TURKEY
Civil servants face purge
The government yesterday issued a decree dismissing more than 18,000 civil servants, half of whom were from the police force, ahead of this month’s expected lifting of a two-year-old state of emergency imposed after an attempted coup in July 2016. The decree follows President Tayyip Erdogan’s victory in last month’s presidential election and comes before he swears his oath today, inaugurating a powerful executive presidency. The decree dismissed 199 academics from universities across the country, as well as more than 5,000 personnel from the armed forces.
IRAN
Teen detained for videos
The government has detained a teenager who posted dance videos on Instagram and attracted tens of thousands of followers. State TV on Friday broadcast a video in which Maedeh Hojabri, 18, acknowledged breaking moral norms while insisting that that was not her intention. It was unclear whether her statement was made under duress. She had posted about 300 videos on her account, many of which showed her dancing. She also appeared in videos without wearing the obligatory headscarf. She had about 43,000 followers.
INDIA
Kashmir on lockdown
Armed police and soldiers yesterday fanned out across much of Indian-controlled Kashmir to enforce a security lockdown, as separatists challenging Indian rule called for a shutdown and protests on the second anniversary of the killing of a charismatic rebel leader. Government forces patrolled deserted streets and sealed off the hometown of Burhan Wani in anticipation of widespread anti-India protests and clashes in the region. Wani, 22, was killed along with two associates in a brief gun battle with troops two years ago.
EGYPT
Lebanese woman jailed
A Lebanese woman was on Saturday jailed for eight years for “harming” the country’s people, a judicial source said, after she claimed in a video to have been sexually assaulted. Tourist Mona al-Mazbouh was arrested in late May at Cairo airport as she was preparing to leave. Mazbouh had published a video on Facebook, which was widely shared, saying that she had been the victim of sexual harassment in the streets and accusing Egyptians of thievery and scams. The allegations drew a strong reaction online, with some Egyptians calling for Mazbouh’s arrest and lodging a complaint against her. Despite releasing a second video insisting she had not meant to insult the country as a whole, Mazbouh was found guilty.
GERMANY
Refugee policy protested
Thousands of people marched through cities on Saturday to protest an EU policy on refugees and support non-governmental organizations helping rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. About 12,000 people attended a rally in Berlin, local radio reported, while Munich and Leipzig also saw protests called for by charity organizations including German-based Lifeline, whose rescue boats were recently prevented from entering Italian waters. Some demonstrators donned rescue vests and held up slogans, including “humanity is not a political opinion” and “human rights don’t stop at the Mediterranean.” Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer, who backs a hard line on reining in migration, was accused of “exploiting the distress of those at sea” for political reasons.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in