Saturday, December 3, 2016
Syrian forces retake half of rebel areas in east Aleppo
Syria's army now controls more than half of previously rebel-held areas in east Aleppo after another district was seized.
Government troops backed by Russia recaptured Tariq al-Bab after heavy pounding on Friday night, according to a British-based monitoring group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombings in the al-Shaar neighbourhood killed three people.
However, the Syrian Civil Defence has put the number of dead at six.
The advancement opens the road leading from government-controlled areas to the international airport just outside Aleppo.
Since president Bashar al-Assad's regime began its latest offensive in mid-November, tens of thousands of people have fled the battered city.
According to the observatory, more than 300 people have been killed in the government's assault on east Aleppo in the past three weeks.
Rebels have struggled to hold back government ground forces, who have advanced backed by airstrikes, barrel bombs and artillery fire.
The government has trumpeted its gains, and on Saturday state television showed buses full of residents going from west Aleppo back to their homes in neighbourhoods retaken by the army.
State media has also reported from recaptured areas this week.
More than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict started in March 2011, and more than half the country's population has been displaced.
The escalating violence has been met with international outrage, including a UN warning east Aleppo could become "a giant graveyard".
Moscow has proposed setting up four humanitarian corridors into east Aleppo, something Syrian rebels have said they "have no problem". But they will not leave the city.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow was ready for talks with the US about a complete withdrawal of all rebels from eastern Aleppo.
His comments follow talks between the two countries which took place in Rome last week aimed at breaking the diplomatic deadlock.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said a number of "ideas" had been put forward which would be examined at follow-up discussions next week.
He stressed both countries regarded the situation as urgent and would not wait for US President-elect Donald Trump to take office next month.
"We have exchanged a set of ideas, which there will be a meeting on early next week in Geneva, and we have to wait and see whether those ideas have any legs to them," Mr Kerry said.
The US has accused Russia of war crimes in Syria and blamed it for the failure to get desperately needed aid through to Aleppo residents.
But Mr Lavrov said the US and the UN were responsible for the current situation.
He said the US had failed to separate so-called "moderate" rebel groups from the al Qaeda fighters that Russia says it is targeting.
Afghan Taliban hang university student in public
Taliban fighters publicly hanged a university student after accusing him of killing a senior intelligence officer.
The militia took Faizul Rehman, a fourth-year student at Kabul Polytechnic university, from his car as he traveled home to visit his family in the Chak district of Maidan Wardak province, about 60km west of the capital Kabul on Thursday.
"They hanged him on Friday in front of [the] public. Local elders tried to mediate to release him, but they failed," Abdul Rehman Mangal, a spokesman for the governor of Maidan Wardak, told AFP news agency on Saturday.
"They accused him of killing Mullah Mirwais, the head of their intelligence in the area," he said.
The Afghan interior ministry confirmed the execution and said they had launched an investigation "to arrest and punish the perpetrators of this criminal act".
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were investigating the case.
The militia took Faizul Rehman, a fourth-year student at Kabul Polytechnic university, from his car as he traveled home to visit his family in the Chak district of Maidan Wardak province, about 60km west of the capital Kabul on Thursday.
"They hanged him on Friday in front of [the] public. Local elders tried to mediate to release him, but they failed," Abdul Rehman Mangal, a spokesman for the governor of Maidan Wardak, told AFP news agency on Saturday.
"They accused him of killing Mullah Mirwais, the head of their intelligence in the area," he said.
The Afghan interior ministry confirmed the execution and said they had launched an investigation "to arrest and punish the perpetrators of this criminal act".
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were investigating the case.
Minimum alcohol price 'would improve UK health', says Public Health England
The price of alcohol could go up after a report argued that minimum unit pricing would improve the nation's health.
The review by Public Health England (PHE) said people were drinking more than they did 40 years ago, especially women.
Most alcohol was now drunk at home, PHE found.
It also discovered alcohol was more affordable than ever and found evidence that a minimum price would save on healthcare costs.
PHE's study said deaths due to drinking had risen and more working years of life were lost as a result of alcohol-related deaths than from more than 12 types of cancer combined.
It added there were more than one million hospital admissions relating to alcohol each year and liver disease had increased four-fold since 1970.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: "Increased duty on the cheapest drinks, alongside minimum unit pricing, would make a real difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable groups and ease the burden on our health service.
"These measures would also lower the burden of premature mortality due to alcohol, thereby increasing economic output.
"At the same time, ordinary drinkers will not be penalised.
"Minimum unit pricing will leave pub prices untouched, and tax on the cheapest, strongest drinks will be targeted at those drinks which are preferentially consumed by harmful and dependent drinkers."
The Children's Society said millions of children were at risk of abuse and neglect because their parents drank too much.
Chief Executive Matthew Reed said: "We know children as young as five are calling helplines because they are worried about their parents' drinking.
"We need the Government to act now and protect children from alcohol misuse by increasing prices."
The Scottish Parliament passed legislation four years ago to introduce a 50p per unit minimum price for alcohol.
This was challenged by the Scotch Whisky Association and is the subject of an ongoing legal case.
Number 10 said it would continue to look at minimum prices in light of the latest findings.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "What this report shows is that clearly abuse of alcohol can cause significant health problems, but no one wants to interfere with the rights of adults who want to enjoy a drink responsibly.
"The issue of minimum unit pricing is under review while we await the outcome of the court case in Scotland."
A plan to introduce a minimum price of 45p per unit of alcohol was shelved by the coalition government three years ago.
The Portman Group, which represents the drinks industry, said parts of the PHE report were not accurate.
The review by Public Health England (PHE) said people were drinking more than they did 40 years ago, especially women.
Most alcohol was now drunk at home, PHE found.
It also discovered alcohol was more affordable than ever and found evidence that a minimum price would save on healthcare costs.
PHE's study said deaths due to drinking had risen and more working years of life were lost as a result of alcohol-related deaths than from more than 12 types of cancer combined.
It added there were more than one million hospital admissions relating to alcohol each year and liver disease had increased four-fold since 1970.
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said: "Increased duty on the cheapest drinks, alongside minimum unit pricing, would make a real difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable groups and ease the burden on our health service.
"These measures would also lower the burden of premature mortality due to alcohol, thereby increasing economic output.
"At the same time, ordinary drinkers will not be penalised.
"Minimum unit pricing will leave pub prices untouched, and tax on the cheapest, strongest drinks will be targeted at those drinks which are preferentially consumed by harmful and dependent drinkers."
The Children's Society said millions of children were at risk of abuse and neglect because their parents drank too much.
Chief Executive Matthew Reed said: "We know children as young as five are calling helplines because they are worried about their parents' drinking.
"We need the Government to act now and protect children from alcohol misuse by increasing prices."
The Scottish Parliament passed legislation four years ago to introduce a 50p per unit minimum price for alcohol.
This was challenged by the Scotch Whisky Association and is the subject of an ongoing legal case.
Number 10 said it would continue to look at minimum prices in light of the latest findings.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "What this report shows is that clearly abuse of alcohol can cause significant health problems, but no one wants to interfere with the rights of adults who want to enjoy a drink responsibly.
"The issue of minimum unit pricing is under review while we await the outcome of the court case in Scotland."
A plan to introduce a minimum price of 45p per unit of alcohol was shelved by the coalition government three years ago.
The Portman Group, which represents the drinks industry, said parts of the PHE report were not accurate.
Corbyn calls for fight against rise of populist and far right
Jeremy Corbyn has called on socialists to unite to fight the rise of populist and far-right politics.
Mr Corbyn said politics across the world had been shaken by the successes of UKIP, Donald Trump and France's Marine Le Pen.
He admitted that populists have been successfully identifying many of the problems faced by people across the country, but their solution - to attack minorities - was not the answer.
Instead, he said the only solution was to provide an alternative explanation for the problems they face and come up with solutions, like increasing "social justice and inclusion".
He was speaking at a European socialists' conference in Prague at which politicians were discussing reactions to globalisation.
Mr Corbyn said: "It's clear that there is a problem of the alarming rise and acceleration of the populist right all across this continent.
"Be it UKIP in my country, Donald Trump and the language he used in the presidential election in the United States, or what's happening in Hungary with Jobbik or Marine Le Pen in France, with her National Front.
"Politics has been shaken across the world.
"We know why the populist right is gaining ground and it's increasingly hard to get our message heard. It's up to us to give a real political alternative.
"The gap between rich and poor is widening. Living standards are stagnating or falling. People feel left behind by the forces unleashed by globalisation. They feel powerless in the face of deregulated corporate power.
"We have to deal with those issues and we have to deal with them quickly and seriously.
"The populist right do identify many of the problems but their toxic solution is actually a dead end. It's about attacking minorities rather than facing the real issues that many communities face.
"So, unless progressive parties across Europe are prepared to break from the political establishment of the past, which has sought to manage the change of globalisation, then we are going to have problems."
Mr Corbyn went on: "We have to offer a different economic message. It's about convincing the long-term unemployed that the reason there is no work for them is not because of migrants, it's because of an economic programme of deindustrialisation and insecurity.
"We have to make clear that our public services are being run down because of austerity and often very predatory privatisation.
"We cannot and must not abandon socialist principles, because many tell us that is the only way to achieve power.
"We have to put forward a very clear economic message - one of social justice and inclusion."
Mr Corbyn was speaking as far-right Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer was said to be slightly in front in the polls ahead of Sunday's vote.
The Labour leader's European trip was expected to continue on Saturday afternoon with a visit to the site of the former Terezin Nazi concentration camp.
Corporate actors must not facilitate human rights violations through new Chinese rules
Recent efforts by Verisign at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in response to China’s new draft Internet Domain Name Management Rules present a serious threat to the right to privacy and freedom of expression online. By facilitating the implementation of real name policies for domain name registration in China, the rules risk seriously encroaching on Internet users’ rights, and Verisign’s technical and policy proposals to comply with them don’t include any consideration of potential human rights impacts. There is a whole constellation of actors involved in making this policy possible, all of whom have a responsibility to respect human rights.
In March 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a draft of its new Internet Domain Name Management Rules, which mandate that all Internet domain names in China must be registered through government-licensed service providers that have established a domestic presence in the country. This regulation would impose stringent regulations on the provision of domain name services. Under the rules, registrars issuing domain names must set up a management system from within Chinese borders, and collect personal information of domain name registrants. This means that all Chinese citizens will have to register their domain names inside China, with a real name verification model.
This type of regulation can cause self-censorship among internet users, due to fears of persecution by the state on the basis of how they express themselves online. The rules encourage the collection of information that can potentially be abused by authorities and become a tool of repression. This policy could also have a serious impact on freedom of association and assembly, as it strengthens the surveillance capabilities of the government.
The UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression have recognised the importance of anonymity and the right to privacy, online as well as offline, in guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression.
The Internet increasingly mediates our capacity to exercise our human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression, and Internet governance bodies and Internet infrastructure providers therefore have an enhanced role and responsibility in protecting human rights online.
It is therefore not just the Chinese government that should be held accountable for the negative impact of this policy on freedom of expression and other human rights. Verisign is the world’s biggest registry, back-end system provider for numerous Top Level Domains (TLDs), in addition to being the Root Zone Maintainer, a function associated with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). This makes it a very significant player in the domain name infrastructure. Verisign has designed and developed several technologies to service 'Verification Service Providers' and has created the technology to fully comply with this new Chinese law. This technology is vulnerable to abuse and presents a clear risk to human rights, taking into account the draft legislation it is designed to comply with.
Western companies are often happy to develop, build and sell software, hardware and standards to facilitate repressive policies elsewhere. A recent example is the contribution of Cisco to the 'Great Firewall of China', also known as the Golden Shield, which allowed the Chinese government to conduct surveillance of its citizens. Just last week, news surfaced that Facebook had developed (but not implemented) censorship software to allow it to operate in China. Companies are often eager to profit, but unwilling to take responsibility for the human rights implications of their decisions. Justifications based on compliance with domestic law are not sufficient. Corporate actors, especially large and influential ones like Verisign, can and should do more to respect, protect and promote freedom of expression and human rights in general by implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
In addition to the Chinese government and Verisign, Internet Governance bodies such as ICANN, which approved Verisign's proposed practice, and the IETF, which is currently discussing Verisign's proposed standard, should consider the human rights impact of approving these proposals. If neither the Chinese government, nor Internet Governance bodies, nor the companies involved in implementing this domain name policy take their responsibility seriously, all Internet users, and especially those in China, will pay the price for these companies’ profits.
This policy will however have impact beyond China. These types of data localisation efforts threaten the distributed nature of the global Internet, by fragmenting the Internet across national jurisdictions. The cooperation of ICANN, the IETF and Verisign on these draft measures also sets a dangerous political precedent that will threaten the rights of Internet citizens across the globe, as well as the technical resilience of the Internet.
We the undersigned offer the following recommendations:
All companies should do more to consider the impact of their work on human rights, and develop strategies in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They should not let their search for profits and access to the Chinese market blind them in their decision-making where the human rights of Chinese citizens and Internet users globally are at stake.
ICANN should revoke its approval to Verisign’s proposed services. The ICANN community, particularly the various constituencies within ICANN, must explicitly outline how the Chinese Internet Domain Name Management Rules, in particular Article 37, are in contradiction with existing policies to manage TLDs. Moreover, ICANN should take human rights into account in all of their decision-making processes, including in approving Registry Service Evaluation Processes.
The IETF, and the regext working group specifically, should avoid standardizing Verisign’s proposed Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP), which, if implemented, would threaten the rights of Chinese and other Internet users, especially without properly considering the serious potential real world security and privacy implications this might have.
China should reconsider its Internet Domain Name Management Rules based on an assessment of their human rights impacts, especially on the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, and privacy.
In March 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a draft of its new Internet Domain Name Management Rules, which mandate that all Internet domain names in China must be registered through government-licensed service providers that have established a domestic presence in the country. This regulation would impose stringent regulations on the provision of domain name services. Under the rules, registrars issuing domain names must set up a management system from within Chinese borders, and collect personal information of domain name registrants. This means that all Chinese citizens will have to register their domain names inside China, with a real name verification model.
This type of regulation can cause self-censorship among internet users, due to fears of persecution by the state on the basis of how they express themselves online. The rules encourage the collection of information that can potentially be abused by authorities and become a tool of repression. This policy could also have a serious impact on freedom of association and assembly, as it strengthens the surveillance capabilities of the government.
The UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression have recognised the importance of anonymity and the right to privacy, online as well as offline, in guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression.
The Internet increasingly mediates our capacity to exercise our human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression, and Internet governance bodies and Internet infrastructure providers therefore have an enhanced role and responsibility in protecting human rights online.
It is therefore not just the Chinese government that should be held accountable for the negative impact of this policy on freedom of expression and other human rights. Verisign is the world’s biggest registry, back-end system provider for numerous Top Level Domains (TLDs), in addition to being the Root Zone Maintainer, a function associated with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). This makes it a very significant player in the domain name infrastructure. Verisign has designed and developed several technologies to service 'Verification Service Providers' and has created the technology to fully comply with this new Chinese law. This technology is vulnerable to abuse and presents a clear risk to human rights, taking into account the draft legislation it is designed to comply with.
Western companies are often happy to develop, build and sell software, hardware and standards to facilitate repressive policies elsewhere. A recent example is the contribution of Cisco to the 'Great Firewall of China', also known as the Golden Shield, which allowed the Chinese government to conduct surveillance of its citizens. Just last week, news surfaced that Facebook had developed (but not implemented) censorship software to allow it to operate in China. Companies are often eager to profit, but unwilling to take responsibility for the human rights implications of their decisions. Justifications based on compliance with domestic law are not sufficient. Corporate actors, especially large and influential ones like Verisign, can and should do more to respect, protect and promote freedom of expression and human rights in general by implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
In addition to the Chinese government and Verisign, Internet Governance bodies such as ICANN, which approved Verisign's proposed practice, and the IETF, which is currently discussing Verisign's proposed standard, should consider the human rights impact of approving these proposals. If neither the Chinese government, nor Internet Governance bodies, nor the companies involved in implementing this domain name policy take their responsibility seriously, all Internet users, and especially those in China, will pay the price for these companies’ profits.
This policy will however have impact beyond China. These types of data localisation efforts threaten the distributed nature of the global Internet, by fragmenting the Internet across national jurisdictions. The cooperation of ICANN, the IETF and Verisign on these draft measures also sets a dangerous political precedent that will threaten the rights of Internet citizens across the globe, as well as the technical resilience of the Internet.
We the undersigned offer the following recommendations:
All companies should do more to consider the impact of their work on human rights, and develop strategies in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They should not let their search for profits and access to the Chinese market blind them in their decision-making where the human rights of Chinese citizens and Internet users globally are at stake.
ICANN should revoke its approval to Verisign’s proposed services. The ICANN community, particularly the various constituencies within ICANN, must explicitly outline how the Chinese Internet Domain Name Management Rules, in particular Article 37, are in contradiction with existing policies to manage TLDs. Moreover, ICANN should take human rights into account in all of their decision-making processes, including in approving Registry Service Evaluation Processes.
The IETF, and the regext working group specifically, should avoid standardizing Verisign’s proposed Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP), which, if implemented, would threaten the rights of Chinese and other Internet users, especially without properly considering the serious potential real world security and privacy implications this might have.
China should reconsider its Internet Domain Name Management Rules based on an assessment of their human rights impacts, especially on the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, and privacy.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Donald Trump speaks directly to Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen
US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that is likely to infuriate China and complicate US relations with Beijing.
During Friday's discussion, Trump and Tsai noted "the close economic, political and security ties" between Taiwan and the United States, according to the president-elect's transition team.
"President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming president of Taiwan earlier this year," it said.
The call was the first such contact with Taiwan by a US president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter adopted a one-China policy in 1979. As part of its so-called "one China" policy Washington shifted diplomatic recognition of China from the government in Taiwan to the communist government on the mainland.
Under that policy, the US recognises Beijing as representing China but retains unofficial ties with Taiwan. Washington is Taiwan's most important political ally and sole arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
During Friday's discussion, Trump and Tsai noted "the close economic, political and security ties" between Taiwan and the United States, according to the president-elect's transition team.
"President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming president of Taiwan earlier this year," it said.
The call was the first such contact with Taiwan by a US president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter adopted a one-China policy in 1979. As part of its so-called "one China" policy Washington shifted diplomatic recognition of China from the government in Taiwan to the communist government on the mainland.
Under that policy, the US recognises Beijing as representing China but retains unofficial ties with Taiwan. Washington is Taiwan's most important political ally and sole arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
Pilot suffers heart attack before take-off at Glasgow airport
An airline pilot suffered a heart attack just minutes before he was about to take off from Glasgow airport.
The Dutch captain of the KLM flight to Amsterdam became unwell as he taxied to the runway.
He was resuscitated by the crew with the help of an on-board passenger.
Firefighters from Glasgow airport helped take the Dutch pilot off the plane.
He was met by ambulance crews and taken to hospital.
The co-pilot of the plane, which had 128 people on board, took the aircraft back to the gate.
The flight was supposed to leave at around 5pm, but because of the emergency it was cancelled. Passengers on board had their flights re-booked.
A spokeswoman for KLM said: "During taxiing to the runway on this KLM flight to Amsterdam the captain became unwell and the staff treated him with the help of a passenger.
"He was taken to hospital where his condition is stable."
The Dutch captain of the KLM flight to Amsterdam became unwell as he taxied to the runway.
He was resuscitated by the crew with the help of an on-board passenger.
Firefighters from Glasgow airport helped take the Dutch pilot off the plane.
He was met by ambulance crews and taken to hospital.
The co-pilot of the plane, which had 128 people on board, took the aircraft back to the gate.
The flight was supposed to leave at around 5pm, but because of the emergency it was cancelled. Passengers on board had their flights re-booked.
A spokeswoman for KLM said: "During taxiing to the runway on this KLM flight to Amsterdam the captain became unwell and the staff treated him with the help of a passenger.
"He was taken to hospital where his condition is stable."
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