News in Brief (2022-05-25)

FE Team | Published: May 24, 2022 22:46:23

More than 100m people forcibly displaced: UN
GENEVA, May 24: Russia's war in Ukraine has pushed the number of forcibly displaced people around the world above 100 million for the first time ever, the United Nations said on Tuesday. UNHCR said the numbers of forcibly displaced people rose towards 90 million by the end of 2021, spurred by violence in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Nigeria. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and since then more than eight million people have been displaced within the country, while more than six million refugees have fled across the borders. — AFP
Afghan female journalists defiant as Taliban restrictions grow
KABUL, May 24: Mahira has become a familiar face on Afghan television, as viewers tune in every night to watch her present the news. Even during the most turbulent recent events, the 27-year-old journalist remained calm and composed as she reported on the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. On Saturday, Mahira appeared on screen, but her face was covered with a black mask following a Taliban decree ordering female news anchors to cover their faces while on air. "[Saturday] was one of the hardest days of my life. They made us feel as if we had been buried alive," Mahira told Al Jazeera. "I felt like I am not a human. I feel like I have committed a big crime which is why God made me a woman in Afghanistan," she told Al Jazeera, choking back tears. — Al Jazeera
Kremlin critic Navalny loses appeal against 9-year jail term
MOSCOW, May 24: A Moscow court on Tuesday threw out jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's appeal against a nine-year prison sentence that he and his allies condemn as politically motivated. Moscow City Court ruled to "leave the sentence without changes" and for it to enter into force immediately, meaning that Navalny will be transferred to a strict regime prison colony to serve out his term, after he was found guilty in March of embezzlement and contempt of court. — AFP
Iraqi migrants shot amid people-smuggling gang fight in France
LONDON, May 24: Two Iraqi migrants have been hospitalized in serious conditions after rival people-smuggling gangs fired on each other in northern France. Fighting erupted at the Grande Synthe camp in Dunkirk after gangs quarreled over territory for launching their small boats into the English Channel. The camp, the largest in France, is reportedly controlled by Kurdish gangs, who organize territory and allocate migrants spaces on small boats. Up to 500 people are expected to live there, though this can fluctuate rapidly according to trips on the Channel. — Arab News
Death toll from Iran tower block collapse rises to 10
TEHRAN, May 24: The death toll from the collapse of a tower block in southwestern Iran rose to 10 on Tuesday, as the authorities announced the arrest of officials accused of being "responsible" for the tragedy. State television had said Monday that the 10-storey unfinished Metropol building in Abadan, the capital of Khuzestan province, had partially collapsed. — AFP