Does International Human Rights Law Still Matter in Hong Kong? Does International Human Rights Law Still Matter in Hong Kong?

Nairobi — A prominent human rights group is calling for the deployment of peacekeepers in Sudan, following a recent wave of attacks on civilians in Al Jazirah state widely blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring sides in the country’s ongoing conflict. Human Rights Watch says the situation has become so grim that a mission is needed to protect the population.  According to a local pro-democracy group, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, 169 people have been killed since the violence started in southeastern Jazirah state on Oct. 20.   The attacks began after a commander for the Rapid Support Forces defected and joined the Sudanese army. Rights groups report that in response, RSF forces entered villages and towns in the area where the commander was from and carried out targeted killings and abuse.   Laetitia Bader, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division, said the violations have added more problems for a population reeling from more than 18 months of war.   "Sudanese women's rights groups have been documenting cases of sexual violence against women and girls in these towns and villages. And we're talking here about over 30 towns and villages which have been attacked in recent weeks, and these attacks are ongoing,” Bader said. “It led to massive displacement of the civilian population in an area where people had already fled to and from. So it's just adding to the layers of suffering."  The RSF has denied attacking communities in Jazirah state and has accused Sudanese forces of arming local communities.   The RSF and Sudan’s military have been at war since April of last year. Rival generals lead the parties and are locked in a power struggle.  Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch and other observers are calling for the deployment of peacekeepers to Jazirah and other parts of Sudan, in hopes of protecting civilians.   Getting a presence on the ground could deter further attacks and help monitor humanitarian obstruction, Bader said, and also play a role in bolstering local cease-fire efforts and efforts by emergency response teams to provide assistance.  “Right now the problem is that what is happening at the local level cannot act alone," Bader added.  Ahmed Hashi, a Horn of Africa political and security commentator, said troops are needed, and strong action must be taken against the leaders of the warring groups.   "There is a need to send at least 50,000 United Nations soldiers. There is a need to take the criminal generals to the International Criminal Court and issue a warrant for their arrest,” Hashi said. “It is important for the United Nations to put its foot down on conflicts because they are going to metastasize into a massive humanitarian catastrophe."  In a report issued last month, the office of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock at the human rights violations often witnessed in Sudan’s western Darfur region being repeated in the Jazirah area.  The United Nations Security Council is slated to discuss the report on Sudan later this month.

Washington — The United States sanctioned a senior Sudanese paramilitary official on Tuesday, accusing him of overseeing human rights abuses in his country's West Darfur region.  The Treasury Department announced the sanctions on Abdel Rahman Joma'a Barakallah, a commander with Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which it accused of being "a primary party responsible for the ongoing violence against civilians in Sudan." Sudan has been gripped by a deadly conflict since April 2023 between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti.   In a statement, the Treasury said the RSF's campaign in West Darfur "was marked by credible claims of serious human rights abuses, including targeting of civilians, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and ethnically motivated violence."  U.N. experts have estimated that the RSF, with the support of Arab militias, have killed between 10,000 and 15,000 people in the West Darfur town of El-Geneina alone. "Today's action underscores our commitment to hold accountable those who seek to facilitate these horrific acts of violence against vulnerable civilian populations in Sudan," Treasury acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.  "The United States remains focused on supporting an end to this conflict and calls on both sides to participate in peace talks and ensure the basic human rights of all Sudanese civilians," he added.

International aid groups say Israel hasn’t met the U.S. demand deadline for allowing more humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip. The groups say conditions are worse now than any point in the 13-month-old war. This week, the outgoing Biden administration is expected to judge whether Israel has done enough to meet a demand issued last month to get more aid flowing into Gaza. We speak to Larry Garber, former USAID Mission Director to the West Bank and Gaza.

OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada has detected its first presumptive case of H5 bird flu in a person, a teenager in the western province of British Columbia, health officials said Saturday. The teenager likely caught the virus from a bird or animal and was receiving care at a children's hospital, the province said in a statement. The province said it was investigating the source of exposure and identifying the teenager's contacts. The risk to the public remains low, Canada's Health Minister Mark Holland said in posting on X. "This is a rare event," British Columbia Health Officer Bonnie Henry said in a statement. "We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in B.C." H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers. There has been no evidence of person-to-person spread so far. But if that were to happen, a pandemic could unfold, scientists have said. Earlier in November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked for farm workers who have been exposed to animals with bird flu to be tested for the virus even if they do not have symptoms. Bird flu has infected nearly 450 dairy farms in 15 U.S. states since March, and the CDC has identified 46 human cases of bird flu since April. In Canada, British Columbia has identified at least 22 infected poultry farms since October, and numerous wild birds tested positive, according to the province. Canada has had no cases reported in dairy cattle and no evidence of bird flu in samples of milk.  

TORONTO, canada — A teenager is in critical condition in a British Columbia children's hospital, sick with Canada's first presumptive human case of avian influenza. "This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions," said provincial health officer Bonnie Henry in a news conference on Tuesday. "It just reminds us that in young people this is a virus that can progress and cause quite severe illness, and the deterioration that I mentioned was quite rapid." British Columbia health officials said on Saturday the province had detected Canada's first human case of H5 bird flu in a teenager. Henry said the province is still identifying the exact strain but assumes the case is H5N1. The World Health Organization says H5N1's risk to humans is low because there is no evidence of human transmission, but the virus has been found in an increasing number of animals, including cattle in the United States. Henry would not disclose the teen's gender or age but said the patient had first developed symptoms on November 2 and was tested on November 8, when admitted to a hospital. Symptoms included conjunctivitis, fever and coughing. As of Tuesday, the teen was hospitalized with acute respiratory distress syndrome, she said. The teen had no farm exposure but had been exposed to dogs, cats and reptiles, Henry said. No infection source had been identified. "That is absolutely an ongoing investigation." More severe illness takes place when the virus binds to receptors deep in the lungs, she said. Public health officials had identified and tested about three dozen contacts and had not found anyone infected with the virus. There has been no evidence that the disease is easily spread between people. But if that were to happen, a pandemic could unfold, scientists have said. Earlier in November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked that farm workers exposed to animals with bird flu be tested for the virus even if they did not have symptoms. Bird flu has infected nearly 450 dairy farms in 15 U.S. states since March, and the CDC has identified 46 human cases of bird flu since April. In Canada, British Columbia has identified at least 26 affected premises across the province, Henry said Tuesday, and numerous wild birds have tested positive. Canada has had no cases reported in dairy cattle and no evidence of bird flu in samples of milk.

Cat’s fast language acquisition process differs from how dogs learn words, often requiring training and rewards. However, cats form associations through subtle behaviors, such as gaze.

[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- Ethiopia's human rights record is under review today, 12 November 2024, by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, marking the fourth assessment of the country's human rights practices.

The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres congratulated grassroots Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. “The atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as the hibakusha, are selfless, soul-bearing witnesses of the horrific human cost of nuclear weapons,” he said in a statement. “While their numbers grow smaller each […]

The right to abortion is a human rights issue that no government agency, courts, local and state legislators, or anyone else has the right to violate or impede in any shape or form. It is a fundamental right that every woman must be free to exercise with impunity, in consultation with her doctor only, who […]

[Radio Dalsan] Mogadishu -- The Federal Government of Somalia has dispatched four planes of humanitarian aid to Baidoa, the capital of the Southwest State, in response to escalating concerns over a severe drought expected to hit the region.

  Matthias Schmale is the Assistant Secretary-General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine. Schmale brings more than 30 years of experience in humanitarian and development work. He previously served as Senior Adviser to the UN Development Coordination Office’s regional team for Africa, as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (a.i) in Nigeria, and in several high-level […]

Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, calls prostitution a “system of violence” that does not benefit society at all, especially the women and girls forced into this system. Alsalem spoke at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute in New York on Wednesday, October 2, to discuss her special report […]

Although classified as a compact tropical cyclone and considered one of the smallest in the North Atlantic, Hurricane Oscar has caused considerable damage in eastern Cuba since it made landfall on October 20, 2024. Cuban authorities have confirmed that the death toll has risen to seven, in additional to the damage in infrastructure. Communications and […]

Chad is currently in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis due to persisting armed conflict, mass displacement, widespread hunger, natural disasters, and an overall lack of essential services. Due to security challenges from the Boko Haram militant group, millions of Chadians have faced decreased mobility as well as human rights violations including imprisonment, beatings, […]

ADB sought to understand what improving transport meant for the community. Prior to project design, consultations were conducted with residents in Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas. Design decisions were tested back to ensure that mobility pain points were addressed.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of (Associate) Human Resource Officer in the Budget, People, and Management Systems Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 20-NOV-2024.

The Secondary Education for Human Capital Competitiveness Project will support priorities of phase 2 of Cambodia's Secondary Education Blueprint 2030. The project's impact is aligned with the vision of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MOEYS) and the government's strategy, which highlight the importance of high-quality human resources to develop a knowledge-based society.2 The outcome will be effectiveness of a gender-inclusive upper secondary education system improved.

The South American lungfish has a whopping 180 gigabases of DNA in each cell, compared with 6 gigabases in human cells

Tribalism can be toxic, yet we need more of it if we are to meet today’s global challenges, argues one anthropologist. His research reveals how to create a “teratribe”

Climate change means extreme heat will become the norm for millions across the world. We joined an experiment in the Saudi Arabian desert designed to find out what that means for our brains and bodies

Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren't an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future

Devices that let people with paralysis walk and talk are rapidly improving. Some see a future in which we alter memories and download skills – but major challenges remain

Fossils found 50 and 100 years ago seemed to pinpoint the moment humanity emerged – but defining a human has turned out to be far trickier than we thought

Changes in the distribution of groundwater around the planet between 1993 and 2010 were enough to make Earth's poles drift by 80 centimetres

A bird flu virus that has been circulating in dairy cattle for months has now been found in a pig in the US for the first time, raising the risk of the virus evolving to become more dangerous to people

One day, doctors might be able to 3D print copies of your organs in order to test a variety of drugs, thanks to a new technique that uses light and sound for rapid printing

Most assessments of global warming use 1850-1900 as a baseline, but researchers have now established a new pre-industrial reference by using Antarctic ice cores to estimate the average temperature before 1700

DNA from bones found in a cave in Germany has been identified as from Homo sapiens, showing that our species endured frigid conditions there as they expanded across the continent

Fossil evidence shows that humans have been practising cannibalism for a million years. Now, archaeologists are discovering that some of the time they did it to honour their dead

Korolevo, a site in Ukraine where early humans made stone tools, has been dated to 1.4 million years ago, suggesting early humans moved from Ukraine into the rest of Europe

A southern mammoth skeleton found in Spain bears cut marks from stone tools and bite marks from carnivore teeth, suggesting that both hominins and felids feasted on its meat

Intact human brains 12,000 years old or more have been found in unexpected places such as shipwrecks and waterlogged graves, but it is unclear what preserved them

Evidence from an archaeological site in Ethiopia suggests ancient humans adapted their diet during a dry spell after the Toba volcano eruption 74,000 years ago

Why childhood is so protracted has long been mysterious, now a spate of archaeological discoveries suggest an intriguing explanation

Five years ago, a fossil found in the Philippines was determined to be from a new species of hominin called Homo luzonensis. Since then, we’ve learned a bit more about the newest member of the human family

A site in Siberia has evidence of human presence 417,000 years ago, raising the possibility that hominins could have reached North America much earlier than we thought

Underground tunnels created by lava flows provided humans with shelter for thousands of years beneath the hot desert landscape of Saudi Arabia

Genetic analysis of 50,000-year-old Neanderthal skeletons has uncovered the remnants of three viruses related to modern human pathogens, and the researchers think they could be recreated

Outrunning prey over long distances is an efficient method of hunting for humans, and it was widely used until recently, according to an analysis of ethnographic accounts

An excavation on Timor reveals humans first settled on the island 44,000 years ago, long after the earliest occupation of Australia – suggesting migration to the latter took another route

Anthropologists have been arguing for 20 years about whether Sahelanthropus, a hominin that lived about 7 million years ago, was one of the first bipedal apes

Highland and lowland populations in Papua New Guinea have different gene variants derived from Denisovan archaic humans, indicating possible adaptations for lower oxygen levels and higher malaria risk

Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren't an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future

Prehistoric mammal bones found at a construction site in Argentina appear to have been cut with stone tools, suggesting that humans lived in the region much earlier than previously thought