Jumat, 05 Juli 2019

Official warns Tehran could seize UK oil tanker if Iranian ship not released - CNN

The vessel was stormed by British Royal Marines and Gibraltar port and law enforcement agencies in the early hours of Thursday morning as it was believed to have been carrying oil to Syria, in possible violation of European Union sanctions.
Mohsen Rezaee, who is currently Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council -- an advisory body to Iran's Supreme Leader -- tweeted that "if the UK does not release the Iranian oil tanker, our officials are duty-bound to reciprocate and seize a British oil tanker."
Rezaee previously served as commander of the IRGC and it is unclear if he's currently involved in military decision making.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office told CNN it had no comment, at the moment, in response to the tweet.
Grace 1 was boarded by Royal British Marines and Gibraltarian authorities.
On Thursday Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo said territory authorities had reason to believe the Grace 1 "was carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Baniyas Refinery in Syria."
He added that the refinery "is the property of an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions against Syria."
Gibraltar seizes Iranian oil tanker bound for Syria
The EU imposed a number of financial, trade and transport sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2011 in response to "the continuing brutal campaign" against its own people.
The Syrian government has yet to respond to the incident.
A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official and Spain's acting foreign minister Josep Borrell both said the United States had asked the UK to intercept the ship.
However, Gibraltar's government said in a statement that there was "no political request at any time from any government" that the vessel should be detained.
"The decisions of Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar were taken totally independently, based on breaches of existing law and not at all based on extraneous political considerations," the statement read, adding that they "were certainly not decisions taken at the political behest or instruction of any other state or of any third party."
British and Gibraltarian authorities say they believe the tanker was carrying oil to Syria.
While several online shipping trackers say the vessel was sailing under the flag of Panama, the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) said in a statement that Grace 1's registry was canceled on May 29 after it was notified the ship may be participating or linked to financing terrorism.
"The PMA ... was notified of the international alert regarding the vessel GRACE 1, which indicated that this vessel might be participating or being linked to the Financing of Terrorism, or in support of the destabilizing activities of certain regions led by terrorist groups," the PMA said.

Seizure of vessel 'illegal,' Iran says

On Thursday the British ambassador to Tehran was summoned in Iran over the "illegal" seizure of the oil tanker, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi tweeted.
The operation was condemned by a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official, who called it "piracy," according to a report from the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Friday.
The official said the UK does not have the right to implement its or the EU's unilateral sanctions against other nations "in an extraterritorial manner" and called for the vessel to be released immediately after it had been seized "at the behest of the US."
The Grace 1 super tanker lies off the coast of Gibraltar on Thursday.
Mousavi said that that Grace 1's detainment could increase tensions in the Persian Gulf, the state-run Press TV reported.
The ship is currently anchored off the coast of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory on the edge of southern Spain.
It comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran. Earlier this week, Iran announced it would stop complying with several parts of the 2015 nuclear deal that the Trump administration withdrew from last year.
The vessel was suspected of carrying oil to Syria, in breach of European Union sanctions.
On Thursday the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) welcomed what it called "firm action by the Gibraltarian authorities, acting to enforce the EU Syria sanctions regime."
While John Bolton, national security adviser to US President Donald Trump, also chimed in with the tweet: "America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade," he wrote.

Tanker 'loaded Iranian oil months ago'

In mid-April, the Grace 1 loaded up with Iranian oil and turned off its tracking signals to avoid detection before sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa to the Strait of Gibraltar, according to an article published in maritime publication Lloyds List earlier this week.
"Any tanker with Iranian crude follows a similar pattern of behavior: they do that by turning off their AIS transponder, turning it on and off in order to circumvent being tracked," Michelle Wiese Bockmann, the author of the article, told CNN on Thursday.
"They have deliberately taken measures to circumvent identifying the ship's destination, location and cargo origin."
The Grace 1 is anchored near a Royal Marine patrol vessel in the British territory of Gibraltar.
Samir Madani, co-founder of Tanker Trackers -- which monitors vessels through satellite and maritime data -- told CNN that the Grace 1's journey around Africa took two-and-a-half months, a month longer than usual. He added that he did not believe the vessel was carrying crude oil but instead fuel oil from Iran's Abadan Refinery.
"We can also see that she is heavily laden in the water. Her hull is 22.5 meters deep, meaning that she is carrying 2 million barrels of a very heavy liquid. Heavier than crude oil," he said. "Not only that, but her previous assignments were transfers of fuel oil in Umm Qasr (Iraq) and Khor Fakkan (UAE)."
Madani also added that he believes the ship's destination was not Syria's Baniyas Refinery as the waters would be too shallow for the vessel to enter.
"Instead, we believe that the fuel oil was intended for ship-to-ship transfers to other vessels within Syria's maritime borders," Madani said.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/middleeast/oil-tanker-gibraltar-iran-intl-gbr/index.html

2019-07-05 15:31:00Z
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India budget 2019: The key announcements and what they mean - BBC News

India's first full-time female finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has presented her maiden annual budget. The BBC's Aakriti Thapar explains what the major announcements were and what they mean for India.

This is the first budget since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landslide victory in the general election this year. There were big expectations because it came against the backdrop of an economic slowdown and record-high unemployment levels.

Ms Sitharaman said that India could grow to a $5 trillion (£4 trillion) economy in the next five years (from $2.7 trillion) and outlined her priorities for spending. But she did not announce exactly how all funds would be allocated.

Roads, rail and rural development

The finance minister said boosting the country's infrastructure was the government's top priority. This is in line with Mr Modi and his BJP party's main election promise. In his manifesto, he had pledged to spend $1.44 trillion on infrastructure by 2024.

While she emphasised investments ($72bn) to improve railway infrastructure, Ms Sitharaman said the government would also build 125,000km (77,671 miles) of roads over the next five years at a cost of $11.6bn.

Many of the development schemes announced focused on bridging the rural-urban divide.

Targeting 2022, India's 75th year of independence, Ms Sitharaman announced that all houses would have electricity and cooking gas. She also said that all rural households would have clean water supply by 2024.

Tax increases for the wealthy

Corporate tax will be reduced to 25% from 30% for companies that have an annual turnover of up to $58m. This, the finance minister said, would include 99.3% of firms in India. She added that this would boost profits for a large number of companies, but she and experts also say it is an important step to stimulate investments.

While there was no change in the income tax structure for most brackets, Ms Sitharaman announced a 3% increase in taxation for some of the highest earners in Indian society - those with an income between $292,000 - $730,000 - and a 7% increase for those with an income above $730,000.

Foreign investment liberalisation

India recently lost its status as the world's fastest-growing major economy and the government knows it needs to attract investment to spur growth.

Ms Sitharaman said she would examine options to open up foreign direct investment in the aviation, media and animation, and insurance sectors.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

She also said rules would be relaxed for single-brand retail companies. At the moment, such companies - like Ikea and Apple - are required to source 30% of their materials or components locally. Those components aren't always available in India or they are of poorer quality.

Multi-brand retailers like Walmart will have to continue to operate within the same constraints that they currently face. They're only able to sell their products via e-commerce platforms or in conjunction with Indian groups.

In the 2018-2019 Economic Survey presented a day before the budget, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said that an increase in foreign investments would lead to job creation, greater productivity and would also foster exports to create demand.

What's in it for the common man?

While there hasn't been an increase in income tax for most citizens, some products are likely to become more expensive as the government seeks to boost its revenues.

Local taxes on petrol and diesel will increase by two rupees while an import tax of one rupee per tonne has been levied on crude oil. Gold and other precious metals will also become more expensive after import duties were increased.

Some relief may come to the common man via a new tenancy and affordable housing framework but details are yet to be released.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48880908

2019-07-05 15:20:48Z
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Iran Demands Return of Tanker Held in Gibraltar - Wall Street Journal

A British Royal Navy ship, back right, patrols near supertanker Grace 1 suspected of carrying crude oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions after it was detained off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4. Photo: jorge guerrero/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

BEIRUT—Iran demanded the immediate release of one of its tankers impounded with the help of British forces in Gibraltar this week, an incident that has angered Tehran and exacerbated tensions between Iran and Western countries.

The British ambassador to Iran was summoned to the country’s foreign ministry Thursday night shortly after British Royal Marines assisted in the detention of an oil tanker that was bound for Syria in suspected violation of European Union sanctions. Iran has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad through an eight-year war.

A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official told British Ambassador Robert Macaire that the seizure of the tanker was “tantamount to maritime piracy.” The official “stressed that Britain has no right to impose its own unilateral sanctions or those of the European Union in an extraterritorial manner against the other countries,” according to the ministry’s website.

The U.K. Foreign Office didn’t comment on the meeting but in a statement Friday said it welcomed “This firm action by the Gibraltarian authorities, acting to enforce the EU Syria Sanctions regime.”

The European Union doesn’t have broad sanctions in place against Iran and isn’t known to have impounded an Iranian oil tanker before. But it has banned oil shipments to Syria.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which advises the supreme leader, on Friday tweeted that Iran should seize a British tanker if the Iranian vessel isn’t released.

“The Islamic Revolution has never initiated any battles in its 40-year history but has also never hesitated in responding to bullies,” Mr. Rezaei added on Twitter.

A day earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the impounded tanker named Grace 1 was carrying fuel from Iran, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The unusual seizure of the Iranian vessel piles pressure on Tehran, which has tried to find ways to evade U.S. sanctions imposed with the aim of slashing the country’s oil exports to zero.

The incident in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, adds to growing acrimony between Iran and the EU, as Tehran moves toward a second violation of the 2015 nuclear accord on Sunday when it has said it will surpass limits imposed by that agreement on its uranium enrichment. The U.S. pulled out of the deal last year and has imposed sanctions on the country since then.

European nations have worked to keep the pact alive, but tensions with Iran have risen, with Tehran saying Europe hasn’t done enough to offset U.S. economic pressure.

The tanker was impounded in Gibraltar, off the southern tip of Spain, after sailing south to take a long route around Africa.

As U.S. sanctions have bitten harder than the Iranian leadership expected, Tehran has taken a more confrontational approach, and in June shot down a U.S. surveillance drone. Washington also accuses Iran of attacking six oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a charge Iran denies.

In the wake of harsh sanctions by the Trump administration, Iran’s oil exports have fallen to around 230,000 barrels a day, mostly to China, according to a former Iran oil official.

The decline in oil sales has put a serious strain on Iran’s economy. Its budget is based on the assumption that Iran would be able to export 1.5 million barrels a day, already a stark drop from the 2.5 million barrels it exported a day this time last year.

—Benoit Faucon in London contributed to this article

Write to Sune Engel Rasmussen at sune.rasmussen@wsj.com

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-demands-return-of-tanker-held-in-gibraltar-11562337490

2019-07-05 14:38:00Z
52780326163946

India budget 2019: The key announcements and what they mean - BBC News

India's first full-time female finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has presented her maiden annual budget. The BBC's Aakriti Thapar explains what the major announcements were and what they mean for India.

This is the first budget since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landslide victory in the general election this year. There were big expectations because it came against the backdrop of an economic slowdown and record-high unemployment levels.

Ms Sitharaman said that India could grow to a $5 trillion (£4 trillion) economy in the next five years (from $2.7 trillion) and outlined her priorities for spending. But she did not announce exactly how all funds would be allocated.

Roads, rail and rural development

The finance minister said boosting the country's infrastructure was the government's top priority. This is in line with Mr Modi and his BJP party's main election promise. In his manifesto, he had pledged to spend $1.44 trillion on infrastructure by 2024.

While she emphasised investments ($72bn) to improve railway infrastructure, Ms Sitharaman said the government would also build 125,000km (77,671 miles) of roads over the next five years at a cost of $11.6bn.

Many of the development schemes announced focused on bridging the rural-urban divide.

Targeting 2022, India's 75th year of independence, Ms Sitharaman announced that all houses would have electricity and cooking gas. She also said that all rural households would have clean water supply by 2024.

Tax increases for the wealthy

Corporate tax will be reduced to 25% from 30% for companies that have an annual turnover of up to $58m. This, the finance minister said, would include 99.3% of firms in India. She added that this would boost profits for a large number of companies, but she and experts also say it is an important step to stimulate investments.

While there was no change in the income tax structure for most brackets, Ms Sitharaman announced a 3% increase in taxation for some of the highest earners in Indian society - those with an income between $292,000 - $730,000 - and a 7% increase for those with an income above $730,000.

Foreign investment liberalisation

India recently lost its status as the world's fastest-growing major economy and the government knows it needs to attract investment to spur growth.

Ms Sitharaman said she would examine options to open up foreign direct investment in the aviation, media and animation, and insurance sectors.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

She also said rules would be relaxed for single-brand retail companies. At the moment, such companies - like Ikea and Apple - are required to source 30% of their materials or components locally. Those components aren't always available in India or they are of poorer quality.

Multi-brand retailers like Walmart will have to continue to operate within the same constraints that they currently face. They're only able to sell their products via e-commerce platforms or in conjunction with Indian groups.

In the 2018-2019 Economic Survey presented a day before the budget, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said that an increase in foreign investments would lead to job creation, greater productivity and would also foster exports to create demand.

What's in it for the common man?

While there hasn't been an increase in income tax for most citizens, some products are likely to become more expensive as the government seeks to boost its revenues.

Local taxes on petrol and diesel will increase by two rupees while an import tax of one rupee per tonne has been levied on crude oil. Gold and other precious metals will also become more expensive after import duties were increased.

Some relief may come to the common man via a new tenancy and affordable housing framework but details are yet to be released.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48880908

2019-07-05 14:31:22Z
52780322932092

Hong Kong Celebrities Who Support Protests Pay a Heavy Price From China - The New York Times

HONG KONG — As Hong Kong’s protests evolve into a struggle against the grip of authoritarian China, one of the city’s biggest pop stars has emerged as an icon of defiance. She has spoken at rallies, handed out voter registration forms at marches and stood on the front lines with demonstrators, urging the riot police not to charge.

Denise Ho, a Cantopop singer, is just one of many high-profile figures in the decentralized protest movement, but among Hong Kong’s celebrities, she is a rare breed. Ms. Ho threw her stardom behind the city’s pro-democracy movement five years ago and has since been paying the price — being barred in the lucrative mainland Chinese market.

Ms. Ho defended the recent protests after Monday’s destructive turn when a core group of younger protesters stormed the city’s legislative offices. That day, Ms. Ho left a peaceful march to join a crowd outside the complex that was cheering on the students, and was still there after midnight when hundreds of riot police officers moved in to disperse them, with some firing tear gas.

In 2014, Ms. Ho’s career had been taking off in China, and she had played more than 100 concerts there. Then she took part in a protest movement in Hong Kong that called for freer elections in the semiautonomous territory.

The Chinese government barred her from performing and scrubbed her music from the playlists of streaming websites. The blacklisting cut around $120,000 from her annual income, her manager said.

Image
CreditKin Cheung/Associated Press

The ban only emboldened Ms. Ho, reminding her of the need to protect the freedom of speech and other civil liberties that set Hong Kong apart from the rest of China.

“For me, it is always about the people, for the people to be empowered and for them to believe that we can control our destiny,” she said in a recent interview.

But for other celebrities, whose careers have come to depend on the mainland Chinese market, Ms. Ho’s punishment served as the latest warning from the governing Communist Party that it has a low tolerance for political dissent. Most stars stay out of politics. Others have chosen to support Beijing, and have been rewarded.

“Most of these people have stayed silent,” said Ms. Ho, who has livestreamed her appearances at demonstrations, including one in which she appeared to be shoved by a police officer. “It gets really frustrating and of course lonely for the people, especially for the younger people.”

[Here’s what to know about Hong Kong’s evolving protest movement.]

From her privileged perch, Ms. Ho has given voice to Hong Kongers’ grievances across the world, speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum, writing op-ed pieces and giving interviews. She is scheduled to speak to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

Yet few among Hong Kong’s performers have made public appearances at the huge protests of recent weeks against a bill that would allow extraditions to China.

Image
CreditVincent Yu/Associated Press

It is a stark contrast to 1989, when Hong Kong was still a British colony in the midst of a golden era of entertainment and there was little in the way of a mainland Chinese market. That year, a star-studded list of Hong Kong entertainers turned out for a concert to support the pro-democracy student protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Jackie Chan performed, and the actors Andy Lau and Chow Yun-Fat called in to express their support.

In recent years, as nationalist sentiment in the mainland has grown and the economy has rapidly expanded, the authorities, companies and fans have frequently shunned performers who take stances that are seen to be critical of Beijing.

Aside from Ms. Ho, others blacklisted after the 2014 protests, known as the Umbrella Movement, reportedly also included Mr. Chow and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Some stars found themselves shut out by fans and companies in the mainland. Job opportunities suddenly evaporated.

During the recent protests, several industry organizations, including the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild, issued statements demanding the total withdrawal of the extradition bill.

However, other than Ms. Ho, only a handful of individual entertainers, including the actor Anthony Wong Chau-sang and the Cantopop singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, have spoken out.

Some entertainers who only hinted at their support for the demonstrations have come under pressure to clarify their positions.

Image
CreditVisual China Group, via Getty Images

Miriam Yeung Chin-wah, a Hong Kong actress and singer, posted an image of the term “R.I.P.” on her Instagram, which many fans saw as a tribute to a protester who fell to his death last month. Ms. Yeung later deleted the post without explanation, prompting a wave of criticism from fans who accused her of bowing to mainland pressure.

Charmaine Sheh, a Hong Kong actress popular in mainland China, was subject to a barrage of online attacks after she “liked” a post showing the anti-extradition protests on Instagram, which is blocked in China.

Ms. Sheh apologized soon after. “I was shocked when I later realized what was in the post,” she wrote on a Chinese social media site. “I, Sheh Sze-man, love the country and love Hong Kong!”

A few stars such as the actor Tony Leung Ka-fai and the singer Kenny Chung have publicly supported the police, whom protesters condemned for using excessive force when dispersing crowds.

“It’s a bit dangerous for us to come out today as public figures,” Mr. Chung said at a pro-police rally on Sunday. “But we are not speaking about politics — we are talking about justice.”

Others have pleaded ignorance.

Jackie Chan, the superstar Hong Kong-born actor of “Rush Hour” fame, was in Taiwan to promote a new album last month when reporters asked about his views on the protests in Hong Kong. Mr. Chan said he had only just learned about them.

Image
CreditChiang Ying-Ying/Associated Press

“I don’t know anything about it,” he said.

Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, 57, the Cantopop singer, is one of the few established artists who spoke out against the extradition bill along with Ms. Ho. He came out as gay in 2012 and said the experience encouraged him to break the industrywide silence about politics.

“I am a civilian first,” Mr. Wong said in a telephone interview, “then a musician and also a social activist.”

But speaking in support of the Umbrella Movement, which Beijing criticized as a national security threat, came at a high cost. Mr. Wong said he had lost more than half of his annual income that came from China, as well as partnerships with international brands.

“I’ve been singing for 30 years and I can afford to pay this price,” he said. “A lot of people would then become too scared to speak up or express themselves. This is the most chilling part of it.”

Ms. Ho said that choosing to speak out had been liberating. “I am feeling quite free,” she said.

On Friday night, the singer spoke to a rally of about 1,000 protesters and urged them to persevere despite the arrest of several demonstrators.

“We have to learn how to turn a short-term protest into a long-term resistance,” she said. “And we have to learn how to integrate our resistance into our daily lives.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/05/world/asia/hong-kong-protests-celebrities.html

2019-07-05 14:11:33Z
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Three sisters who killed abusive father charged with murder in Russia. Outrage ensued - USA TODAY

MOSCOW, Russia — One evening last summer, Mikhail Khachaturyan decided that his living room wasn't tidy enough, so he summoned his three teenage daughters one by one and doused each with pepper spray.

There was little unusual about this evening in the Khachaturyan household, according to court records, except for one thing: The sisters decided they couldn't take the violence and abuse anymore. They waited until their father fell asleep in his rocking chair and attacked him with a kitchen knife and a hammer. He put up a fight, but died within minutes.

The Khachaturyan sisters, now aged 18, 19 and 20, were charged last month with premeditated murder, in a case that has drawn outrage and shone a light on the way the Russian justice system handles domestic violence and sexual abuse cases.

More than 200,000 people have signed an online petition urging the prosecutors to drop the murder charges, which could land the sisters in prison for up to 20 years.

Supporters of the sisters have protested outside Russian embassies in more than 20 locations abroad, and a theater has staged a performance in solidarity. They had planned a major rally in central Moscow on Saturday, but said they had to cancel it, citing city hall refusing to provide security for the gathering.

"The Khachaturyan case is quite indicative of the general situation with domestic violence and how the Russian state responds to this problem," says Yulia Gorbunova, who authored an extensive report on domestic violence for Human Rights Watch last year.

'Totally powerless': The startling toll on children who witness domestic violence is just now being understood

Pressured by conservative family groups, President Vladimir Putin in 2017 signed a law decriminalizing some forms of domestic violence, which has no fixed definition in the Russian legislation. Police routinely turn a blind eye to cases of domestic abuse, while preventive measures, such as restraining orders, are either lacking or not in wide use.

Court filings showed that the Khachaturyan sisters were repeatedly beaten by their father, a war veteran, and sexually abused. He had kept a stockpile of knifes, guns and rifles at home despite having been diagnosed with a neurological disorder, and was known to shoot indoors. He repeatedly threatened neighbors and family with violence.

The Khacharutyan sisters' lawyers say the girls were driven to the edge.

"The first day we met," Krestina's lawyer Alexei Liptser said, "she said she's better off here, in jail, than living at home the way she had been."

Going to the police was not an option for Khachaturyan's victims, who feared that life for them would only get worse. The girls had shared some of the horrors they had gone through with school friends but pleaded them not to go to the police. In the year before the attack, the girls attended less than two months of classes in total, but the school administration did not interfere.

Prosecutors acknowledge the extraordinarily violent circumstances that pushed the teenagers to attack and eventually kill their own father, but they insist that Maria, Angelina and Krestina should be tried for murder. The sisters' lawyers argue that they were acting in justified self-defense in circumstances of lasting abuse and life-threatening violence.

Opinion: Why I work the domestic violence helpline: Men have a responsibility to pick up the pieces

The sisters have been released on bail and barred from seeing each other, witnesses in the case or the media. They are reportedly in good spirits. "At least, no one is beating them up," Liptser says.

The case of the three timid teenagers has inspired 29-year-old Zarema Zaudinova to direct a performance at the underground Theater Doc last week, combining the hair-raising experiences of the sisters with performers' own personal stories. Some members of the audience walked out after one of the more graphic accounts of abuse.

For Zaudinova, the Khachaturyan case was the last straw.

"We have no protection," she says. "We will either get raped or we will get thrown into prison if we defend ourselves."

Research on Russian criminal court cases compiled by media outlet Media Zona shows that out of 2,500 women convicted of manslaughter or murder in 2016 to 2018, nearly 2,000 killed a family member in a domestic violence setting.

Human Rights Watch has documented cases where "a very clear case of self-defense" was not recognized as such by prosecutors and led to the victim's imprisonment, according to Gorbunova.

"The choice is not whether you go to the police and get help," she says. "The choice for these women was either to die or they had to protect themselves to the best of their ability."

Almost 2,000 people have recently posted first-person accounts of abuse and victim blaming to social media, after a young woman facing criminal charges for injuring her alleged rapist launched the hashtag #It'snotmyfault.

The bill to replace jail terms with fines in certain cases of domestic violence breezed through the Russian parliament in 2017 and was promptly signed by Putin. Despite its detrimental effect on domestic violence victims, the measure sparked a rare public debate on domestic violence and abuse in a country where a proverb goes: "If he beats you, that means he loves you."

Gorbunova says that public perception of domestic violence has been changing, triggered by the highly publicized court cases like that of the Khachaturyan sisters or the case of Margarita Gracheva, whose husband, previously reported to the police for threats of violence, took her to a forest and chopped off both of her hands. Gracheva endured online bullying and accusations of "provoking" her spouse before her husband was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year, a rare win for a victim of domestic violence in Russia.

The women of Theater Doc say the verdict in the Khachaturyan sisters' case would send a strong message to Russian society.

"We need to fight for it, and talk loud and clear about it," says Zaudinova, who herself told a story onstage of being molested by a male relative at the age of 12. "If the girls get sent to prison and the court doesn't acknowledge that that was self-defense, they will be putting more people in prison and you won't be able to do anything to the person who decided to rape you."

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/05/khachaturyan-sisters-russia-killed-father-charged-murder/1655129001/

2019-07-05 13:07:00Z
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Sudan celebrates end of stand-off between military leaders and opposition - CNN

Sudan's military leadership and the country's pro-democracy movement have agreed to form a rotating, joint sovereign council that will govern "for the next three years or a little longer," Mohamed el-Hassan Labat, the African Union's envoy to Sudan, said early Friday.
Under the agreement, the military council will be in charge of the country's leadership for the first 21 months. A civilian administration will rule the council during the following 18 months.
The joint sovereign council will consist of five members of the military and five civilians, in addition to one civilian chosen by consensus from both sides.
"Today our revolution has won and it waves the flags of victory," the opposition Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) said Friday.
The two sides have also agreed to launch an investigation into street violence committed since the ouster of long-time President Omar al-Bashir in April.
Talks between the military leadership and opposition groups collapsed after security forces broke up a protest camp outside Khartoum's military headquarters on June 3. More than 100 protesters were killed in the crackdown.
Ethiopia's government and the African Union mediated talks that led to Thursday's agreement, Labat said. Tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Sudan's cities in the run-up to the deal.
Under Friday's agreement, a joint council will govern for the next three years.
The Transitional Military Council has been in power since the military overthrew al-Bashir in April. The coup followed months of protests that engulfed the country.
Sudan's pro-democracy movement remained on the streets after Bashir's ouster, demanding a transition to civilian rule.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/africa/sudan-celebrates-intl/

2019-07-05 11:00:00Z
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