.”

It is the first time Amnesty International has issued an “urgent action” call on behalf of the entire population of a major city. The campaign tool is meant to mobilize supporters around the world amid imminent danger of human rights violations.

Lahore’s is often considered one of the world’s most polluted cities. This month, people have been forced to stay indoors as the air quality was classified as “hazardous” one of every two days by the U.S. Consulate in Lahore..

(Bloomberg) –– Long-anticipated layoffs at WeWork have begun, part of the struggling office-sharing company’s plan to cut costs after staggering losses.

WeWork said Thursday that the reductions will affect 2,400 employees globally. They will receive severance and continued benefits and other forms of assistance, according to an emailed statement.

The job cuts represent almost 20% of the company’s global workforce, which totaled 12,500 as of June 30.

“We are grateful for the important roles they have played in building WeWork over the last decade,” a company spokesperson said. Staff reductions began weeks ago in regions around the world and continued this week in the U.S.

At the company’s Manhattan headquarters, there was an enhanced security presence on Thursday, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

WeWork, co-founded by former CEO and chairman Adam Neumann, is seeking to stabilize its business and show a path to profitability. The New York-based company scrapped an i..

Questions have swirled for years about Prince Andrew, the Duke of York’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—including an allegation that the royal had sex with a 17-year-old girl who was trafficked by the disgraced financier. The Queen’s second son, with the backing of Buckingham Palace, has always forcefully denied wrongdoing. But just days after Prince Andrew gave a disastrous BBC interview about his relationship with Epstein, which included him saying he did not regret the “very useful” friendship, for the palace to react. On Wednesday, Andrew released a statement saying he would “step back” from public duties for the “foreseeable future.”

“We all think she’s this lovely and charming old lady, but she is [the] monarch and she can get very, very angry. It takes quite a lot to get her angry, and I think that perhaps she feels her son is not telling the truth and perhaps she feels he has to pay for it,” says Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, add..

A Hong Kong resident living in Singapore has been “repatriated” home after organizing an illegal gathering of mostly ethnic Chinese last month to talk about the ongoing protests, according to local media reports.

Restaurant owner Alex Yeung, along with a 55-year-old former Hong Kong resident, were issued a “stern warning” over what was said to be a gathering of about 10 people sharing their views of the escalating protests, which is an offense under the Public Order Act. Yeung, who has a Youtube channel of largely pro-Beijing content was further instructed he would not be allowed to enter Singapore again without permission from the authorities.

“Singapore has always been clear that foreigners should not advocate their political causes in Singapore, through public assemblies, and other prohibited means,” the Singapore Police Force told Channel News Asia late on Wednesday.

Speaking from Singapore’s Changi Airport on Thursday morning ahead of his flight, Yeung said he was now free to g..

Every morning, Mrs. Chen dons her bright purple tai chi pajamas and joins the dozen or so other members of Hongmen Martial Arts Group for practice outside Chongqing’s Jiangnan Stadium. But a few months ago, she was in such a rush to join their whirling sword-dance routine that she dropped her purse. Fortunately, a security guard noticed it lying in the public square via one of the overhead security cameras. He placed it at the lost and found, where Mrs. Chen gratefully retrieved it later.

“Were it not for these cameras, someone might have stolen it,” Mrs. Chen, who asked to be identified by only her surname, tells TIME on a smoggy morning in China’s sprawling central megacity. “Having these cameras everywhere makes me feel safe.”

What sounds like a lucky escape is almost to be expected in Chongqing, which has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most surveilled city. The seething mass of 15.35 million people straddling the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers boasted ..

(BEIJING) — China on Thursday demanded President Donald Trump veto legislation aimed at supporting human rights in Hong Kong and renewed a threat to take “strong countermeasures” if the bills become law.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act undermined both China’s interests and those of the U.S. in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

“We urge the U.S. to grasp the situation, stop its wrongdoing before it’s too late, prevent this act from becoming law (and) immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs,” Geng said at a daily news briefing.

“If the U.S. continues to make the wrong moves, China will be taking strong countermeasures for sure,” Geng said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi joined in the criticism, telling visiting former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen that the legislation constituted an act of interference in China’s internal affairs and ignored violent acts committed by protesters.

“This bi..

(UNITED NATIONS) — In a sharp rebuke to the Trump administration, the 14 other U.N. Security Council members on Wednesday strongly opposed the U.S. announcement that it no longer considers Israeli settlements to be a violation of international law.

They warned that the new American policy undermines a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The council’s monthly Mideast meeting, just two days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement, was dominated by negative reaction to the new American policy from countries representing all regions of the world who said all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

Only Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, who is not a council member, spoke in support of the U.S. action, saying it “rights a historical wrong.” He also called the criticism an “obstacle to peace” that is “preventing direct negotiations” between Israelis and Palestinians.

“When the international community tries to force its solutions, ..

(YANGON, Myanmar) — Myanmar said Wednesday its leader Aung San Suu Kyi will head the legal team contesting a genocide case filed against it in the International Court of Justice over the crackdown on Rohingya Muslims two years ago that set off their exodus to Bangladesh.

Myanmar’s military has been accused of carrying out mass rapes, killings and arsons against Rohingya during a counterinsurgency campaign initiated in western Myanmar in August 2017 after rebel attacks. Myanmar’s population is overwhelmingly Buddhist, and the country has long denied citizenship and other rights to the Rohingya.

Gambia filed the genocide case on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the court based in the Netherlands said Monday it would hold public hearings on Dec. 10-12.

When filing the case, Gambia’s justice minister and attorney general, Abubacarr Marie Tambadou, told The Associated Press he wanted to “send a clear message to Myanmar and to the rest of the international community ..