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Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Joe Biden will express their deep concern about human rights violations in China in a joint statement to be released after a Japan-US summit next week, Japanese government sources said Saturday. The summit, scheduled for Friday in Washington, comes as the Biden administration ramps up criticism of China's treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region and actions concerning Hong Kong. Suga has said those issues must be addressed based on basic human rights principles. It would be rare for Japanese and US leaders to single out human rights issues in China in a joint statement. Tokyo and Washington are now arranging the wording of the planned statement. It is almost certain that China would express strong protest against such a statement as interference in its domestic affairs. While the United States and Europe have imposed sanctions on China over the Uyghur issue, Japan remains cautious about following suit. Suga will ... » Learn More about Biden-Suga statement to express concern about human rights in China

LONDON (REUTERS) - Human traffickers across Europe have taken advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to exploit more vulnerable people, while efforts to bring them to justice and support their victims have been disrupted, a European human rights body said last Friday (April 9). Covid-19 restrictions and the economic fallout have worsened the outlook for victims of trafficking on the continent, who are less likely to be identified or able to access healthcare and shelter, according to a report by the Council of Europe (CoE). "The effects of the pandemic have made victims of human trafficking even more vulnerable," said Ms Helga Gayer, head of the council's group of anti-trafficking experts - known as Greta. "Traffickers have made the most of the situation, exploiting the precarious financial situation of many of their victims." While there is no Europe-wide estimate, the United Nations says about 25 million people worldwide are victims of traffickers, with fears growing that more ... » Learn More about Human traffickers seen thriving in Europe as Covid-19 hits victim support

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union has imposed sanctions on eight Iranian militia commanders and police chiefs, including the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, over a deadly crackdown in November 2019, the bloc said in its Official Journal on Monday. The travel bans and asset freezes are the first EU sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses since 2013 and their preparation was first reported by Reuters last month . The bloc, which also hit three Iranian prisons with asset freezes, blacklisted Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful and heavily armed security force in the Islamic Republic. "Hossein Salami took part in the sessions that resulted in the orders to use lethal force to suppress the November 2019 protests. Hossein Salami therefore bears responsibility for serious human rights violations in Iran," the EU said. About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15, 2019, according to a toll ... » Learn More about EU sanctions elite Iran commander over 2019 protests

LONDON — Human traffickers across Europe have taken advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to exploit more vulnerable people, while efforts to bring them to justice and support their victims have been disrupted, a European human rights body said on Friday. COVID-19 restrictions and the economic fallout have worsened the outlook for victims of trafficking on the continent, who are less likely to be identified or able to access healthcare and shelter, according to a report by the Council of Europe (CoE). “The effects of the pandemic have made victims of human trafficking even more vulnerable,” said Helga Gayer, head of the council’s group of anti-trafficking experts – known as GRETA. “Traffickers have made the most of the situation, exploiting the precarious financial situation of many of their victims.” While there is no Europe-wide estimate, about 25 million people worldwide are trafficking victims – the United Nations says – with fears growing that more will be exploited as ... » Learn More about Traffickers seen thriving in Europe as COVID-19 hits victim support

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has tested negative for the coronavirus, his lawyer Olga Mikhailova said on Wednesday, adding that he has taken a second test. Navalny, 44, an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, announced that he going on a hunger strike last week in protest at what he said was the refusal of prison authorities to treat him properly for acute back and leg pain. Human rights group Amnesty International earlier on Wednesday said Navalny had been incarcerated in conditions that amount to torture and may slowly be killing him. (Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Hugh Lawson) ... » Learn More about Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny tests negative for coronavirus, says lawyer

CAIRO: For Ramadan this year, Magdy Hafez has been longing to reclaim a cherished ritual: Performing the nighttime group prayers called taraweeh at the mosque once again. Last year, the coronavirus upended the 68-year-old Egyptian’s routine of going to the mosque to perform those prayers, traditional during Islam’s holiest month. The pandemic had disrupted Islamic worship the world over, including in Egypt where mosques were closed to worshippers last Ramadan. “I have been going to the mosque for 40 years so it was definitely a very, very, difficult thing,” he said. “But our religion orders us to protect one another.” Still, “It’s a whole other feeling, and the spirituality in Ramadan is like nothing else.” Egypt has since allowed most mosques to reopen for Friday communal prayers and for this Ramadan it will let them hold taraweeh, also with precautions, including shortening its duration. Ramadan, which begins this week, comes as much of the world has been hit by an ... » Learn More about Muslims navigate restrictions in the second Ramadan amid COVID-19 pandemic

GENEVA (Reuters) -Confusion and complacency in addressing COVID-19 means the pandemic is a long way from over, but it can be brought under control in months with proven public health measures, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. "We too want to see societies and economies reopening, and travel and trade resuming," Tedros told a news briefing. "But right now, intensive care units in many countries are overflowing and people are dying – and it’s totally avoidable." "The COVID19 pandemic is a long way from over. But we have many reasons for optimism. The decline in cases and deaths during the first two months of the year shows that this virus and its variants can be stopped," he added, saying transmission was being driven by "confusion, complacency and inconsistency in public health measures." India has overtaken Brazil to become the nation with the second highest number of infections worldwide after the United States, as it battles a massive second ... » Learn More about Coronavirus pandemic ‘a long way from over’, WHO’s Tedros says