America calls for an end to Yemen fighting, and Israeli ‘Freedom is basic’ niqab advertisement sparks controversy.
Jamal Khashoggi was strangled, body cut into pieces
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s body was cut into pieces after he was strangled at the Saudi consulate, the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul said Wednesday, reports CNN.
“The victim’s body was dismembered and destroyed following his death by suffocation,” a statement issued by the chief prosecutor’s office read.
“In accordance with plans made in advance, the victim Jamal Khashoggi, was choked to death immediately after entering the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on 2 October, 2018”, the statement said.
Turkish investigators are still looking for clues to the whereabouts of his body.
“Despite our well-intentioned efforts to reveal the truth, no concrete results have come out of those meetings,” chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul said.
US Secretary of State Pompeo calls for an end to Yemen fighting
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Tuesday called for an end to hostilities in Yemen and said UN-led negotiations should begin next month, reports Deutsche Welle.
The conflict which has lasted for four years now, has claimed around 10,000 lives and left millions starving.
“The time is now for the cessation of hostilities, including missile and UAV (drone) strikes from Houthi-controlled areas into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” Pompeo said.
He also ordered Saudi-led coalition to stop airstrikes in all populated areas of Yemen.
CNN host says white men are ‘the biggest terror threat in this country’
CNN anchor Don Lemon went on-air saying that “the biggest terror threat in this country is white men”, reports The Washington Post.
Lemon was live on TV Monday when he mentioned an incident in which a white man allegedly shot dead two black people outside a Kroger grocery store in Jeffersontown.
Referring to the Central American migrant caravan entering the US, he said, “I keep trying to point out to people not to demonise any one group or any one ethnicity. But we keep thinking that the biggest terror threat is something else — some people who are marching toward the border like it’s imminent”.
His comments drew criticism from US President Donald Trump. He said in a tweet Wednesday that he thought it “was some sort of joke quote taken out of context but no . . . it’s just Don Lemon being a moron”.
Israeli clothing brand’s niqab advertisement sparks row
Israeli actress Bar Refaeli’s new clothing brand advertisement has sparked outcry as it shows her ripping off a niqab, saying, ‘Freedom is basic”, reports BBC.
The advertisement for Hoodies’ winter collection was launched Monday on YouTube and was shared on Bar Refaeli’s Instagram account.
In the commercial, Refaeli removes her niqab, tousles her hair and dances to the music, as the lyrics say: ‘It’s all about freedom, finally breaking the chains, costing my freedom’.
The commercial has received mixed reactions on Twitter and has sparked outrage among many. “This has to be the most ignorant and racist ad I’ve ever seen and I can’t believe a whole company approved this.. I’m disgusted and at a loss of words,” said a Twitter user.
Another tweet said, “All this add has achieved is incite more ignorant hate and further perpetuate this western ideology that Muslim women are oppressed.”
https://twitter.com/aayeshahassan/status/1057540049242386433
Sexual abuse of women common in North Korea, claims report
North Korean officials — from police officers and prison guards to market supervisors — faced no consequences for their routine abuse of women, reports CNN, quoting a study by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The report is based on several interviews with sexual abuse victims who have fled from North Korea.
“Unwanted sexual contact and violence that is so common in North Korea it has come to be accepted as part of ordinary life,” the report says.
HRW executive director Kenneth Roth says that sexual violence in North Korea is an “open, unaddressed, and widely tolerated secret”.