The Moscow City Court has changed actor Pavel Ustinov’s 3 1/2-year prison sentence into a one-year suspended sentence amid an outcry over punishments being handed out after a series of pro-democracy rallies over the summer.

The court also ruled on Monday that Ustinov will be put on a two-year probation period.

Ustinov and his lawyer had asked the court to fully acquit the actor, saying his previous conviction for assaulting a law enforcement officer during a rally in August was unjust.

The 23-year-old, who once worked as a National Guard officer, pleaded not guilty, saying he was standing nearby and was not participating in the rally at which activists challenged the refusal by officials to register opposition and independent candidates for Moscow city-council elections that took place on September 8.

Video of Ustinov’s arrest appears to back up his claims, and his imprisonment and harsh sentence sparked an outcry among the entertainment community, as well as from teachers, priests, and even some members of the Moscow city council.

After the September 30 ruling, Ustinov’s legal team said they would continue to fight for their client’s full exoneration.

Police and legal officials have been sharply criticized for their heavy-handed tactics during and after the protests, which drew some of the biggest crowds since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Critics say the convictions have been overly harsh and are an overt attempt to scare off others from joining the protests.

Prosecutors appeared to acknowledge the unjust situation, noting at the start of the appeal hearing on September 26 that Ustinov’s sentence was “too severe” and “the convict’s reformation is possible without his isolation from society.”

On September 20, amid protests challenging his conviction, Ustinov was released from custody by a court and ordered not to leave Moscow before his appeal was ruled upon.

…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied wrongdoing Sunday over his links to an American businesswoman who allegedly received money and favorable treatment because of their friendship during his time as mayor of London.

Asked during a BBC interview about his ties to tech entrepreneur and model Jennifer Arcuri, Johnson sought to suggest that political motivations were behind the decision Friday by the Greater London Authority to refer a conduct matter to a police watchdog agency.

The matter arose from a Sunday Times report saying Arcuri was given 126,000 pounds in public money and privileged access to trade missions to the United States, Israel and Asia that Johnson led as mayor, even though her fledgling business had not yet met eligibility requirements for such trips.

“Everything was done in accordance with the code … and everything was done with full propriety,” Johnson said Sunday. When pressed again by BBC journalist Andrew Marr, Johnson added: “There was no interest to declare.”

The scandal worsened Sunday as Johnson’s Conservative Party was opening its annual party conference in Manchester following a tumultuous week for a leader who has only been in the job since July.

In just the last few days, the U.K. Supreme Court declared Johnson’s attempt to suspend Parliament illegal and he cut short a trip to the United States, racing home to face the House of Commons, where lawmakers greeted him with cries of “Resign!” He then lost a vote on a normally routine matter — a request to adjourn for a week so that Conservatives could attend their conference.

Complicating things further, questions were raised about the 55-year-old Johnson’s links to Arcuri, now 34, who set up a cyber firm in East London after moving to the capital seven years ago.

Yet even as the British leader visited North Manchester General Hospital on Sunday to talk about his government’s plans to build 40 hospitals, his efforts failed to change the subject.

“Let’s be absolutely clear, I am very, very proud of everything that we did and certainly everything that I did as mayor of London,” he said, adding that the current London mayor, Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party, “could possibly spend more time investing in police officers than he is investing in press officers and peddling this kind of stuff.”

The independent office, which oversees police complaints in England, was asked to consider if there were grounds to investigate Johnson for misconduct in public office. The authority said Friday it had a “statutory duty” to record the matter because Johnson served as police commissioner during his 2008-2016 tenure as London’s mayor.

The probe is the latest sign of animosity that has consumed British politics since the country narrowly voted in 2016 to leave the European Union. Three years later, Britain and its politicians remain bitterly divided over how, or even whether, to leave the 28-nation bloc.

Johnson took power two months ago with a “do-or-die” promise that Britain will leave the EU on the scheduled date of Oct. 31 — even if there’s no divorce deal outlining Britain’s commercial relations with the other 27 EU nations. His foes in Parliament are determined to avoid a no-deal exit, which economists say would plunge Britain into recession.

In unusually heated debate Wednesday, Johnson referred to an opposition law ordering a Brexit delay as the “Surrender Act” and said postponing the country’s departure would “betray” the people. He also brushed off concerns that his forceful language might endanger legislators as “humbug.”

Opponents accused him of fomenting hatred in the country with his populist, people-versus-politicians rhetoric.

As tempers smoldered, Johnson rejected the notion that he himself had played a role in whipping up tensions.

“I think I’ve been a model of restraint,” Johnson said Sunday. “But I think everybody should calm down.”

…

Yemen’s rebels Sunday claimed they launched a major attack on the border of Saudi Arabia, releasing video purporting to show captive Saudi soldiers and equipment.

The images of the attack released by the rebels, known as Houthis, show armored vehicles with stenciled Saudi markings, arms and ammunition the rebels claim they seized.

The video also shows fighting in a mountainous area, with Houthi fighters apparently attacking Saudi troops in armored vehicles.

It shows what appear to be corpses and wounded in Saudi military uniforms. Several troops identified themselves as Saudis.

The kingdom did not immediately acknowledge the attack. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis on behalf of an internationally recognized Yemeni government since 2015.

In the past, the Houthis have claimed that they occupied Saudi villages after cross-border attacks, but often they enter a village, raise a banner, then pull out.

They have also held Saudi soldiers and officers captive in the past, using them as bargaining chips. Usually, they force the soldier to show his ID and speak on camera as proof. This time they did not show IDs.

Yahia Sarie, a spokesman for Houthi forces, claimed in a news conference Sunday the rebels took captive more than 2,000 troops, without offering evidence.

He also alleged that “three brigades have fallen,” and that the Houthis “liberated 350 kilometers square (135 square miles).”

Yemeni military officials said Sunday the soldiers the Houthis claimed they captured were fighters recruited informally by the Saudi-led coalition to fight inside Saudi Arabian borders. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Yemen’s stalemated war has killed tens of thousands of people, badly damaged Yemen’s infrastructure and crippled its health system.

…

A leading Egyptian pro-democracy activist was re-arrested Sunday while on probation, his family and a security official said, amid a sweeping security clampdown following small but rare anti-government protests earlier this month.

Alaa Abdel-Fattah rose to prominence with the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East and in Egypt toppled long-time President Hosni Mubarak. To many, his imprisonment three years later — at a time when authorities imposed draconian laws banning public gatherings and unauthorized demonstrations — was another sign of Egypt’s return to autocratic rule.

Repression Risks Fueling Egypt Instability, Analysts Warn

Egypt is reeling after a tense weekend of sparse anti-government protests for the second week in a row, which analysts say could bring more repression under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi

His release in March came after five years in prison for taking part in a peaceful protest against military trials for civilians.

Abdel-Fattah’s mother, Laila Soueif, told The Associated Press that her son was arrested Sunday from the police station in the Dokki area of Cairo.

“I was waiting for him to walk out this morning, but the area around the police station was sealed off. They did not allow me to get in as they were doing every day,” she said.

Under the terms of his release, authorities required Abdel-Fattah to report to a police station and spend every night there for the next five years.

How Egypt’s President Tightened his Grip

Behind the scenes, President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi’s closest advisers reworked the constitution to prolong his presidency and tighten his grip on Egypt. Not since the decades-long rule of Hosni Mubarak has so much power been concentrated in the hands of one man

Soueif, a university professor, said she had gone to pick him up every morning in recent days for fear he could be re-arrested after a wave of arrests targeting anti-government protesters.

A spokesman for Egypt’s Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

A security official said Abdel-Fattah was taken to prosecutors for an investigation into claims he has called for protests. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

How Sissi’s Egypt Hands Out Justice

Egyptian courts have sentenced some 3,000 people to death since 2014, when President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi took power, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information

Mohammed el-Baker, a rights lawyer who was attending the questioning of Abdel-Fattah by prosecutors, was also arrested, the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, a local non-governmental group, said late Sunday. El-Baker had attended the interrogation of many people who were rounded up in the recent wave of arrests since last weekend

Abdel-Fattah has been detained several times before under different governments for lobbying for civil rights on social media and in public. An influential blogger, he hails from a family of political activists, lawyers and writers. His late father was one of Egypt’s most tireless rights lawyers, his sisters are also political activists and his aunt is the award-winning novelist Ahdaf Soueif.

Egypt Rights Group: Nearly 2,000 Detained Since Anti-Sissi Protests Erupted

The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights released a statement on its official Facebook page on Thursday saying that among the 1,915 arrested are at least 96 juveniles

Sunday’s arrest came two days after Egyptian authorities stifled calls for fresh protests against President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s rule, deploying security forces and closing many of Cairo’s main thoroughfares.

Scattered protests had erupted on Sept. 20 after corruption allegations by an Egyptian businessman living in self-imposed exile against the president and the military. The allegations were dismissed by el-Sissi as “sheer lies.”

More than 2,000 people were arrested in the days after, according to right lawyers. The country’s general prosecutor said his office had questioned no more than 1,000 people over the protests.

Egypt Police Seal Off Cairo’s Tahrir Square Amid Calls for Protests

Epicenter of the so-called Arab Spring uprising in 2011 was said to be site of possible protests Friday against country’s president

…

Protesters and police clashed in Hong Kong for a second straight day on Sunday, throwing the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s business and shopping belt into chaos and sparking fears of more ugly scenes leading up to China’s National Day holiday this week.

Riot police repeatedly fired blue liquid – used to identify protesters – from a water cannon truck and multiple volleys of tear gas after demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at officers and targeted the city’s government office complex.

It was a repeat of Saturday’s clashes and part of a familiar cycle since pro-democracy protests began in early June. The protests were sparked by a now-shelved extradition bill and have since snowballed into an anti-China movement.

“We know that in the face of the world’s largest totalitarian regime – to quote Captain America, ‘Whatever it takes,'” Justin Leung, a 21-year-old demonstrator who covered his mouth with a black scarf, said of the violent methods deployed by hard-line protesters. “The consensus right now is that everyone’s methods are valid and we all do our part.”

Protesters are planning to march again Tuesday despite a police ban, raising fears of more violent confrontations that would embarrass Chinese President Xi Jinping as his ruling Communist Party marks 70 years since taking power. Posters are calling for Oct. 1 to be marked as “A Day of Grief.”

“So many youngsters feel that they’re going to have no future because of the power of China,” Andy Yeung, 40, said as he pushed his toddler in a stroller. “It’s hopeless for Hong Kong. If we don’t stand up, there will be no hope.”

Hong Kong’s government has already scaled down the city’s National Day celebrations, canceling an annual fireworks display and moving a reception indoors.

Despite security concerns, the government said Sunday that Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s leader, will lead a delegation of over 240 people to Beijing on Monday to participate in National Day festivities.

Sunday’s turmoil started in the early afternoon when police fired tear gas to disperse a large crowd that had amassed in the popular Causeway Bay shopping district. But thousands of people regrouped and defiantly marched along a main thoroughfare toward government offices, crippling traffic.

Protesters, many clad in black with umbrellas and carrying pro-democracy posters and foreign flags, sang songs and chanted “Stand with Hong Kong, fight for freedom.” Some defaced, tore down and burned National Day congratulatory signs, setting off a huge blaze on the street. Others smashed windows and lobbed gasoline bombs into subway exits that had been shuttered.

Police then fired a water cannon and tear gas as the crowd approached the government office complex. Most fled but hundreds returned, hurling objects into the complex.

Members of an elite police squad, commonly known as raptors, then charged out suddenly from behind barricades, taking many protesters by surprise. Several who failed to flee in time were subdued and detained in a scene of chaos.

The raptors, backed by scores of riot police, pursued protesters down roads to nearby areas. Officers continued to fire a water cannon and more tear gas, and the cat-and-mouse clashes lasted late into the night. Streets were left littered with graffiti on walls and debris.

The demonstration was part of global “anti-totalitarianism” rallies to denounce “Chinese tyranny.” Thousands rallied in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, while more than 1,000 took part in a rally in Sydney.

The protracted unrest, approaching four months long, has battered Hong Kong’s economy, with businesses and tourism plunging.

Chief Executive Lam held her first community dialogue with the public on Thursday in a bid to defuse tensions but failed to persuade protesters, who vowed to press on until their demands are met, including direct elections for the city’s leaders and police accountability.

Earlier Sunday, hundreds of pro-Beijing Hong Kong residents sang the Chinese national anthem and waved red flags at the Victoria Peak hilltop and a waterfront cultural center in a show of support for Chinese rule.

“We want to take this time for the people to express our love for our country, China. We want to show the international community that there is another voice to Hong Kong” apart from the protests, said organizer Innes Tang.

Mobs of Beijing supporters have appeared in malls and on the streets in recent weeks to counter pro-democracy protesters, leading to brawls between the rival camps.

Many people view the extradition bill, which would have sent criminal suspects to mainland

China for trial, as a glaring example of the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China has denied chipping away at Hong Kong’s freedoms and accused the U.S. and other foreign powers of fomenting the unrest to weaken its dominance.

…

Health experts say Nigeria is seeing increasing cases of heart disease. Low awareness, lack of adequate medical facilities and expertise are major factors worsening the situation in the country. But a non profit is collaborating with the World Heart Federation to provide proper education and treatment for underprivileged patients.

Participants chat at an awareness and fundraising event to mark World Heart Day in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

The program is organized by the non-profit, Global Development and Charity Support Foundation in collaboration with the World Heart Federation.

Head of the non profit, Samuel Asomugha says apart from educating locals on the early signs of heart disease, his organization is making funds available to treat patients.

“When you have a healthy heart, then you can lead a healthy life, then a lot of these health and heart related mortalities can be avoided,” he said.

The non-profit targets about 1,000 patients for treatment.

A 2018 WHO country profile reveals cardiovascular diseases is the leading cause of deaths among non-communicable diseases in Nigeria with over 11 percent prevalence.

“Whichever heart disease you want to look at, whether it’s heart failure, whether it’s coronary artery disease, the incidence of patients who are coming forward to hospital is on the rise,” says cardiologist Dauda Balami.

Congenital heart deformities in children are also on the rise.

Nnamdi Azubuike’s one-year-old child was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2015.

“We found out that he was not breathing very well, so we went to the hospital and after the analysis, then a doctor now told us that he’s having a hole in his heart,” said Azubuike.

Heart related conditions often require tertiary level care and sophisticated surgeries but Nigeria lacks medical facilities and the expertise needed.

Paediatrician and cardiologist Tolu Utele, admits the situation is serious.

“It is almost like a death sentence for children that are born with these heart defects, all we do in most places is to manage them until they die and many of them actually end up dying,” said Utele.

As talks around heart issues continue in Nigeria, citizens, nonprofits and many with conditions hope things get better.

…

The United States does not currently plan to stop Chinese companies from listing on U.S. exchanges, Bloomberg reported Saturday, citing a U.S. Treasury official.

“The administration is not contemplating blocking Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. stock exchanges at this time,” Bloomberg quoted Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley as saying.

Reuters reported Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges in a move that would be part of a broader effort to limit U.S. investment in Chinese companies.

The Treasury did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

…

The Middle East. Trade tensions. Iran’s nuclear program. Venezuela’s power struggle. Civil wars in Syria and Yemen. Familiar flashpoints such as these got plenty of airtime at the U.N. General Assembly’s big annual gathering this week.

But some leaders used their time on the world stage to highlight international conflicts and disputes that don’t usually command the same global attention.

A look at some of the less-discussed controversies trying to be heard:

Nagorno-Karabakh

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan landed one of the coveted first few speaking slots, and he devoted a bit of his wide-ranging speech to a clash in the Caucasus: a standoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The mountainous, ethnic Armenian area of about 150,000 people is recognized as part of Azerbaijan in U.N. Security Council resolutions dating to the 1990s. But Nagorno-Karabakh and some neighboring districts have been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, since a six-year separatist war ended in 1994.

Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have closed their borders with Armenia because of the conflict, cutting trade and leaving Armenia with direct land access only to Georgia and Iran.

Russia, the U.S. and France have co-chaired the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, attempting to broker an end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In speeches and rebuttals at the General Assembly, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused one another of misstating history, disrespecting human rights and standing in the way of a settlement.

North Macedonia

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “state of the world” address was largely a grim one, but he pointed to a few matters moving “in promising directions” — among them relations between Greece and the new Republic of North Macedonia.

Greece and what the U.N. cumbersomely used to call the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” sparred for nearly three decades over the latter’s name. It was adopted when the nation, which has a current population of about 2.1 million, declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Greece said the use of “Macedonia” implied territorial claims on its own northern province of the same name and its ancient Greek heritage, not least as the birthplace of ancient warrior king Alexander the Great. Athens blocked its Balkan neighbor’s path to NATO and EU membership over the nomenclature clash.

It became “infamous as a difficult and irresolvable problem,” in the words of now-North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Repeated rounds of U.N.-mediated negotiations proved fruitless until June 2018, when the Skopje government agreed to change the country’s name to North Macedonia. The switch took effect this February.

European Council President Donald Tusk said this month that North Macedonia is now ready to start EU membership talks. It expects to become the 30th NATO member soon.

The deal has been contentious within both countries, though, with critics accusing their governments of giving up too much. Regardless, North Macedonia’s prime minister highlighted it with pride from the world’s premier diplomatic podium.

“We can see nothing but benefits from settling the difference,” Zaev said, calling it “an example for overcoming difficult deadlocks worldwide.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis didn’t expand on the deal, saying only that his country supports EU bids by all the western Balkan countries if they respect their obligations to the EU and their neighbors.

Western Sahara

A mostly desert expanse along the northwest coast of Africa, Western Sahara has been a center of friction between Morocco and Algeria for almost half a century.

Morocco annexed the phosphate- and fishing-rich former Spanish colony in 1975, then fought the Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement until 1991, when the U.N. brokered a cease-fire and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and facilitate a referendum on the territory’s future.

The vote has never happened. Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara, while the Polisario Front insists that Western Sahara’s Sahrawi people — a population the independence movement estimates at 350,000 to 500,000 — have the right to a referendum.

Last year, the U.N. Security Council called for stepping up efforts to reach a solution to the dispute.

A U.N. envoy brought representatives of Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and neighboring Mauritania together last December for the first time in six years, followed by a second meeting in March. But the issue of how to provide for self-determination remains a key sticking point.

The envoy, former German President Horst Kohler, resigned in May for health reasons.

At the General Assembly, Moroccan Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani said his country’s autonomy proposal “is the solution,” while Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum reiterated hopes for Western Sahara residents “to be able to exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.”

Cyprus

A U.N.-controlled buffer zone that cuts across the city of Nicosia evinces a fraught distinction: Cyprus is the last European country to have a divided capital.

After 45 years, could that finally change? There’s “a glimmer of hope,” Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told to the assembly.

The eastern Mediterranean island has been split into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Turkey continues to maintain more than 35,000 troops in the northern third of the island, which only Turkey recognizes as an independent state. The U.N. also has a peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

Tensions have ticked up lately, particularly over natural gas exploration in waters in the internationally recognized state’s exclusive economic zone. Turkey is also drilling there, saying it’s defending Turkish Cypriots’ rights to energy reserves.

On-and-off talks about reunification have spanned decades.

Greek Cypriots have rejected Turkish Cypriots’ demands for a permanent Turkish troop presence and veto power in government decisions in a future federated Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots, meanwhile, want parity in federal decision-making, believing they would otherwise be relegated to junior partners to the majority Greek Cypriots.

A U.N. envoy made a shuttle-diplomacy effort in recent weeks in hopes of paving the way for formal talks, and Anastasiades suggested in his General Assembly speech there was some agreement on starting points for potential discussion. But he also complained that Turkey’s drilling and other activities “severely undermine” the prospect of negotiations.

Turkey’s Erdogan, meanwhile, complained about “the uncompromising position” of the Greek Cypriots.

Belize-Guatemala

It’s been a big year in a centuries-old argument between Belize and Guatemala.

Guatemala claims more than 4,000 square miles (10,350 square kilometers) of terrain administered by Belize — essentially the southern half of Belize. It’s an area of nature reserves, scattered farming villages and fishing towns, and some Caribbean beach tourism destinations.

The dispute’s roots stretch to the 19th century, when Britain controlled Belize and Spain ruled Guatemala.

Guatemala, which became independent in 1821, argues that it inherited a Spanish claim on the territory. Belize considers Guatemala’s claim unfounded and says the borders were defined by an 1859 agreement between Guatemala and Britain (Belize remained a British colony until 1981).

The land spat has strained diplomatic relations and at times even affected air travel between the two Central American countries.

Belize and Guatemala agreed in 2008 to ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, for a binding ruling.

Guatemalans voters gave their assent to the plan in a referendum last year, and Belizeans gave their approval this May.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales celebrated the developments in his General Assembly speech.

“This is a milestone for Guatemala, for Central America and for the world,” he said, emphasizing the peaceful process toward resolving the disagreement. “Currently, bilateral relations between Guatemala and Belize are the best they’ve ever been.”

Belizean Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington told the assembly Saturday that his country also looked forward to resolving “an age-old, atavistic claim that has hindered Belize’s development” and undercut friendship between the countries.

While Belize remains concerned about various activities by Guatemalan troops and citizens, he said, Belizeans “certainly have the most fervent wish to live side by side with the government and people of Guatemala in peace, harmony and close cooperation.”

…

A boat carrying at least 50 Europe-bound migrants capsized Saturday in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, the U.N. refugee agency and the country’s coast guard said, while an independent support group said another 56 migrants on another boat were at risk in the sea.

Coast guard spokesman Ayoub Gassim told The Associated Press that a shipwreck took place off the western city of Misrata, 187 kilometers (116 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli.

UNHCR said rescue efforts were ongoing Saturday afternoon and released no details on casualties.

Alarm Phone, an independent support group for people crossing the Mediterranean, said a second boat for migrants was in distress, with “about 56 lives at risk.”

The group said it received a call from migrants on the boat, who left Libya’s shores days ago, saying that “they are desperately calling for help and are afraid to die.”

“They are still in distress at sea with no rescue in sight. They have now been at sea for over 60 hours,” Alarm Phone said.

Mediterranean crossing point

Libya became a major crossing point for migrants to Europe after the overthrow and death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, when the North African nation was thrown into chaos, armed militias proliferated and central authority collapsed.

In recent years, the European Union has partnered with the coast guard and other Libyan forces to try to stop the dangerous sea crossings.

Rights groups say those efforts have left migrants at the mercy of brutal armed groups or confined in squalid detention centers that lack adequate food and water.

At least 6,000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other nations are locked in dozens of detention facilities in Libya run by militias accused of torture and other abuses.

There are limited supplies for the migrants, who often end up there after arduous journeys at the mercy of abusive traffickers who hold them for ransom from their families.

…

French police repeatedly used tear gas and water cannons to break up a protest Saturday by nearly a 1,000 yellow vest demonstrators in the southwest city of Toulouse.

A police statement said officers made five arrests after being targeted by objects thrown by some of the protesters.

A group that observes police conduct at yellow vest protests said officers had attacked five of their number during the demonstration, injuring one of them.

The Observatory of Police Practice (OPP) posted images and video on Twitter to support their account and posted an open letter to the authorities protesting the incident.

The police headquarters in Toulouse was not available to comment on the allegations Saturday evening.

Earlier this month, a member of the OPP filed a complaint alleging that he had been injured during a police charge at a yellow vest protest.

The march in Toulouse, which holds regular yellow vests protests on Saturday, was led by demonstrators brandishing a giant banner that read: “Fed up of surviving. We want to live.”

As staff at a McDonalds outlet closed up the premises, one of the parasols outside went up in flames.

Even after the use of tear gas and water cannons, demonstrators continued to gather in the city streets.

Calm in Paris

In the capital Paris, some yellow vests joined a climate protest march.

September’s protests have revived the yellow vest movement, though not to the levels seen late last year and in the first half of 2019.

Saturday’s protests came two days after the French government unveiled a draft 2020 budget with more than 9 billion euros in tax cuts for households.

It includes 5 billion euros in tax cuts for some 12 million households already promised by President Emmanuel Macron, the result of a “great national debate” he held to try to address the ongoing protests.

Macron swept to the presidency in 2017 with a pledge to get the country back on a solid financial footing. But he was caught short by the yellow vest movement that accused the former investment banker of ignoring the day-to-day struggles of many French.

Demonstrations have been banned on the Champs-Elysees after protesters clashed with police on the famous Paris avenue last Dec. 8, in the early days of the yellow vest protests.

On that weekend, police detained 900 people, the most since the anti-government protests began.

…

This interview originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa service. VOA Africa Division’s Thierry Kaore, Andrea Tadic and Salem Solomon contributed to the story.

Editor’s note: Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde gave an interview to Solomon Abate of the Voice of America’s Horn of Africa service, in New York. She spoke in Amharic and English. These highlights are from their conversation in English and have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Sahle-Work Zewde was elected president of Ethiopia by the country’s members of parliament in October 2018.  She became the first woman to hold this position in the country’s history. Sahle-Work previously served at the U.N. Special Representative to the African Union and Ethiopian Ambassador to France, Senegal and Djibouti.  She also headed the U.N. office in Nairobi.

Solomon Abate: Your Excellency Madame President, thank you very much for your time. I would like to start this interview with yourself. Please tell me a little about yourself, about your family…
 
Sahle-Work Zewde: I don’t know where to start. I grew up in a family of four girls. I’m the firstborn. But I had a very amazing family especially my father, who has always told us that there is nothing that a woman or a girl cannot do. So this has been my motto all my life and in whatever I did, by the way, I was the first woman to do this, the first woman to do that, so I was daring. I was courageous and I had my self-esteem as well.
 
All this has helped. So I started in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs then, no, Ministry of Education, rather, [and] then foreign affairs. I was [an] ambassador of Ethiopia for close to two decades. Too many countries and multilateral as well to the African Union. Then I joined the U.N. as an assistant secretary-general and a special representative of the SG (secretary-general) to the Central African Republic, where my main task was to stabilize the country and work on the peacebuilding for close to eight years. The only United Nations headquarters in the global south which is based in Nairobi as its first dedicated director-general, female or male, that was the first one and the first female of course. Yeah, so with that I’m co-founder Secretary-General. The last posting in the U.N. was to the African Union as a special representative of the SG again to the EU before I joined this office. That’s it in a nutshell.
 
Abate: And congratulations for becoming the first Ethiopian president your, excellency. And my next question would be on the peace and stability of Ethiopia. There are people who are very much concerned about the future of this country. There are people who predict [the] disintegration of that country. [In the] meantime, there are some optimistic views from the public and from the high officials of the country, including the prime minister of Ethiopia. How do you characterize the current situation in the country?
 
Sahle-Work: First of all, I always see the glass half full. If you don’t have that perspective, then it can distort your views. Second, I think we have to think of where we were like two, three years ago. I think we are [on] the right path. I think this is what we should be doing, consolidate. We have a conducive environment. Of course, it can be improved as we move on, but we have the conditions now for everybody to come in and play their role. So if we put the interests of our country first, the interests of our people first, the peace-loving people of Ethiopia because it’s the people who have suffered most. So I think we really have to come together to draw a red line not to cross when it comes to peace, because it cannot be used as political expediency. This is too serious of an issue. So, yeah with all this in mind and with the conducive situation in Ethiopia, I think we have a good opportunity to move along.
 
Abate: Madame President, the situation of women in Africa is one of the greatest challenges. … Ethiopia, of course, is not an exception. What do you think governments should do to elevate the ability and the participation of women and what should their contribution be?
 
Sahle-Work: Yeah, I mean, if the history of Africa was written by Africans and by women Africans, I think we would find many unsung heroes. But that’s not enough. We know the state of affairs. In Ethiopia, the government has taken a bold decision to bring gender equality and women’s empowerment at the heart of what we do. My coming here is a result of that, half of the Cabinet [are women] and so on.

 
Abate: Yeah, you mentioned that in the general assembly. 
 
Sahle-Work: I wanted to test them if they closed their eyes and say, ‘Oh, we closed our eyes and we call to the podium the president of…,’ they will wake up to say, ‘Oh, is it a woman?’ Because it’s so rare. So, I think we have had two or three female presidents addressing this assembly out of 54. So there is a lot to do, but there is a good prospect in Ethiopia. The job has started, has started in a very big way. It’s for all of us now to make sure that the gap is filled that women can grow along the ladder and be selected to any position to have more women in the marketplace. In the job marketplace, [we should] have more women entrepreneurs and so on. There is a huge awareness currently that women should have their place. That they should get their due. So, I think this will help us move forward. But, of course, this will be done also with other countries with similar situations. We have seen some encouraging steps when you look at what has happened in Sudan. We have more females in key positions, so this definitely will have to continue.
 
Abate: And at last, Madame President, let me take you to the regional issues. The Horn of Africa is always volatile and full of tense situations and at this point, including Ethiopia, we see some ups and downs in the area. What should these governments do and what role can you play to bring these countries together? And how can you picture the relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia in relation to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Ethiopia is building now?
 
Sahle-Work: What is characteristic [of] the current government regarding the region is that it has a bold regional agenda. The government has understood that the progress of Ethiopia could be limited if the Horn region doesn’t come together. So we’re working hard, you know, we’ve been heading [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] IGAD,  we’re still heading IGAD. We have been at the core of the revitalization of IGAD, which might need another revitalization, but nevertheless this is the vehicle that we have currently. So, I really admire this position that the government has that, as much as we think about national, we also think about regional. Our faith is interrelated in any case. We have supported peace processes and in our neighboring countries. But let me tell you something we have to change the narrative about the Horn. If you look at Africa, we had the Horn, which was in a turmoil two decades ago civil war everywhere. Central Africa, which was also very problematic, and the West was relatively calm and we didn’t know what would come. The storm that was going to come. This has changed and we have seen many countries going into big trouble, crisis, in West Africa. And in the Horn, we had peace accord, and so at leas guns have been silenced and political processes have started. I think we have a very good opportunity now to rise from that. We have suffered for too long that we really need to get back on our two feet and work together. Ethiopia is playing its role in order to be a good regional player. A regional player for the positive side of it, a regional player for fast-tracking integration-free movement of people and so on and so forth. So this is what the government is doing. It’s the only way to do it if we want to progress and progress fast. On Egypt, we have a good relationship with Egypt. I can’t say otherwise. But the issue of the Nile is to have an equitable and sustainable share and there is a framework, a legal framework for that. So we want those who are not in the fold to come into the fold and agree that this is the way we should be doing things. The prime minister, one of his first trips was to Cairo, to reassure our neighbor. So we are optimistic. The discussion has to continue.
 
Abate: Do you think the Egyptians trust the prime minister? 
 
Sahle-Work: Well, I don’t know why it shouldn’t be, why it should be otherwise. But, the principle is not to harm anyone in any case. So, we can’t go against it. In any case, this is where we are and we really would like to create a conducive environment for the technical people to work on it and to [provide] evidence-based results so that the politicians decide. 

…

For many homeless people, finding shelter sometimes isn’t nearly as important as finding a meal. Providing food is the main mission of Manna House, a charity organization, where homeless and underprivileged people get breakfast and other services for free. Nilofar Mughal is giving a view from the inside of Manna House located in Baltimore in the state of Maryland.
 

…

President Donald Trump told two Russian officials in a 2017 meeting that he was not concerned about Moscow’s meddling in the U.S. election, which prompted White House officials to limit access to the remarks, the Washington Post reported Friday.

A summary of Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russia’s foreign minister and its ambassador to the U.S. was limited to a few officials in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, the Post said, citing former officials with knowledge of the matter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Whistleblower complaint

A whistleblower complaint about a July phone call in which Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden is at the heart of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry launched this week.

A member of the U.S. intelligence community who filed the complaint against Trump said notes from other conversations the president had with foreign leaders had been placed on a highly classified computer system in a departure from normal practice in a bid to protect information that was politically sensitive, rather than sensitive for national security reasons.

Trump’s 2017 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was already considered controversial after it was learned that Trump disclosed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation.

On election interference, Trump told Lavrov and Kislyak he was not concerned about Russian meddling because the United States did the same in other countries, the Post reported.

Limited access to other conversations

CNN, citing people familiar with the matter, said efforts to limit access to Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders extended to phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters that procedures for handling records of Trump’s conversations with world leaders had changed early in his tenure after calls with Mexico’s president and Australia’s prime minister were leaked.
 

…

Afghans headed to the polls Saturday to elect a new president amid high security and Taliban threats to disrupt the elections, with the rebels warning citizens to stay home or risk being hurt.

Still at some polling stations in the capital voters lined up even before the centers opened, while in others election workers had yet to arrive by poll opening time.

Imam Baksh, who works as a security guard, said he wasn’t worried about his safety as he stood waiting to mark his ballot, wondering who he would vote for.

“All of them have been so disappointing for our country,” he said.

The leading contenders are incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and his partner in the 5-year-old unity government, Abdullah Abdullah, who already alleges power abuse by his opponent. Cameras crowded both men as they cast their vote, with Ghani telling voters they too had a responsibility to call out instances of fraud.

Fear and frustration

At least 15 people were wounded after a bomb attack on a local mosque where a polling station is located, a hospital in the southern city of Kandahar said.

The doctor with the Southern Kandahar Hospital said the wounded included one police, several election officials, and Afghans who came to cast their ballots in the national elections on Saturday.

Polling station complaints

Even in the early hours of voting, complaints had begun to be raised such as polling stations in the posh Wazir Akbar region opening late and biometric machines, aimed at curbing fraud, not working.

In the northern Taimani neighborhood of mostly ethnic Hazaras, two-thirds of the voting registration papers had yet to arrive and angry voters were told their names were not on the list. 

Abdul Ghafoor, who spoke on behalf of dozens of men waiting to cast their ballot, said that of about 3,000 registered voters only 400 appeared on the list that had arrived at the center.

Ghafoor said he was told to return at 2 p.m. and that he would be allowed to vote even if his name was not on the list and without using the biometric machine.

“But how can they do this? My vote won’t count if I am not on a list,” he said.

In Khoja Ali Mohfaq Herawi mosque in Kabul’s well-to-do Shahr-e-Now neighborhood, election workers struggled with biometric machines as well as finding names on voters’ lists.

Ahmad Shah, 32, cast his vote, but said the election worker forgot to ink his finger — which is mandatory to prevent multiple voting by the same person.

“What sort of system is this?” he asked, frustrated that he had risked his safety to vote and expressed fear that fraud will mar the election results. “It’s a mess.”

Still, 63-year old Ahmad Khan urged people to vote.

“It is the only way to show the Taliban we are not afraid of them,” he said, though he too worried at the apparent glitches in the process.

Security officers fan out

Tens of thousands of police, intelligence officials and Afghan National Army personnel have been deployed throughout the country to protect the 4,942 election centers. Authorities said 431 polling centers will stay closed because it was impossible to guarantee their security since they were either in areas under Taliban control or where insurgents could threaten nearby villages.

Neighbor Pakistan, routinely accused of aiding insurgents, announced it was closing its borders with Afghanistan Saturday and Sunday to further protect security in the war-weary country.

…

The following reporters contributed to this report: Matiado Vilme, Yves Manuel, Dieuline Gedeus in Port-au-Prince, Jaudelet Junior Saint Vil in Fort Liberte, Innocente Desgranges in Petit Goave, Socrate Ameyes Jean Pierre, James Dorvil, Alexandre Joram in Miragoane, Junior Racine in St. Marc, Hernst Eliscar in Les Cayes

WASHINGTON, PORT-au-PRINCE, GONAIVES, FORT LIBERTE, PETIT  GOAVE, MIRAGOANE, ST. MARC, LES CAYES – Haiti’s latest protests began with explosions when hundreds of Cite Soleil residents, a slum notorious for gang activity, drug dealing and kidnapping, attacked the local UDMO security force headquarters.

They looted, carrying out furniture and other materials, then set fire to the building and police cars, prompting the explosions.

#Haiti Protest started with a bang, literally, early this morning when Cite Soleil protesters attacked, looted and set fire to the UDMO security forces headquarters. This was the scene. Video by @VOAKreyol Yves Manuel pic.twitter.com/9d20pbL5F3

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) September 27, 2019

A protester who spoke to VOA Creole Friday said their actions were in response to what they said were injustices by police and poor governance, which has made their lives miserable.

“When you see the people in the street with nothing but their arms and legs, and the UDMO sees that and shoots and kills three people in Cite Soleil, we have to tell the residents to rise up and root out this government because Jovenel Moise has done nothing for us except kill us,” he said.

Elsewhere in Port-au-Prince, protesters blocked roads with stones, branches and flaming tires. Businesses and schools were shuttered as thousands marched up Delmas, a main road linking the downtown area to affluent suburbs.

But protesters looted businesses such as an electronics store and Banj, a multiuse complex that houses a tech company owned by hipster and tech guru Marc Alain Boucicault. He sent out an SOS on Twitter as protesters crashed through the steel gates and entered the complex, ransacking it and setting fires.

Protesters broke into, looted and set fire to @banjHT a multi-use complex which is the brainchild of Haitian tech guru @marcalainb#Haiti Marc Alain sent out an SOS ? tweet as this was happening. pic.twitter.com/CiUdzRJTZH

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) September 27, 2019

A protester VOA Creole spoke to on the Delmas road said he was in the streets for the first time today because he’s starving.

“I’ve had to rely on neighbors three days in a row to be able to eat a little something,” he said. “The president has to go, he is the cause of our suffering.”

Opposition Senator Ricard Pierre joined the protesters on their march uptown.

“Today is the final battle in the war to get rid of Jovenel,” he told VOA Creole.

As protesters made their way up to Petionville, police fired teargas in an attempt to stop them. They were unsuccessful. The massive crowd reached the suburb and set fire to a private home next to Sogebank, a financial institution, and then looted a Chinese-owned business and a pharmacy.

#Haiti Protest is on. Police using tear gas to disperse protesters attempting to reach affluent suburb of Petionville. Video @VOAKreyol Matiado Vilme pic.twitter.com/DVDiyEoqqW

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) September 27, 2019

In Gonaives to the north, protesters hit the streets wielding machetes. Reporters who witnessed the angry crowd marching through town ran for cover.

In Fort Liberte, protesters set up burning barricades and placed a casket in the middle of the road to block National Highway 6, which links northern towns to the capital. Hundreds filled the streets, a reporter estimated.

“We’re in the streets today to demand the president resign and to let everyone know the Northeast has had enough,” a young man in his 20s told VOA Creole. “The government is no good and we’re suffering so we decided to block the road to see if the situation will get better.”

In Petit Goave to the south, protesters set fire to the local office of the national electric company EDH, and to the courthouse. Video recorded by VOA Creole showed smoke billowing from inside as the building along with the burned court files inside.

#Haiti Petit Gôave, Courthouse is on fire along with all the court case files. Video @VOAKreyol Innocente Desgranges pic.twitter.com/Op6qZVXUOt

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) September 27, 2019

In Miragoane, protesters marched to a raboday beat as they chanted “lock them up” and “lock up Jojo (President Moise) as they made their way around town.

Three men in their 20s were shot and wounded by police during the demonstration, VOA Creole reporters said.

In Miragoane to the South, protesters marched to a raboday beat chanting lock them up and lock up Jojo –@moisejovenel Video @VOAKreyol Socrate Ameyes Jean Pierre #Haitipic.twitter.com/nAM0wiLZiW

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) September 27, 2019

In St. Marc, also in the south, thousands filled the streets to protest against the president, a reporter estimated.

“We don’t have schools, there’s no infrastructure, we don’t have hospitals, we don’t have anything,” a protester wearing a Haitian flag bandana on his head and a Haitian flag wrapped around his torso told VOA Creole. “Why are we living like this? We want to be rid of this system (government). We can’t deal. We’re tired of it. The youth are over it.”

In St Marc, this protester cited lack of schools, infrastructure, hospitals, good governance as reason they are in the street #Haiti Video @VOAKreyol Junior Racine pic.twitter.com/tjusmvhTEh

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) September 27, 2019

And in Les Cayes, angry protesters fired on a police post in an attempt to take over the police station. The gate and building were damaged, but local UDMO security forces were able to intervene and arrested some of the perpetrators.

President Jovenel Moise has not commented on the protests.

A U.S. Embassy security alert on Twitter warned American citizens living in Haiti not to venture out into the streets.

The opposition groups who called for the nationwide protest say they will not stop until the president responds to their demand to step down.

As night fell, residents were bracing for what the morning might bring.

…

General Joseph Dunford, the nation’s top general as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is leaving office next week. 

As the top military adviser to the president, he will be remembered for his handling of the ISIS crisis, his tenure during the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and his efforts to strengthen the military amid growing tensions with Russia and China.

Dunford led the U.S. military under two very different presidents, garnering respect from both sides of the political aisle — and from military experts.

“I think General Dunford has been one of the best chairmen we’ve ever had, and it’s not always easy to measure by the state of the world,” said Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institute.

Iran and Afghanistan

The general is retiring amid increased tensions with Iran and rising violence in Afghanistan.

“When I think about Afghanistan, I think about two things,” Dunford said. “No. 1 is we don’t want Afghanistan to be a sanctuary from which the homeland can be threatened, the American people and our allies can be threatened. And the other is we want peace and stability in Afghanistan for the Afghan people.”

Ensuring these objectives strained negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban.

Dunford has pushed throughout the process to make sure the military can still take out terrorists there despite President Trump’s desire to pull some troops out of the country.

The spokesman for the chairman, Air Force Col. Pat Ryder pointed out in a recent briefing that in the Middle East, Dunford led the charge that crushed the Islamic State caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

“When you go back four years and you look at the difference in terms of the presence of ISIS and — and what they had achieved then and where they are today, certainly there’s been progress,” Ryder said.

Calm, steady hand

And experts like O’Hanlon credit Dunford’s calm, steady leadership with keeping the U.S. out of a conflict with North Korea.

“We went through 2017, the locked and loaded, fire and fury, my button’s bigger than yours — all that brinkmanship needed to be survived and be prevented from taking us into war, and I think Dunford had a role in that as well,” O’Hanlon said.

While the United States remains entangled in conflicts, most agree the American military is stronger under his leadership, modernizing and growing in an effort to stay ahead of great powers Russia and China.

…

Tens of thousands of people from across Senegal converged on the capital Dakar on Friday for the inauguration of a huge mosque, claimed to be the largest in West Africa.

Muslim faithful arrived by bus, car or on foot in the poor district of Bopp, home to the new Massalikul Jinaan mosque, capable of hosting 30,000 worshippers.

The mosque has been built by the Mouride Brotherhood — part of the Sufi strand of Islam that predominates in Senegal, a country with a long tradition of religious tolerance.

Huge traffic jams several kilometers (miles) long built up on highways leading to the site, where some people had starting camping out two days before the long-awaited ceremonies.

Work on the mosque began a decade ago on a swampy six-hectare (14-acre) area of land donated by the government of the 90-percent Muslim nation, and the inauguration has been preceded by an outpouring of national and religious fervour.

The mosque’s name of Massalikul Jinaan (“The Paths to Paradise”) comes from the title of a poem by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke, the 19th-century founder of the Brotherhood, who is revered by followers as a saint.

With a Carrara marble exterior and boasting five minarets — the tallest 78 meter (255 feet) high — the mosque has a capacity of 15,000 worshippers inside, and another 15,000 on an outside esplanade.

The lavish interiors include a gold-leaf dome, giant chandeliers and decorations hand drawn by Moroccan workmen. An Islamic institute, residence and museum are scheduled to be added in the future.

The builders say the mosque is the biggest in West Africa, although the edifice is dwarfed by mosques in the Arab world. In Morocco, the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca can accommodate 105,000 worshippers and has a minaret spiraling 210 meters.

The cost of more than 30 million euros ($33 million) came from private donations, while the government contributed lighting, sanitation and roadworks worth 10.5 million euros as well as the land — a sign of the Brotherhood’s clout.

The group’s leader, Mountakha Mbacke, received a stream of religious, traditional and political leaders in the runup to the inauguration, and the ceremonies were to be attended by President Macky Sall.

The Mourides are one of four important Sufi brotherhoods followed by Senegal’s Muslims, who overwhelmingly practice a moderate version of Islam while following the teachings of local spiritual guides.

…

The United States offered to remove all sanctions on Iran in exchange for talks, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday upon returning to Tehran from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to his official website.

“The German chancellor, the prime minister of England (Britain) and the president of France were in New York and all insisted that this meeting take place. And America says that I will lift the sanctions,” Rouhani said. “It was up for debate what sanctions will be lifted and they had said clearly that we will lift all sanctions.”

He added: “But this action wasn’t in a manner that was acceptable, meaning that in the atmosphere of sanctions and the existence of sanctions and the toxic atmosphere of maximum pressure, even if we want to negotiate with the Americans in the 5+1 framework, no one can predict what the end and result of this negotiation will be.”

…

Egyptian security forces completely sealed off Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the so-called Arab Spring uprising in 2011, to prevent possible protests on Friday against the country’s president.

The closures come amid a harsh security clampdown following rare demonstrations in several cities last weekend, all of which were broken up by police. Lawyers say over 2,000 people have been arrested since then. Egypt’s general prosecutor claims his office has questioned no more than 1,000 people over the latest protests

Street demonstrations have been almost completely silenced the past years by draconian measures imposed under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, a former general.

The demonstrations erupted over corruption allegations earlier this month against the military and el-Sissi by an Egyptian businessman living in self-imposed exile. El-Sissi warned Friday against “deceitful” attempts to discredit his rule.

Riot police had barricaded streets and bridges leading into Tahrir Square, where hundreds of thousands had gathered in 2011 to demand the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. Several nearby subway stations were closed for alleged maintenance.

The government effectively banned all public protests in 2013, shortly after el-Sissi led the military’s overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president.

Earlier this month, Mohamed Ali, the self-exiled contractor who said he had worked with the military for 15 years, posted inflammatory videos accusing the president and some military commanders of misuse of public funds to build presidential palaces and a tomb for the president’s mother. Ali has renewed his call for Egyptians to take to the streets Friday, the first day of the weekend.

El-Sissi arrived Friday morning to Cairo from New York, where he had been attending the U.N. General Assembly at the time the protests broke out. “It is all based on lies, distortion and fabrication. You should be aware of that,” el-Sissi said upon his arrival at Cairo airport. Hundreds of his supporters rallied to greet him, raising his picture and waving Egyptian flags.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that Egypt’s authorities should respect the right of peaceful assembly by allowing protests, and should release all those arrested.

“The nationwide crackdown on protests suggests that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi is terrified of Egyptians’ criticisms,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group’s Middle East and North Africa director.

…

Dengue fever is spreading rapidly across Central America, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday.   

“The size of this outbreak is unprecedented across Central America,” said Dr. Maria Frana Tallarico, head of health of IFRC’s regional office for the Americas.

Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica are reporting “massive increases in dengue cases compared to previous years,” the IFRC said.

More than 71,200 people in Honduras have been affected by the mosquito-borne viral disease.

Seasonal rains and high temperatures have created stagnant pools that are “perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes,” according to IFRC.
 
What is alarming about the disease in Honduras, however, is that 65 percent of the 128 deaths thus far are children under 15 years-old.

“This is due to a lack of immunity in young people to to the deadliest of the four strains of dengue currently circulating in the region,” says Tallarico.

IFRC says it is “scaling up” emergency assistance to help countries contain the disease, including teams of IFRC volunteers who are going door-to-door to raise awareness about the disease and how to prevent its spread.

…

Sri Lanka’s cricket team begins play in Lahore Friday, the first time since 2009 that a foreign team will undertake a two-week tour of Pakistan.

Security is extremely tight for the match, and the Sri Lanka team is basically confined to their hotel except for practices and matches.

Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked in Lahore as it arrived for a match ten years ago.  The ambush killed eight people and injured several players.

Since then Pakistan’s team has toured other countries, but few international matches have been played in the country.

A number of Sri Lanka’s top players withdrew from the tour because of lingering security concerns.

…

The Pentagon says it will send one Patriot missile battery and four radar systems to Saudi Arabia, in what officials have said are the first steps to help the kingdom protect itself against Iranian attacks.

Two more Patriot batteries and a THAAD missile defense system will be prepared to go later if needed. The deployment will involve about 200 troops.

Military leaders have been working since last week to decide how to respond to what U.S. officials call an unprecedented Iranian attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14.

The four Sentinel radar systems and the Patriot battery are designed to provide better surveillance across northern Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s defenses are focused on the south to protect the country from attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. 
 

…