International Security Archives - The World from PRX
505 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsA daily public radio broadcast program and podcast from PRX and WGBH, hosted by Marco Werman
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Egypt ends its state of emergency amid intense criticism of its human rights record
October 27, 2021 20:58 - 3.77 MBFor the first time in four years, Egypt is no longer under a state of emergency. The government of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi made the decision following years of criticism from human rights advocates. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi announced his decision in a Facebook post. He said the move came because “Egypt has become an oasis of security and stability in the region.” Related: Activists look to Congress after Biden requests military aid for Egypt without human rights conditions E...
Sudanese protester to military: ‘Our numbers are too big to be ignored’
October 26, 2021 18:46 - 3.46 MBToday in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, calls for civil disobedience came blaring from a loudspeaker attached to a mosque. One voice urged citizens not to go to work to punish the military for betraying the revolution. Related: Protests erupt across Sudan against military coup Yesterday, top generals seized power in Sudan. The military has cut most phone and internet services. Protesters have created blockades of burning tires, and soldiers are pursuing them — reportedly going door to door. T...
Protests erupt across Sudan against military coup
October 25, 2021 21:19 - 3.78 MBAcross Sudan, people have taken to the streets to protest a military coup that threatens their hopes for a democratic future. For two years, the country has been run by a tense and volatile power-sharing agreement between civilian and military leaders that was established after former dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power. Tensions came to a critical point on Monday when armed forces detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Cabinet Affairs Minister Khalid Omer Yousif and other top c...
Sister of imprisoned Saudi aid worker: 'They are already calling me a terrorist'
October 08, 2021 19:07 - 4.04 MBA court in Saudi Arabia upheld a 20-year prison term imposed on a Saudi aid worker who had criticized the government on Twitter, drawing a rare public rebuke from the US in another sign of tension between the Biden administration and the kingdom. The ruling, confirmed late Wednesday, also upheld a 20-year travel ban on Abdulrahman al-Sadhan after his release. The case against him may have roots in an elaborate ploy that began in Silicon Valley and sparked a federal case against two Twitter ...
Sen. Tammy Duckworth calls for a 'real, cold-hard facts look' at US' failed 20-year war in Afghanistan
October 07, 2021 16:41 - 3.4 MBTwenty years ago today, less than a month after 9/11, then-President George W. Bush addressed the nation to announce the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. "Good afternoon. On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al-Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan," Bush said. Related: 'Why don’t you have mercy?': Afghanistan’s Hazara people increasingly face eviction, violence under Taliban rule Fast forward two decade...
The Afghan government and the US lost popular support over corruption in Afghanistan, investigator general says
October 04, 2021 15:54 - 7.71 MBThe Taliban raided an ISIS-affiliated hideout in the Afghan capital Kabul killing several insurgents, hours after a deadly bombing outside the Eid Gah mosque on Sunday that left at least five people dead. No one has taken responsibility for the blast, but the rival ISIS group has ramped up attacks against the Taliban, including the Aug. 26 bombing that killed more than 169 Afghans and 13 US military personnel outside Kabul airport. Related: Former adviser Sarah Chayes: The US failed to un...
Former adviser Sarah Chayes: The US failed to understand how Afghans wage war
September 29, 2021 19:50 - 2.56 MBA logistical success, but a strategic failure. That's how top US generals described the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the second day of hearings on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, this time before the House Armed Services Committee. A lot of the most intense questioning dealt with intelligence failures and how the US could have missed signs pointing to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government. Related: Gen. David Petraeus: The US has a 'moral obligation' to help those left behind in A...
Unaccompanied minors are among the thousands evacuated from Afghanistan
September 24, 2021 20:27 - 4.5 MBThere were hugs, smiles and a tight embrace at Toronto airport earlier this month as a 3-year-old Afghan boy reunited with his father. The boy, who was not named because he is a minor, was separated from his family on Aug. 26, when there was a suicide attack at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. He was put on a plane out of the country and spent two weeks at an orphanage in Qatar, according to Qatari and Canadian media reports. Officials with the UN as well as the Qatari government helped r...
'We are still here': Afghan UN employees worry about their safety
September 23, 2021 20:46 - 5.64 MBThis week, as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, concerns are growing about the safety of UN employees thousands of miles away in Afghanistan. An estimated 3,000 Afghans work for the UN in the country. Most remain there, and many fear being targeted by the Taliban for their work. “We are hoping, we are wishing to be evacuated, too.” Mohammed, Afghan UN employee “We are hoping, we are wishing to be evacuated, too,” said Mohammed, an Afghan UN employe...
Syrian refugees and migrants in Turkey face a difficult decision to return home
September 23, 2021 17:26 - 2.55 MBMohammed Ammar, 23, works at a lively cell phone repair shop on a bustling street in a largely Syrian district of Istanbul. Quieter than his coworkers and dressed more formally, Mohammed Ammar takes his job seriously, because he knows how hard it is to find one. In the past three months, five of his friends got so desperate for work, they decided to return to Syria, a country they fled years ago. “The pandemic affected [my friends'] decision [to leave Turkey.] ... When they left, they ha...
China's Evergrande crisis a ‘whole different situation’ than US’ 2008 housing collapse, analyst says
September 22, 2021 21:15 - 5.25 MBThink back to 2008. Things were humming along with the global economy and then bang! The bottom fell out of the housing market in the United States. People couldn't pay their loans. And you know what happened next. There's growing fear something like that could play out again, this time starting in China. One of China's largest real estate developers, China Evergrande, is on the brink of insolvency. Related: Aukus security pact sparks Chinese and French ire Evergrande, whose struggle to a...
Cybersecurity expert: Israeli spyware company NSO Group poses ‘a serious threat to phone users’
September 15, 2021 21:15 - 2.82 MBA massive security flaw was discovered in Apple's iPhone this week — and it's a biggie. The phones could be broken into without the user doing anything to trigger the hack. Without even a click, your information could be at risk. That news left iPhone users scrambling to update their devices. It was security researchers at the The Citizen Lab at University of Toronto who realized that spyware from an Israeli cybersurveillance company known as NSO Group was behind it. Related: Security flaw...
Afghan women to the Taliban: #DoNotTouchMyClothes
September 14, 2021 21:06 - 2.08 MBImages from Kabul this weekend showed women in black marching in pro-Taliban demonstrations. The women wore long, dark outfits, and their faces were nearly fully veiled. Recently, the Taliban issued a decree calling for female university students to wear clothing that covers their bodies and most of their faces. Taliban leaders say it's a return to Afghan tradition in the predominantly Muslim country. Related: 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' is based on specific ideology Bahar Jalali, a...
Iran-UN nuclear agreement signals 'very, very tempered optimism' for negotiations, Iran analyst says
September 13, 2021 20:48 - 1.94 MBNuclear talks between the US and Iran remain stalled, but a new agreement between Iran and the United Nations is providing some hope that those nuclear talks could relaunch. Iran agreed Sunday to allow international inspectors to install new memory cards into surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there. Related: US launches airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militias The agreement still leaves the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency in the same pos...
20 years after 9/11, global terror threats persist in Africa
September 13, 2021 17:31 - 3.38 MBWhen al-Qaeda attacked the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, it launched a new, so-called “war on terror” across the world. But 20 years later, the threat of terrorism lives on, and in Africa, the problem has gotten worse. Related: How will the Taliban interact with other terrorist groups in Afghanistan? “Unfortunately, while in much of the world, 9/11 is viewed as in the past, in Africa, the legacy of those attacks lives on." Murithi Mutiga, project director forHorn of Africa, Internatio...
This Afghan photographer captures life in Calaís migrant encampments
September 13, 2021 15:17 - 2.01 MBWhen Abdul Saboor steps off the train in Calaís, France, the 28-year-old Afghan gets to work immediately. A group of eight Afghan boys approaches him, asking for advice about getting to the United Kingdom. Some are as young as 13 years old. “There’s no good advice. … I don’t know what to say,” Saboor admitted. Saboor volunteers his time directing migrants to what’s known as the new “Calaís jungle,” a field converted into an outdoor shelter and food distribution point for hundreds of migra...
Taliban’s 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' is based on specific ideology
September 10, 2021 20:16 - 5.11 MBThis week, the world got a first glimpse into what a Taliban government in Afghanistan might look like. The group named an interim government made up of 33 men, mostly from one ethnic group — the Pashtuns. Two appointees are Tajik, and one is Uzbek. No one from the Hazara community or any other ethnic group were included. Related: Taliban names all-male 33-member interim government in Afghanistan Even before the Taliban takeover this August, Afghanistan was an Islamic country. The officia...
The post-9/11 generation 'came to understand the limits of what America could accomplish,’ former Obama adviser says
September 10, 2021 17:45 - 7.08 MBFor Ben Rhodes, like for so many others, 9/11 was a life-changing event. At the time, Rhodes was a graduate student in New York, studying creative writing, but soon after, he went down to Washington and became a speechwriter and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications in the Obama White House. His new book is called "After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made." Related: NYU chaplain calls for a 'true pursuit of empathy' to heal after 9/11 Rhodes joined T...
NYU chaplain calls for a 'true pursuit of empathy' to heal from 9/11 aftermath
September 09, 2021 20:27 - 3.35 MBThis Saturday marks two decades since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the United States that left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York, Washington DC, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Related: Teens, born after 9/11, have a different perspective than those who lived through it The events of 9/11 touched the lives of just about everyone in the US — but especially for American Muslims, from discrimination to extra surveillance. Related: Why a hate crime survivor tried to save the life of hi...
Ethiopia officials accuse Tigray rebels of massacre as conflict expands
September 09, 2021 20:27 - 1.54 MBEthiopian officials have accused Tigrayan forces of killing more than 120 people in the neighboring Amhara region. It’s the latest sign of how the 10-month conflict has extended far beyond Tigray, with deadly consequences. Related: Tigrayan forces take Ethiopian town known for its ancient churches “In the case of atrocities against civilians, it has been happening in Tigray since the beginning of the conflict in November last year." Saviano Abreu, spokesperson, United Nations Office for ...
Drought in Iraq and Syria could totally collapse food system for millions, aid groups warn
September 09, 2021 17:14 - 2.5 MBMuhammed Fouad, a cattle rancher, was just two years into a venture to bring affordable milk to his hometown in Iraq’s Anbar province, when — seemingly overnight — the cows started dying. “We brought in veterinarians from Erbil, because [the cows] were OK and suddenly dying the next day." Muhammed Fouad, cattle rancher, Iraq “We brought in veterinarians from Erbil, because they were OK and suddenly dying the next day,” Fouad said in a phone call, through a translator. The initiative lef...
Empty shelves for the holidays? Chinese suppliers face ambiguous global supply chain amid pandemic restrictions
September 08, 2021 21:45 - 2.4 MBAt a factory in Ningbo, China, forklifts unload raw materials from a shipping container. The factory makes all kinds of plastic items — storage containers, toys, Christmas lights and decorations — and sends them in other shipping containers to dollar stores across the United States. Last year, the factory owner, Duan Li, presented the process to The World: huge bags of plastic pellets that he imports from Malaysia, molding machines pumping out products 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and...
Afghan migrants remain stranded at Poland-Belarus border as leaders punt responsibility
September 03, 2021 17:31 - 2.27 MBEvery day, for the past two weeks, Paulina Bownik has driven a 45-mile round trip from her home in Białystok, in northeastern Poland, to the border with Belarus. Bownik, a general practitioner, carries boxes of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories that she hopes to give to 32 Afghans stranded at the border. The group has been there for almost a month, unable to move, as soldiers and border police from both countries stand guard. The camp is located at the edge of a forest near the Polish vil...
EU's top migration official calls for global response to help Afghans in order to avoid migration crisis in Europe
September 02, 2021 21:01 - 3.19 MBThe UN refugee agency is warning that half a million Afghans could leave their country by the end of the year. But where will people from Afghanistan flee? In Europe, several countries are sending a clear message: Don't come here. Many in Europe don't want a repeat of 2015, when more than a million asylum-seekers, mostly Syrians, arrived on the continent. Related: Women’s shelters in Afghanistan face an uncertain future European Comissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, Europe's top m...
How will the Taliban interact with militant groups like ISIS-K and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan?
September 02, 2021 20:31 - 2.35 MBWith the Taliban now in power in Afghanistan, many are now wondering how they'll govern and whether the country will once again become a safe haven for terrorist groups like ISIS-K and al-Qaeda. On Thursday, US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, even said that it's “possible” the US could seek to coordinate with the Taliban on counterterrorism strikes against ISIS and other militants. Related: Chaos in Afghanistan creates power vacuum for ISIS, al-Qaeda to reo...
Zelenskiy-Biden meeting signals 'reassurance' of ongoing US support to Ukraine, former Amb says
September 01, 2021 18:23 - 3.16 MBUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is in Washington today for a White House meeting with US President Joe Biden. It's a meeting at least two years in the making. Zelenskiy had plans to sit down with former President Donald Trump, but the meeting was derailed by Trump's impeachment scandal — tied precisely to a phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy. In the infamous call, Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden. Now, with Biden in office, officials in both countries are looking...
'We are so afraid': An Afghan women's rights activist is left behind in Afghanistan
August 31, 2021 18:59 - 5.49 MB“We regret to inform you that international military evacuations from Kabul airport have ended.” That’s the grim message many Afghans received via text from US officials this weekend. The news was a gut punch for thousands of Afghan activists, civil society workers and those who assisted the US military and other foreign powers. Many rushed to flee the country when the Taliban took over several weeks ago but remain stranded. Related: Afghan families are being rapidly resettled in the US. ...
Havana syndrome is 'an act of war and we have to stop it’ former CIA agent says
August 30, 2021 20:41 - 2.66 MBIt starts with the noise. Harsh mechanical sounds like loud screeching. Then, an uncomfortable pressure, a loss of balance like being hit with a beam of energy. All of that can be followed by months — even years — of headaches, nausea, hearing and memory loss. Since 2016, more than 200 US government officials have described feeling some or all of these symptoms and others. It's widely known as "Havana syndrome," since the first cases were detected in the Cuban capital. The number of repor...
Kurds grapple with US troop drawdown in Iraq
August 30, 2021 17:16 - 2.57 MBAs the Taliban take control of Afghanistan, Kurdish allies in northern Iraq — where the US is also planning to draw down its combat forces — are watching with concern. In July, President Joe Biden announced that the US is ending its combat mission in Iraq. The withdrawal will leave Kurds — arguably Washington’s most devoted ally — physically and politically vulnerable. Some Kurds say their lives will be endangered when US troops leave. Related: Kurdish authorities are controlling religio...
Afghan families are being rapidly resettled in the US. But adjusting to their new lives will take years.
August 27, 2021 17:24 - 2.37 MBThe family’s new apartment is on the second floor of a mazelike, lower-income complex in a suburb of Sacramento, California. It’s barely furnished, but bit by bit, it’s becoming home. A vacuum cleaner stands next to two donated mattresses, leaning against a wall. “We haven’t gotten the beds yet. No worries. For now, we are managing.” Afghan father in Sacramento, California “We haven’t gotten the beds yet,” the father said. “No worries. For now, we are managing.” Donated mattress and a t...
China’s Xi Jinping Thought curricula teaches students how to ‘unmask enemies’ of the state, author says
August 26, 2021 16:49 - 3.33 MBChina has announced that the political ideology of its president, Xi Jinping, will now be taught in schools from elementary through the university level. The Ministry of Education said the goal is to cultivate the builders and successors of socialism with an all-around moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic grounding. What's known as "Xi Jinping Thought" has actually been enshrined in China's constitution since 2018. Related: Taliban takeover could mean more security challenges for Ch...
As Afghans flee Taliban rule, some find a temporary new home in Uganda
August 25, 2021 19:54 - 1.6 MBAfter a week of anticipation — and some confusion — 51 evacuees from Afghanistan arrived in Uganda on Wednesday morning. It’s the first group of an expected 2,000 people who could be hosted by the East African country in the coming months. In the capital, Kampala, the arrival of Afghans has become the talk of the town. Related: After Museveni wins presidency, Ugandans gradually return to preelection normal “I heard a lot on social media that there will be refugees from Afghanistan. For a...
Chaos in Afghanistan creates power vacuum for ISIS, al-Qaeda to reorganize, counterterrorism expert says
August 25, 2021 18:52 - 3.62 MBAs the US continues to execute its exit from Afghanistan while trying to secure the Kabul airport, counterterrorism experts are warning that the threat of terrorism is rising. United States President Joe Biden mentioned ISIS-K, or ISIS-Khorasan Province, an affiliate group that operates in Afghanistan, in his remarks on Tuesday. "Every day we're on the ground is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport, and attack both US and allied forces, and innocent civilians,"...
Taiwan spokeswoman to China: Quit comparing us to Afghanistan
August 25, 2021 18:03 - 2.59 MBChina is ratcheting up aggression toward Taiwan by buzzing the island with fighter jets and bombers every single week. As Beijing sees it, Taiwan is a lost province that must eventually come under its control. Yet, Taiwan has its own elected government, military and alliances, most notably with the US, which supplies the island with billions in weapons. Whether the United States would go to war to defend Taiwan is an open question. Related: Southeast Asia allies express concern over US co...
The US is building a military base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Micronesian residents have questions.
August 24, 2021 16:53 - 2.24 MBThe United States is slated to get a new military base — this time in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Last month, during high-level talks in Honolulu, the US Indo-Pacific Command and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) agreed to build a new base in the island nation, an archipelago of more than 600 islands strewn across the Western Pacific, some 3,700 miles from Hawaii. The move is seen as another component of the Biden administration’s continued effort to increase its footprint in...
Taliban have acquired an 'overwhelming amount of potential weaponry,' global security expert says
August 23, 2021 21:24 - 4.2 MBAs the Taliban advanced on Kabul last weekend, the Afghan military retreated. They left behind weapons — combat aircraft, armored vehicles, machine guns and ammunition. Much of it had been provided by the US. Related: How the Kabul airport went from calm to chaos On Monday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the US does not want to see any US-made weapons fall into the hands of what he called "people that would use them to harm our interests." Related: This Afghan int...
Canada faces criticism for its slow evacuation of Afghans who helped the government
August 23, 2021 19:58 - 5.05 MBTanya, a naturalized Canadian citizen who lives in Ottawa, has been trying to get her entire family to Canada, or the US, for years. More recently, she has prioritized getting her father — whom she said worked as a subcontractor repairing equipment for the Canadian and American militaries — onto an evacuation flight to escape Taliban retaliation. Tanya, who asked The World not to use her last name to avoid endangering her family members, said that when her father didn't answer her call on ...
How the Kabul airport went from calm to chaos
August 23, 2021 19:15 - 3.74 MBMaj. Gen. Mohammad Reyaz Arian was the top commander in charge of security at the Hamid Karzai International Airport — one of the most important locations in the country — before the Afghan capital fell to the Taliban, a position he held for six months. Before that, 45-year-old Arian served in the presidential protection service for Afghan presidents Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani. Related: This Afghan interpreter helped the US Army Special Forces. He’s desperate to get out of Afghanistan. ...
This Afghan interpreter helped the US Army Special Forces. He’s desperate to get out of Afghanistan.
August 20, 2021 18:59 - 2.73 MBFor Jalil, a 37-year-old father of three, the urgency to leave Afghanistan has been there ever since he began receiving death threats from the Taliban for his work with the US Special Forces. And, he has known other Afghans who have been murdered by the Taliban for the same work he once did. Jalil, who asked to use his first name only, for security purposes, was an interpreter with the US Army Special Forces for nearly a decade. Related: US biometric devices are in the hands of the Taliba...
Alexander Vindman: Accountability is key to building back American unity
August 20, 2021 18:42 - 3.83 MBDuring the first impeachment trial of former United States President Donald Trump, National Security Council member Alexander Vindman was a central witness. He listened in on that now-infamous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — the one where Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Vindman reported his concerns up the chain of command. Then, he found himself testifying before Congress and addressing his ...
'If journalists leave a scene, it becomes a black hole,' VOA journalist in Kabul says
August 19, 2021 20:25 - 5.71 MBProtesters took to the streets in Afghanistan for the second straight day to rally against Taliban rule. Today, protests reached the capital, Kabul. As many as 200 people gathered before armed Taliban fighters violently disperse the crowd. In the eastern city of Asadabad, several people were killed in protests on Thursday, either by stampedes or gunfire. The Taliban fired on people waving the Afghan flag to mark the nation's annual Independence Day. Related: Taliban violently quashes sma...
Can the Taliban make the ledgers work to govern?
August 18, 2021 20:13 - 2.99 MBTaliban fighters in Afghanistan who strode into Kabul's presidential palace last weekend were not some ragtag militia. The insurgents are backed by huge profits from many sources, from drugs to wealthy foreign donors. Money helps. But can the Taliban make the ledgers work to govern? Related: Ryan Crocker calls Biden's comments on Afghan forces appalling Brookings scholar Vanda Felbab-Brown has spent years studying the Taliban's finances. She joined The World's host Marco Werman to discus...
A massive security flaw exposed in Germany — then a criminal investigation
August 18, 2021 17:52 - 1.89 MBIt took security researcher Lilith Wittmann only a few hours to crack open the app of Germany's ruling political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In May, party campaigners were using the app CDU Connect to gauge public opinion in the lead-up to September's federal election. Some chatter online made Wittmann, 25, take notice. "I was a bit like, ‘Wow, they are collecting, like, super personal data about people,’ … where they are living and what is their political opinion," Wittm...
Last living member of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime tries to overturn genocide, war crimes charges
August 17, 2021 21:09 - 2.46 MBThe final living member of the Khmer Rouge regime took the stand Monday in an attempt to overturn charges of genocide and war crimes he’d been previously convicted of in 2018. In what is believed to be the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s final hearing, the legal team of 90-year-old Khieu Samphan, former Khmer Rouge head of state, argued in a Phnom Penh courtroom that their client did not have adequate time to prepare an initial defense, among other things. “It [the verdict] should be null and voi...
Afghanistan is under Taliban control. Women are worried about what it means for them.
August 17, 2021 17:53 - 4.99 MBThe Taliban arrived in 24-year-old Ghazal’s neighborhood last week, showing up on motorbikes, in cars and on foot. Ghazal, who, like many Afghans, goes only by one name, didn’t want to say where she lives because she is worried about her safety. “There were so many of them [Taliban fighters], I couldn’t believe my eyes. They had guns and the look in their eyes was terrifying.” Ghazal, 24, Afghanistan “There were so many of them [Taliban fighters], I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she said, s...
Afghans in a city under siege by the Taliban: ‘The insecurity has upended our lives’
August 09, 2021 19:25 - 4.75 MBEditor's note: The situation in Afghanistan is changing rapidly. Our reporter, Shirin Jaafari, was in Herat recently and this is her story about people in Herat from Aug. 9. The city fell to the Taliban this week. Stay tuned to The World for more updates on the developments in Afghanistan — including this interview with one woman who is trying to get her family out of the country. Fifty-year-old Salimeh is walking home against strong winds, and the summer heat in Herat, in western Afghanis...
After raid and arrest, Russian journalist ‘will just keep doing my job,’ he says
July 29, 2021 20:20 - 2.21 MBIn Russia, the crackdown on journalism continues. Independent outlets are deemed undesirable or foreign agents. Individual journalists are targeted and harassed, with arrests and raids of their homes. That's what happened on Wednesday with Roman Dobrokhotov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian news publication, The Insider. Police in Russia raided Dobrokhotov's home in the latest move by authorities to raise the pressure on independent media before the country's September parliamentary elec...
Russia tests vaccine science by combining Sputnik and Astrazeneca in new trial
July 27, 2021 19:00 - 2.15 MBIn Russia, there's a green light for a new vaccine trial. The idea is to combine a first dose of the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, with a second dose of the British AstraZeneca shot. The country’s registry of approved clinical trials shows the small study was scheduled to start July 26 and will enroll 150 volunteers. Related: Immunized but banned: EU says not all COVID vaccines equal Russia still has a lot of jabs left to give. Only about 20% of Russians have been vaccinated with a high ...
Iran's 'system is essentially water bankrupt,' says environmental expert
July 23, 2021 19:56 - 6.18 MBIranians have had enough of their long drought — specifically in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province, where people are protesting the severe water shortage. They say their hardships are about poor water management. Related: Planting dense urban forests could save Karachi from extreme heat For the past week, crowds of demonstrators have been met with a violent response from security forces. At least three people have died. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday tha...
South Africa’s democracy is ‘standing firm’ despite civil unrest, says analyst
July 13, 2021 20:20 - 3 MBDozens of people have died in chaotic stampedes as South Africa deals with some of the worst unrest the country has seen in years. Looters ransacked shopping malls in two provinces, stealing food, liquor and clothing. Police and the military fired stun grenades and rubber bullets at the rioters and arrested hundreds of people. Violence continues in KwaZulu-Natal province as well as the populous Gauteng province that includes the nation’s largest city and financial hub, Johannesburg. Relat...