Protesters and police clashed in Hong Kong for a second straight day on Sunday, throwing the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s business and shopping belt into chaos and sparking fears of more ugly scenes leading up to China’s National Day holiday this week.

Riot police repeatedly fired blue liquid – used to identify protesters – from a water cannon truck and multiple volleys of tear gas after demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at officers and targeted the city’s government office complex.

It was a repeat of Saturday’s clashes and part of a familiar cycle since pro-democracy protests began in early June. The protests were sparked by a now-shelved extradition bill and have since snowballed into an anti-China movement.

“We know that in the face of the world’s largest totalitarian regime – to quote Captain America, ‘Whatever it takes,’” Justin Leung, a 21-year-old demonstrator who covered his mouth with a black scarf, said of the violent methods deployed by hard-line protesters. “The consensus right now is that everyone’s methods are valid and we all do our part.”

Protesters are planning to march again Tuesday despite a police ban, raising fears of more violent confrontations that would embarrass Chinese President Xi Jinping as his ruling Communist Party marks 70 years since taking power. Posters are calling for Oct. 1 to be marked as “A Day of Grief.”

“So many youngsters feel that they’re going to have no future because of the power of China,” Andy Yeung, 40, said as he pushed his toddler in a stroller. “It’s hopeless for Hong Kong. If we don’t stand up, there will be no hope.”

Hong Kong’s government has already scaled down the city’s National Day celebrations, canceling an annual fireworks display and moving a reception indoors.

Despite security concerns, the government said Sunday that Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s leader, will lead a delegation of over 240 people to Beijing on Monday to participate in National Day festivities.

Sunday’s turmoil started in the early afternoon when police fired tear gas to disperse a large crowd that had amassed in the popular Causeway Bay shopping district. But thousands of people regrouped and defiantly marched along a main thoroughfare toward government offices, crippling traffic.

Protesters, many clad in black with umbrellas and carrying pro-democracy posters and foreign flags, sang songs and chanted “Stand with Hong Kong, fight for freedom.” Some defaced, tore down and burned National Day congratulatory signs, setting off a huge blaze on the street. Others smashed windows and lobbed gasoline bombs into subway exits that had been shuttered.

Police then fired a water cannon and tear gas as the crowd approached the government office complex. Most fled but hundreds returned, hurling objects into the complex.

Members of an elite police squad, commonly known as raptors, then charged out suddenly from behind barricades, taking many protesters by surprise. Several who failed to flee in time were subdued and detained in a scene of chaos.

The raptors, backed by scores of riot police, pursued protesters down roads to nearby areas. Officers continued to fire a water cannon and more tear gas, and the cat-and-mouse clashes lasted late into the night. Streets were left littered with graffiti on walls and debris.

The demonstration was part of global “anti-totalitarianism” rallies to denounce “Chinese tyranny.” Thousands rallied in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, while more than 1,000 took part in a rally in Sydney.

The protracted unrest, approaching four months long, has battered Hong Kong’s economy, with businesses and tourism plunging.

Chief Executive Lam held her first community dialogue with the public on Thursday in a bid to defuse tensions but failed to persuade protesters, who vowed to press on until their demands are met, including direct elections for the city’s leaders and police accountability.

Earlier Sunday, hundreds of pro-Beijing Hong Kong residents sang the Chinese national anthem and waved red flags at the Victoria Peak hilltop and a waterfront cultural center in a show of support for Chinese rule.

“We want to take this time for the people to express our love for our country, China. We want to show the international community that there is another voice to Hong Kong” apart from the protests, said organizer Innes Tang.

Mobs of Beijing supporters have appeared in malls and on the streets in recent weeks to counter pro-democracy protesters, leading to brawls between the rival camps.

Many people view the extradition bill, which would have sent criminal suspects to mainland

China for trial, as a glaring example of the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China has denied chipping away at Hong Kong’s freedoms and accused the U.S. and other foreign powers of fomenting the unrest to weaken its dominance.

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From: MeNeedIt

The United States does not currently plan to stop Chinese companies from listing on U.S. exchanges, Bloomberg reported Saturday, citing a U.S. Treasury official.

“The administration is not contemplating blocking Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. stock exchanges at this time,” Bloomberg quoted Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley as saying.

Reuters reported Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges in a move that would be part of a broader effort to limit U.S. investment in Chinese companies.

The Treasury did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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From: MeNeedIt

The Middle East. Trade tensions. Iran’s nuclear program. Venezuela’s power struggle. Civil wars in Syria and Yemen. Familiar flashpoints such as these got plenty of airtime at the U.N. General Assembly’s big annual gathering this week.

But some leaders used their time on the world stage to highlight international conflicts and disputes that don’t usually command the same global attention.

A look at some of the less-discussed controversies trying to be heard:

Nagorno-Karabakh

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan landed one of the coveted first few speaking slots, and he devoted a bit of his wide-ranging speech to a clash in the Caucasus: a standoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The mountainous, ethnic Armenian area of about 150,000 people is recognized as part of Azerbaijan in U.N. Security Council resolutions dating to the 1990s. But Nagorno-Karabakh and some neighboring districts have been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, since a six-year separatist war ended in 1994.

Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have closed their borders with Armenia because of the conflict, cutting trade and leaving Armenia with direct land access only to Georgia and Iran.

Russia, the U.S. and France have co-chaired the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, attempting to broker an end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In speeches and rebuttals at the General Assembly, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused one another of misstating history, disrespecting human rights and standing in the way of a settlement.

North Macedonia

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “state of the world” address was largely a grim one, but he pointed to a few matters moving “in promising directions” — among them relations between Greece and the new Republic of North Macedonia.

Greece and what the U.N. cumbersomely used to call the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” sparred for nearly three decades over the latter’s name. It was adopted when the nation, which has a current population of about 2.1 million, declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Greece said the use of “Macedonia” implied territorial claims on its own northern province of the same name and its ancient Greek heritage, not least as the birthplace of ancient warrior king Alexander the Great. Athens blocked its Balkan neighbor’s path to NATO and EU membership over the nomenclature clash.

It became “infamous as a difficult and irresolvable problem,” in the words of now-North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Repeated rounds of U.N.-mediated negotiations proved fruitless until June 2018, when the Skopje government agreed to change the country’s name to North Macedonia. The switch took effect this February.

European Council President Donald Tusk said this month that North Macedonia is now ready to start EU membership talks. It expects to become the 30th NATO member soon.

The deal has been contentious within both countries, though, with critics accusing their governments of giving up too much. Regardless, North Macedonia’s prime minister highlighted it with pride from the world’s premier diplomatic podium.

“We can see nothing but benefits from settling the difference,” Zaev said, calling it “an example for overcoming difficult deadlocks worldwide.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis didn’t expand on the deal, saying only that his country supports EU bids by all the western Balkan countries if they respect their obligations to the EU and their neighbors.

Western Sahara

A mostly desert expanse along the northwest coast of Africa, Western Sahara has been a center of friction between Morocco and Algeria for almost half a century.

Morocco annexed the phosphate- and fishing-rich former Spanish colony in 1975, then fought the Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement until 1991, when the U.N. brokered a cease-fire and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and facilitate a referendum on the territory’s future.

The vote has never happened. Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara, while the Polisario Front insists that Western Sahara’s Sahrawi people — a population the independence movement estimates at 350,000 to 500,000 — have the right to a referendum.

Last year, the U.N. Security Council called for stepping up efforts to reach a solution to the dispute.

A U.N. envoy brought representatives of Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and neighboring Mauritania together last December for the first time in six years, followed by a second meeting in March. But the issue of how to provide for self-determination remains a key sticking point.

The envoy, former German President Horst Kohler, resigned in May for health reasons.

At the General Assembly, Moroccan Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani said his country’s autonomy proposal “is the solution,” while Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum reiterated hopes for Western Sahara residents “to be able to exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.”

Cyprus

A U.N.-controlled buffer zone that cuts across the city of Nicosia evinces a fraught distinction: Cyprus is the last European country to have a divided capital.

After 45 years, could that finally change? There’s “a glimmer of hope,” Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told to the assembly.

The eastern Mediterranean island has been split into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Turkey continues to maintain more than 35,000 troops in the northern third of the island, which only Turkey recognizes as an independent state. The U.N. also has a peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

Tensions have ticked up lately, particularly over natural gas exploration in waters in the internationally recognized state’s exclusive economic zone. Turkey is also drilling there, saying it’s defending Turkish Cypriots’ rights to energy reserves.

On-and-off talks about reunification have spanned decades.

Greek Cypriots have rejected Turkish Cypriots’ demands for a permanent Turkish troop presence and veto power in government decisions in a future federated Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots, meanwhile, want parity in federal decision-making, believing they would otherwise be relegated to junior partners to the majority Greek Cypriots.

A U.N. envoy made a shuttle-diplomacy effort in recent weeks in hopes of paving the way for formal talks, and Anastasiades suggested in his General Assembly speech there was some agreement on starting points for potential discussion. But he also complained that Turkey’s drilling and other activities “severely undermine” the prospect of negotiations.

Turkey’s Erdogan, meanwhile, complained about “the uncompromising position” of the Greek Cypriots.

Belize-Guatemala

It’s been a big year in a centuries-old argument between Belize and Guatemala.

Guatemala claims more than 4,000 square miles (10,350 square kilometers) of terrain administered by Belize — essentially the southern half of Belize. It’s an area of nature reserves, scattered farming villages and fishing towns, and some Caribbean beach tourism destinations.

The dispute’s roots stretch to the 19th century, when Britain controlled Belize and Spain ruled Guatemala.

Guatemala, which became independent in 1821, argues that it inherited a Spanish claim on the territory. Belize considers Guatemala’s claim unfounded and says the borders were defined by an 1859 agreement between Guatemala and Britain (Belize remained a British colony until 1981).

The land spat has strained diplomatic relations and at times even affected air travel between the two Central American countries.

Belize and Guatemala agreed in 2008 to ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, for a binding ruling.

Guatemalans voters gave their assent to the plan in a referendum last year, and Belizeans gave their approval this May.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales celebrated the developments in his General Assembly speech.

“This is a milestone for Guatemala, for Central America and for the world,” he said, emphasizing the peaceful process toward resolving the disagreement. “Currently, bilateral relations between Guatemala and Belize are the best they’ve ever been.”

Belizean Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington told the assembly Saturday that his country also looked forward to resolving “an age-old, atavistic claim that has hindered Belize’s development” and undercut friendship between the countries.

While Belize remains concerned about various activities by Guatemalan troops and citizens, he said, Belizeans “certainly have the most fervent wish to live side by side with the government and people of Guatemala in peace, harmony and close cooperation.”

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From: MeNeedIt

A boat carrying at least 50 Europe-bound migrants capsized Saturday in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, the U.N. refugee agency and the country’s coast guard said, while an independent support group said another 56 migrants on another boat were at risk in the sea.

Coast guard spokesman Ayoub Gassim told The Associated Press that a shipwreck took place off the western city of Misrata, 187 kilometers (116 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli.

UNHCR said rescue efforts were ongoing Saturday afternoon and released no details on casualties.

Alarm Phone, an independent support group for people crossing the Mediterranean, said a second boat for migrants was in distress, with “about 56 lives at risk.”

The group said it received a call from migrants on the boat, who left Libya’s shores days ago, saying that “they are desperately calling for help and are afraid to die.”

“They are still in distress at sea with no rescue in sight. They have now been at sea for over 60 hours,” Alarm Phone said.

Mediterranean crossing point

Libya became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the overthrow and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, when the North African nation was thrown into chaos, armed militias proliferated and central authority collapsed.

In recent years, the European Union has partnered with the coast guard and other Libyan forces to try to stop the dangerous sea crossings.

Rights groups say those efforts have left migrants at the mercy of brutal armed groups or confined in squalid detention centers that lack adequate food and water.

At least 6,000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other nations are locked in dozens of detention facilities in Libya run by militias accused of torture and other abuses.

There are limited supplies for the migrants, who often end up there after arduous journeys at the mercy of abusive traffickers who hold them for ransom from their families.

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From: MeNeedIt

French police repeatedly used tear gas and water cannons to break up a protest Saturday by nearly a 1,000 yellow vest demonstrators in the southwest city of Toulouse.

A police statement said officers made five arrests after being targeted by objects thrown by some of the protesters.

A group that observes police conduct at yellow vest protests said officers had attacked five of their number during the demonstration, injuring one of them.

The Observatory of Police Practice (OPP) posted images and video on Twitter to support their account and posted an open letter to the authorities protesting the incident.

The police headquarters in Toulouse was not available to comment on the allegations Saturday evening.

Earlier this month, a member of the OPP filed a complaint alleging that he had been injured during a police charge at a yellow vest protest.

The march in Toulouse, which holds regular yellow vests protests on Saturday, was led by demonstrators brandishing a giant banner that read: “Fed up of surviving. We want to live.”

As staff at a McDonalds outlet closed up the premises, one of the parasols outside went up in flames.

Even after the use of tear gas and water cannons, demonstrators continued to gather in the city streets.

Calm in Paris

In the capital Paris, some yellow vests joined a climate protest march.

September’s protests have revived the yellow vest movement, though not to the levels seen late last year and in the first half of 2019.

Saturday’s protests came two days after the French government unveiled a draft 2020 budget with more than 9 billion euros in tax cuts for households.

It includes 5 billion euros in tax cuts for some 12 million households already promised by President Emmanuel Macron, the result of a “great national debate” he held to try to address the ongoing protests.

Macron swept to the presidency in 2017 with a pledge to get the country back on a solid financial footing. But he was caught short by the yellow vest movement that accused the former investment banker of ignoring the day-to-day struggles of many French.

Demonstrations have been banned on the Champs-Elysees after protesters clashed with police on the famous Paris avenue last Dec. 8, in the early days of the yellow vest protests.

On that weekend, police detained 900 people, the most since the anti-government protests began.

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From: MeNeedIt

For many homeless people, finding shelter sometimes isn’t nearly as important as finding a meal. Providing food is the main mission of Manna House, a charity organization, where homeless and underprivileged people get breakfast and other services for free. Nilofar Mughal is giving a view from the inside of Manna House located in Baltimore in the state of Maryland.
 

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From: MeNeedIt

President Donald Trump told two Russian officials in a 2017 meeting that he was not concerned about Moscow’s meddling in the U.S. election, which prompted White House officials to limit access to the remarks, the Washington Post reported Friday.

A summary of Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russia’s foreign minister and its ambassador to the U.S. was limited to a few officials in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, the Post said, citing former officials with knowledge of the matter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Whistleblower complaint

A whistleblower complaint about a July phone call in which Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden is at the heart of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry launched this week.

A member of the U.S. intelligence community who filed the complaint against Trump said notes from other conversations the president had with foreign leaders had been placed on a highly classified computer system in a departure from normal practice in a bid to protect information that was politically sensitive, rather than sensitive for national security reasons.

Trump’s 2017 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was already considered controversial after it was learned that Trump disclosed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation.

On election interference, Trump told Lavrov and Kislyak he was not concerned about Russian meddling because the United States did the same in other countries, the Post reported.

Limited access to other conversations

CNN, citing people familiar with the matter, said efforts to limit access to Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders extended to phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters that procedures for handling records of Trump’s conversations with world leaders had changed early in his tenure after calls with Mexico’s president and Australia’s prime minister were leaked.
 

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From: MeNeedIt

Afghans headed to the polls Saturday to elect a new president amid high security and Taliban threats to disrupt the elections, with the rebels warning citizens to stay home or risk being hurt.

Still at some polling stations in the capital voters lined up even before the centers opened, while in others election workers had yet to arrive by poll opening time.

Imam Baksh, who works as a security guard, said he wasn’t worried about his safety as he stood waiting to mark his ballot, wondering who he would vote for.

“All of them have been so disappointing for our country,” he said.

The leading contenders are incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and his partner in the 5-year-old unity government, Abdullah Abdullah, who already alleges power abuse by his opponent. Cameras crowded both men as they cast their vote, with Ghani telling voters they too had a responsibility to call out instances of fraud.

Fear and frustration

At least 15 people were wounded after a bomb attack on a local mosque where a polling station is located, a hospital in the southern city of Kandahar said.

The doctor with the Southern Kandahar Hospital said the wounded included one police, several election officials, and Afghans who came to cast their ballots in the national elections on Saturday.

Polling station complaints

Even in the early hours of voting, complaints had begun to be raised such as polling stations in the posh Wazir Akbar region opening late and biometric machines, aimed at curbing fraud, not working.

In the northern Taimani neighborhood of mostly ethnic Hazaras, two-thirds of the voting registration papers had yet to arrive and angry voters were told their names were not on the list. 

Abdul Ghafoor, who spoke on behalf of dozens of men waiting to cast their ballot, said that of about 3,000 registered voters only 400 appeared on the list that had arrived at the center.

Ghafoor said he was told to return at 2 p.m. and that he would be allowed to vote even if his name was not on the list and without using the biometric machine.

“But how can they do this? My vote won’t count if I am not on a list,” he said.

In Khoja Ali Mohfaq Herawi mosque in Kabul’s well-to-do Shahr-e-Now neighborhood, election workers struggled with biometric machines as well as finding names on voters’ lists.

Ahmad Shah, 32, cast his vote, but said the election worker forgot to ink his finger — which is mandatory to prevent multiple voting by the same person.

“What sort of system is this?” he asked, frustrated that he had risked his safety to vote and expressed fear that fraud will mar the election results. “It’s a mess.”

Still, 63-year old Ahmad Khan urged people to vote.

“It is the only way to show the Taliban we are not afraid of them,” he said, though he too worried at the apparent glitches in the process.

Security officers fan out

Tens of thousands of police, intelligence officials and Afghan National Army personnel have been deployed throughout the country to protect the 4,942 election centers. Authorities said 431 polling centers will stay closed because it was impossible to guarantee their security since they were either in areas under Taliban control or where insurgents could threaten nearby villages.

Neighbor Pakistan, routinely accused of aiding insurgents, announced it was closing its borders with Afghanistan Saturday and Sunday to further protect security in the war-weary country.

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From: MeNeedIt

Tens of thousands of people from across Senegal converged on the capital Dakar on Friday for the inauguration of a huge mosque, claimed to be the largest in West Africa.

Muslim faithful arrived by bus, car or on foot in the poor district of Bopp, home to the new Massalikul Jinaan mosque, capable of hosting 30,000 worshippers.

The mosque has been built by the Mouride Brotherhood — part of the Sufi strand of Islam that predominates in Senegal, a country with a long tradition of religious tolerance.

Huge traffic jams several kilometers (miles) long built up on highways leading to the site, where some people had starting camping out two days before the long-awaited ceremonies.

Work on the mosque began a decade ago on a swampy six-hectare (14-acre) area of land donated by the government of the 90-percent Muslim nation, and the inauguration has been preceded by an outpouring of national and religious fervour.

The mosque’s name of Massalikul Jinaan (“The Paths to Paradise”) comes from the title of a poem by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke, the 19th-century founder of the Brotherhood, who is revered by followers as a saint.

With a Carrara marble exterior and boasting five minarets — the tallest 78 meter (255 feet) high — the mosque has a capacity of 15,000 worshippers inside, and another 15,000 on an outside esplanade.

The lavish interiors include a gold-leaf dome, giant chandeliers and decorations hand drawn by Moroccan workmen. An Islamic institute, residence and museum are scheduled to be added in the future.

The builders say the mosque is the biggest in West Africa, although the edifice is dwarfed by mosques in the Arab world. In Morocco, the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca can accommodate 105,000 worshippers and has a minaret spiraling 210 meters.

The cost of more than 30 million euros ($33 million) came from private donations, while the government contributed lighting, sanitation and roadworks worth 10.5 million euros as well as the land — a sign of the Brotherhood’s clout.

The group’s leader, Mountakha Mbacke, received a stream of religious, traditional and political leaders in the runup to the inauguration, and the ceremonies were to be attended by President Macky Sall.

The Mourides are one of four important Sufi brotherhoods followed by Senegal’s Muslims, who overwhelmingly practice a moderate version of Islam while following the teachings of local spiritual guides.

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From: MeNeedIt

The United States offered to remove all sanctions on Iran in exchange for talks, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday upon returning to Tehran from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to his official website.

“The German chancellor, the prime minister of England (Britain) and the president of France were in New York and all insisted that this meeting take place. And America says that I will lift the sanctions,” Rouhani said. “It was up for debate what sanctions will be lifted and they had said clearly that we will lift all sanctions.”

He added: “But this action wasn’t in a manner that was acceptable, meaning that in the atmosphere of sanctions and the existence of sanctions and the toxic atmosphere of maximum pressure, even if we want to negotiate with the Americans in the 5+1 framework, no one can predict what the end and result of this negotiation will be.”

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From: MeNeedIt

Egyptian security forces completely sealed off Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the so-called Arab Spring uprising in 2011, to prevent possible protests on Friday against the country’s president.

The closures come amid a harsh security clampdown following rare demonstrations in several cities last weekend, all of which were broken up by police. Lawyers say over 2,000 people have been arrested since then. Egypt’s general prosecutor claims his office has questioned no more than 1,000 people over the latest protests

Street demonstrations have been almost completely silenced the past years by draconian measures imposed under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, a former general.

The demonstrations erupted over corruption allegations earlier this month against the military and el-Sissi by an Egyptian businessman living in self-imposed exile. El-Sissi warned Friday against “deceitful” attempts to discredit his rule.

Riot police had barricaded streets and bridges leading into Tahrir Square, where hundreds of thousands had gathered in 2011 to demand the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. Several nearby subway stations were closed for alleged maintenance.

The government effectively banned all public protests in 2013, shortly after el-Sissi led the military’s overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president.

Earlier this month, Mohamed Ali, the self-exiled contractor who said he had worked with the military for 15 years, posted inflammatory videos accusing the president and some military commanders of misuse of public funds to build presidential palaces and a tomb for the president’s mother. Ali has renewed his call for Egyptians to take to the streets Friday, the first day of the weekend.

El-Sissi arrived Friday morning to Cairo from New York, where he had been attending the U.N. General Assembly at the time the protests broke out. “It is all based on lies, distortion and fabrication. You should be aware of that,” el-Sissi said upon his arrival at Cairo airport. Hundreds of his supporters rallied to greet him, raising his picture and waving Egyptian flags.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that Egypt’s authorities should respect the right of peaceful assembly by allowing protests, and should release all those arrested.

“The nationwide crackdown on protests suggests that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi is terrified of Egyptians’ criticisms,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group’s Middle East and North Africa director.

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From: MeNeedIt

Dengue fever is spreading rapidly across Central America, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday.   

“The size of this outbreak is unprecedented across Central America,” said Dr. Maria Frana Tallarico, head of health of IFRC’s regional office for the Americas.

Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica are reporting “massive increases in dengue cases compared to previous years,” the IFRC said.

More than 71,200 people in Honduras have been affected by the mosquito-borne viral disease.

Seasonal rains and high temperatures have created stagnant pools that are “perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes,” according to IFRC.
 
What is alarming about the disease in Honduras, however, is that 65 percent of the 128 deaths thus far are children under 15 years-old.

“This is due to a lack of immunity in young people to to the deadliest of the four strains of dengue currently circulating in the region,” says Tallarico.

IFRC says it is “scaling up” emergency assistance to help countries contain the disease, including teams of IFRC volunteers who are going door-to-door to raise awareness about the disease and how to prevent its spread.

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From: MeNeedIt