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Brazilian nun awarded UN refugee prize for work with migrants

Brazilian nun awarded UN refugee prize for work with migrants
Sister Rosita Milesi championed the rights and dignity of refugees and migrants of different nationalities in Brazil for four decades. (UNHCR/AFP)
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Updated 09 October 2024
Reuters
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Brazilian nun awarded UN refugee prize for work with migrants

Brazilian nun awarded UN refugee prize for work with migrants
  • Sister Rosita Milesi is a member of the Catholic order of the Scalabrini nuns
  • Religious order renowned for their service to refugees worldwide
Updated 09 October 2024
Reuters
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BRASILIA: A Brazilian nun who has helped refugees and migrants for 40 years on Wednesday won the Nansen prize awarded every year by the UN High Commission for Refugees for outstanding work to protect internally displaced and stateless people.
Sister Rosita Milesi, 79, is a member of the Catholic order of the Scalabrini nuns, who are renowned for their service to refugees worldwide. Her parents were poor farmers from an Italian background in southern Brazil, and she became a nun at 19.
As a lawyer, social worker and activist, Milesi championed the rights and dignity of refugees and migrants of different nationalities in Brazil for four decades.
The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award was established in 1954 in honor of Norwegian humanitarian, scientist, explorer, and diplomat Fridtjof Nansen. UNHCR announced the award in Geneva.
Milesi joins a long list of distinguished global laureates, including former US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the first person to receive the award when it was set up in 1954, the charity Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and Germany’s former chancellor Angela Merkel.
She is the second Brazilian to receive the award. Former Sao Paulo Archbishop Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns won the prize in 1985.
Milesi leads the Migration and Human Rights Institute (IMDH) in Brasilia, through which she has helped thousands of forced migrants and displaced people access essential services such as shelter, health care, education and legal assistance.
She coordinates RedeMIR, a national network of 60 organizations that operates throughout Brazil, including in remote border regions, to support refugees and migrants.
Her work has had a significant impact on Brazil’s legal landscape, including the shaping of its 1997 refugee law and the 2017 migration law, which enshrined critical protections for displaced people and reduced the risk of statelessness, UNHCR said in a statement.

Topics: UNHCR

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After long wrangling, Blinken to testify in Congress on Afghanistan

After long wrangling, Blinken to testify in Congress on Afghanistan
Updated 21 sec ago
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After long wrangling, Blinken to testify in Congress on Afghanistan

After long wrangling, Blinken to testify in Congress on Afghanistan
  • Donald Trump drew criticism for shooting video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation
  • Democrats have insisted some blame for the messy end of the war should be laid at the feet of Trump, who began the withdrawal process by signing a deal with the Taliban in 2020
Updated 21 sec ago
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has agreed to testify publicly at a House of Representatives committee hearing on the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, the panel said on Tuesday, after a long dispute with the Republican-led committee.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Blinken had committed to appear at a public hearing on Dec. 11 to discuss the committee’s investigation of the withdrawal three years ago.
The committee and the State Department have been wrangling over Blinken’s appearance for months. Panel Republicans voted in September to recommend Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena.
The State Department had contended that the panel was provided with large amounts of information, with Blinken testifying before Congress on Afghanistan more than 14 times and the department providing nearly 20,000 pages of records, multiple high-level briefings and transcribed interviews.
McCaul released a report on Sept. 8 on the committee Republicans’ investigation of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, blasting Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration for failures surrounding the evacuation.
The issue had become intensely politicized before the presidential election on Nov. 5. In his successful bid for a second term, Republican former President Donald Trump drew criticism for shooting video for his campaign at Arlington National Cemetery where he appeared at a ceremony honoring troops killed in the evacuation.
Trump also sought to pin blame for the withdrawal on Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent.
Democrats have insisted some blame for the messy end of the war — less than seven months into Biden’s presidency — should be laid at the feet of Trump, who began the withdrawal process by signing a deal with the Taliban in 2020.
The issue could become even more politicized after Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20, after he spoke during his campaign of firing those responsible for the pullout from Afghanistan.

UN probes sexual exploitation allegations against aid workers in Chad

UN probes sexual exploitation allegations against aid workers in Chad
Updated 41 min 16 sec ago
AP
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UN probes sexual exploitation allegations against aid workers in Chad

UN probes sexual exploitation allegations against aid workers in Chad
Updated 41 min 16 sec ago
AP

DAKAR: The UN in Chad has launched an internal investigation, following a report on allegations of sexual exploitation of Sudanese refugees, which included aid workers.

The statement, written days after the story was published, was seen on Tuesday. It said the seriousness of the allegations cited in the AP’s story, warranted immediate and firm measures and that those responsible should be punished.

“Refugees are already vulnerable and traumatized by the events that led them to flee their country and under no circumstances should they be the victims of abuse by those who are supposed to help them,” said Francois Batalingaya, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Chad.

Earlier this month, the accusations were reported by some Sudanese women and girls that men, including those meant to protect them such as humanitarian workers and local security forces, had instead sexually exploited them in Chad’s sites for displaced people. They said the men offered money, easier access to assistance, and jobs. Such sexual exploitation in Chad is a crime.

Hundreds of thousands of people, most of them women, have streamed into Chad to escape Sudan’s civil war, which has killed over 20,000 people.

Sexual exploitation during large humanitarian crises is not uncommon, especially in displacement sites. Aid groups have long struggled to combat the issue, citing a lack of reporting by women, not enough funds to respond and a focus on first providing basic necessities.

Experts say exploitation represents a deep failure by the aid community and that people seeking protection should never have to make choices driven by survival.

The UN said it raised the risk alert level for protection against sexual exploitation of abuse to four, which is very high, especially since Chad was already classified as a country at high risk. 

Topics: chad UN

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Albania police fire tear gas, water cannon at anti-government protesters

Albania police fire tear gas, water cannon at anti-government protesters
Updated 26 November 2024
Reuters
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Albania police fire tear gas, water cannon at anti-government protesters

Albania police fire tear gas, water cannon at anti-government protesters
  • Protesters said they were engaged in a campaign of civil disobedience against Socialist Party Prime Minister Edi Rama
  • “The protests will continue, this is a battle until this regime goes,” Tedi Blushi from the opposition Freedom Party said
Updated 26 November 2024
Reuters

TIRANA: Police in Albania’s capital Tirana fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse hundreds of opposition protesters blocking roads, who accused the government of corruption and demanded it be replaced with a technocratic caretaker authority.
Protesters said they were engaged in a campaign of civil disobedience against Socialist Party Prime Minister Edi Rama. The opposition in Albania have been protesting almost every week demanding a caretaker government step in until parliamentary elections in 2025.
“The protests will continue, this is a battle until this regime goes,” Tedi Blushi from the opposition Freedom Party told local media.
The leaders of Albania’s two biggest opposition parties, Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party and Ilir Meta of the Freedom Party, are charged with corruption offenses and both accuse Rama of orchestrating these. They deny the charges.
Rama says the charges are not politically-motivated and accuses the opposition of trying to seize power with violence.
Berisha is being held under house arrest on corruption charges relating to his time as prime minister. Meta was arrested in late October also on corruption charges for the time when he served as president between 2017-2022.
Rama has been in power since 2013 and plans to run for a fourth term next year.

Topics: TIrana Albania corruption Protests

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One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police over arrest of religious leader

One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police over arrest of religious leader
Updated 26 November 2024
Reuters
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One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police over arrest of religious leader

One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police over arrest of religious leader
  • Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested from Dhaka airport on Monday on several charges, including sedition
  • India condemned the arrest, saying perpetrators who hurt minorities and desecrated deities remained at large
Updated 26 November 2024
Reuters

DHAKA: At least one person was killed in Bangladesh in clashes between security forces and Hindus protesting against the arrest of a religious leader, police said, even as neighboring India urged that the safety of Hindus and minorities be ensured.

Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu leader associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was arrested from Dhaka airport on Monday on several charges, including sedition.

His arrest sparked protests by his supporters in both the capital Dhaka and Chittagong city.

“A Muslim lawyer defending Das was killed amid protests outside the court (in Chittagong),” said police officer Liaquat Ali.

A probe has been ordered into the alleged killing, the caretaker government said in a statement, adding that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had directed law enforcement agencies to step up security in the port city.

“The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost,” the government said.

Das faces sedition charges filed in October after leading a large rally in Chittagong, in which he was accused of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag and was denied bail by a court in Chittagong on Tuesday.

'RAMPAGE'

When Das was being escorted back to prison from court, more than 2,000 supporters surrounded the van, blocking it for over two hours, Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Hasib Aziz, said.

“They went on a rampage, throwing bricks at us. To disperse the crowd, we had to fire tear gas. No one was seriously injured, but one of our constables was hurt,” Aziz said.

India condemned the arrest of Das, saying in a sternly worded statement that the perpetrators of documented vandalism and arson against minorities as well as those who desecrated deities remained at large.

Hindu-majority India has strong cultural and business ties with its neighbor and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has expressed concern over a spate of attacks on Hindus.

“It is unfortunate that, while the perpetrators of these incidents remain at large, charges should be pressed against a religious leader presenting legitimate demands through peaceful gatherings,” the Indian foreign ministry statement said.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, responding to India, said the government does not interfere in the judiciary’s work, and the matter was being dealt with by the court of law.

“The Government of Bangladesh is also committed to upholding communal harmony in the country,” the ministry said. One killed in Bangladesh as Hindu protesters clash with police over arrest of religious leader 

Topics: Bangladesh

Russian shelling kills two in Ukraine’s Sumy, President Zelensky says

Russian shelling kills two in Ukraine’s Sumy, President Zelensky says
Updated 26 November 2024
Reuters
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Russian shelling kills two in Ukraine’s Sumy, President Zelensky says

Russian shelling kills two in Ukraine’s Sumy, President Zelensky says
  • Zelensky said in a video on the Telegram messaging app that a rescue operation was underway at the site and more people could be under debris
  • “It is realistic to protect against it only by destroying Russian weapons”
Updated 26 November 2024
Reuters

KYIV: Russian shelling killed two civilians in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky said in a video on the Telegram messaging app that a rescue operation was underway at the site and more people could be under debris.
City officials earlier said that Sumy, located about 30 km (19 miles) from the Russian border, had been hit by a Russian airstrike at about 12.10 p.m. (1010 GMT). They said a car servicing station, several houses, and an educational building were damaged in the attack.
But Zelensky, citing preliminary findings, later said Sumy had been struck by a multiple-launch rocket system.
“It is realistic to protect against it only by destroying Russian weapons, the Russian launch systems on Russian territory. That is why the ability to strike at Russian territory is so important for us,” Zelensky said.
Russia’s defense ministry said that Ukraine hit Russia with US-produced ATACMS missiles twice over the last three days, adding that Moscow was preparing retaliatory measures.
The war between Russia and Ukraine is at a critical stage, with Moscow reported to be using North Korean troops and Kyiv using Western-supplied missiles to strike back inside Russia.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Sumy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

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