Mauritania anti-slavery verdict sparks riot |
Police use tear gas to disperse protesters after three activists are sentenced to two years in prison.
Last updated: 16 Jan 2015 05:54
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Protesters have clashed with police in Mauritania after three anti-slavery activists were sentenced to two years in prison.
At least four people were injured after the police used tear gas to disperse protestors on Thursday.
Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, the runner-up in 2014 presidential elections and the head of an anti-slavery group, was convicted along with one of his aides Bilal Ramdane, and Djiby Sow, a civic and cultural rights campaigner.
Dozens of their supporters stormed the courthouse and surrounded the prosecutor's office in the capital, Nouakchott, while others smashed the windows of the police van carrying the three, according to private news agency Al-Akhbar.
Seven others on trial for joining anti-slavery protests in November were released.
US to send 400 troops to train Syrian rebels
Hundreds more support personnel will be deployed although location of training has not been disclosed
The US military is planning to deploy more than 400 troops to help train Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State, along with hundreds of US support personnel, a Pentagon spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
The US military has not yet identified where it will draw its forces from for the training mission, expected to begin in the spring at sites outside Syria, Colonel Steve Warren said. Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have offered to host the training.
Warren did not offer additional details on the troop figures, first reported by Defense One website.
The training program is a part of President Barack Obama’s multi-year plan to field local forces in Syria to halt and eventually roll back Islamic State fighters, while pounding them with US-led airstrikes.
'The Anthropocene': The human epoch started with first atomic bomb test, scientists decide
Opinion: Solidarity with Raif Badawi
The liberal Saudi blogger is due to be publicly flogged for the second time on Friday: another 50 out of a total 1,000 court-ordered lashings. DW’s Rainer Sollich wonders where the public outcry is.
Angela Merkel has again vowed to protect Muslims living in Germany from prejudice, but she also stressed: "religious freedom and tolerance doesn't mean that sharia law stands above the constitution."
If Merkel were not the German chancellor, but a citizen of Saudi Arabia, this statement could likely earn her a draconian punishment - just like Raif Badawi. The Saudi blogger was sentenced to 1,000 lashes as well as 10 years in prison and a hefty fine for what was deemed an "insult" to Islam.
Who is insulting Islam?
In reality, it is his sentence that is an insult to Islam and something that damages its image.
Pope Francis calls for end to corruption and social inequality in Philippines
Lindsay Murdoch
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media
Bangkok: Pope Francis demanded Philippine leaders tackle corruption and end "scandalous social inequalities" after huge crowds gave him a rapturous welcome.
"It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good," the Pope said in a speech to President Benigno Aquino and other leaders at Malacanang presidential palace on Friday.
Corruption has been rampant and a culture of impunity has festered for decades among powerful politicians in the country where almost one-quarter of 100 million people live in poverty.
Could one of Kony’s abductees trigger his downfall?
How the the capture of Dominic Ongwen, a top Joseph Kony lieutenant, could precipitate more defections and the breakdown of the Lord's Resistance Army.
Last week news broke that US military forces in eastern CAR had taken custody of senior Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commander Dominic Ongwen, one of five LRA commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2005. Since then, Ongwen’s fate has taken on a symbolic importance, with US and Ugandan government officials, LRA victims, and human rights advocates engaging in a furious tug-of-war that has reportedly ended with the decision that he will be tried at ICC instead of Uganda’s domestic courts.
Lost in these debates is any analysis of how Ongwen’s dramatic escape, and his ultimate fate, will affect the people he left behind in the LRA. Soon after defecting, he recorded a powerful message to his former comrades that has been played across regional radio stations, urging them to follow his example and “come back home if you don’t want to die.” Ongwen was well-respected within LRA ranks, known not only for his bravery on the battlefield but also for his audacity in questioning the authority of LRA leader Joseph Kony.
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