In the latest example of a troubling trend in which companies play the role of law enforcement and moral police, Chase Bank has shut down the personal bank accounts of hundreds of adult entertainers. We’ve written before about the dire consequences…
Afghanistan's Taliban government on Sunday rejected condemnation by Western nations over dozens of alleged "summary killings" of former security force personnel documented by rights groups since the Islamists returned to power.
The US, other Western nations and allies on Saturday said they were "deeply concerned" by allegations by Human Rights Watch and others that point to "serious human rights abuses".
Alleged summary killings and enforced disappearances "contradict" an amnesty declared by the Taliban for former security force personnel after the Islamists defeated a Western-backed regime and retook control of the country in mid-August, the State Department said.
The European Union, Australia, Britain, Japan and others also put their names to the statement.
But the Taliban's Interior Ministry on Sunday rejected both the Western rebuke and rights groups' allegations.
"These reports and claims are not based on evidences," spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti said in a video statement released by the Taliban. "We reject such claims."
"We have some cases where some former ANDSF members were killed but they have been killed because of personal rivalries and enmities," he said, referring to the now-defunct Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.
Many ex-regime security personnel "who had martyred hundreds of mujahideen and civilians are living peacefully" in the country on the basis of the general amnesty the Taliban granted, he added.
HRW on November 30 released a report that it says documents the summary execution or enforced disappearance of 47 former members of the ANDSF, other military personnel, police and intelligence agents "who had surrendered to or were apprehended by Taliban forces" from mid-August through October.
The Taliban's return came some 20 years after they were driven out by US forces who toppled a government that earned outrage for its brutal treatment of women, failure to uphold human rights and harsh interpretation of Islam.
Today's Taliban leaders, keen to gain international respectability, have pledged their regime will be different.
But in its report HRW said Taliban leaders have directed surrendering security forces to register with authorities in order to be screened for ties to certain military or special forces units, and to receive a letter guaranteeing their safety.
"The Taliban have used these screenings to detain and summarily execute or forcibly disappear individuals within days of their registration, leaving their bodies for their relatives or communities to find," HRW said.
Calling for an investigation into these incidents, the joint statement released by the State Department said: "We will continue to measure the Taliban by their actions."
"We underline that the alleged actions constitute serious human rights abuses and contradict the Taliban's announced amnesty," the US-led group of nations said, as they called on Afghanistan's new rulers to ensure the amnesty is enforced and "upheld across the country and throughout their ranks."
The Taliban demanded that the claims be backed by evidence.
"If they have documents and evidences they should share it with us," Khosti said, adding that falsely "tagging personal enmities" onto actions by the Taliban authorities "is unjust".
Washington held talks with Taliban officials earlier this week, the second round of discussions since US forces left the country at the end of August.
At the talks, in Doha, US officials urged the hardline Islamist group to provide access to education for women and girls across the country.
It also "expressed deep concern regarding allegations of human rights abuses", a US spokesman said.
Cut off from billions of dollars in aid provided to the previous regime, Afghanistan's new rulers -- designated Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US -- are grappling with an insurgency by a division of the Islamic State and are struggling to feed millions of people as Winter descends.
The lead developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine warned the next pandemic could be "more lethal", urging better preparedness in a speech set to be aired Monday.
Sarah Gilbert, who is credited with saving millions of lives through her role in designing the jab, said the world must build on key lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods. The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both," Gilbert said in her draft Richard Dimbleby Lecture, to be broadcast Monday evening.
"We cannot allow a situation where we have gone through all we have gone through, and then find that the enormous economic losses we have sustained mean that there is still no funding for pandemic preparedness.
"The advances we have made, and the knowledge we have gained, must not be lost," Gilbert will say.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, which was the first coronavirus vaccine to be approved for use in the UK, is used in more than 170 countries globally.
It is significantly cheaper and easier to deliver than others, and is credited with increasing vaccine access in poorer countries.
Gilbert was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year for services to science and public health for her role in its development.
She been making and testing vaccines for more than a decade, primarily using antigens from malaria and influenza, and initiated the Covid-19 vaccine project in early 2020 after the virus first emerged in China.
As the world now confronts the Omicron variant, with nearly 250 cases now identified in Britain alone, she urged continued caution.
"Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the spread of this new variant," Gilbert said.
"But as we have seen before, reduced protection against infection and mild disease does not necessarily mean reduced protection against severe disease and death."
© 2021 AFP
Myanmar's junta jailed ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday for four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid rules, a government spokesman told AFP, the first of a series of possible sentences that could see the Nobel laureate imprisoned for decades.
Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the generals ousted her government on February 1, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.
She has since been hit with a series of charges, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud, and she faces decades in jail if convicted on all counts.
On Monday Suu Kyi was sentenced to two years for incitement against the military and another two years for breaching a natural disaster law relating to Covid, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP by phone.
Former president Win Myint was also jailed for four years on the same charges, he said, but added they would not yet be taken to prison.
"They will face other charges from the places where they are staying now", he added, referring to their detention in the capital of Naypyidaw but without giving further details.
Journalists have been barred from proceedings in the special court in Naypyidaw and Suu Kyi's lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media.
In recent weeks, the trials of other ranking members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy have wrapped up, with the junta doling out harsh sentences.
A former chief minister was sentenced to 75 years in jail this month, while a close Suu Kyi aide was jailed for 20.
Amnesty International immediately condemned the sentences against Suu Kyi.
"The harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges are the latest example of the military's determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar," said Amnesty deputy regional director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah.
"The court's farcical and corrupt decision is part of a devastating pattern of arbitrary punishment that has seen more than 1,300 people killed and thousands arrested since the military coup in February."
International Crisis Group's Myanmar senior advisor Richard Horsey also told AFP the sentences "were about retribution and a show of power by the military".
"It would be surprising, though, if she were sent to prison. More likely, she'll serve out this and subsequent terms at her house or a regime 'guest house'."
The military, which has dominated life in Myanmar for decades, has defended its coup, claiming fraud allegations in last year's general election, which Suu Kyi's party won comfortably.
International pressure on the junta to restore democracy swiftly has shown no sign of knocking the generals off course, and bloody clashes with anti-coup protesters continue across the country.
(AFP)
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