A Danish jailed by Russia in Jehovah’s Witnesses crackdown loses appeal – group’s spokesman
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A Danish jailed by Russia in Jehovah’s Witnesses crackdown loses appeal – group’s spokesman

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Danish adherent of the Jehovah’s Witnesses jailed for six years in Russia after being found guilty of organising a banned extremist group lost his court appeal on Thursday, a spokesman for the group said.

Armed police detained Dennis Christensen, a builder, in May 2017 at a prayer meeting in Oryol, some 200 miles (320 km) south of Moscow after a court in the region outlawed the local Jehovah’s Witnesses a year earlier.

A Russian court in February jailed him for six years in a case critics condemn as crushing religious freedom.
Continue reading A Danish jailed by Russia in Jehovah’s Witnesses crackdown loses appeal – group’s spokesman

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Iran Crisis Has Always Been America’s Creation, Enemy of Necessity, and Oil
British government, Iran, Iran's president Hassan Rouhani, Iraq, Middle East, The Central Intelligence Agency, United States of America, US

Iran Crisis Has Always Been America’s Creation, Enemy of Necessity, and Oil

Aug. 20, 1953//Prime Minister Ousted in Coup//The Central Intelligence Agency backs a plan, coordinated with British intelligence, to overthrow the Iranian prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The plan has the approval of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and is conceived because of British concerns over petroleum exports and the relationship of the prime minister with the Soviets. The coup, orchestrated by an American agent, leads to the ouster of Mr. Mossadegh, and the shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, becomes an authoritarian monarch. Continue reading Iran Crisis Has Always Been America’s Creation, Enemy of Necessity, and Oil

Andrea Leadsom resigns: Leader of the House of Commons steps down from government
Brexit referendum, Britain, politics, Prime Minister May, theresa may, United Kingdom

Andrea Leadsom resigns: Leader of the House of Commons steps down from government

“I cannot support this bill”;Commons Leaders Andrea Leadsom as she leaves May’s government

A truly bad day for Theresa May, one which would certainly count as the worst-ever for many other prime ministers, actually began very late the previous night as the newspaper front pages dropped on social media.

Probably the most brutal of a scathing bunch was the Telegraph, traditionally the bible of Conservative thought: “Desperate, deluded, doomed,” it read, above a trio of images of the prime minister in mid-gurn giving her Brexit speech.

With reaction to May’s “10-point offer” becoming more negative by the hour, the apparent No 10 strategy seemed to be to somehow get through the day, and thus on to the media purdah of Thursday’s European elections, and then into next week’s parliamentary recess. Continue reading Andrea Leadsom resigns: Leader of the House of Commons steps down from government

AL JAZEERA’s ‘AJ Shorts’ wins human rights press award in Hong Kong
human rights, Journalism, Journalism Training, Journalists, media, Middle East, Press, Press Freedom, Weather

AL JAZEERA’s ‘AJ Shorts’ wins human rights press award in Hong Kong

The Al Jazeera English Online unit AJ Shorts was honoured alongside fellow awards winners from The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, Washington Post and leading East Asian news outlets at this year’s Human Rights Press Awards ceremony in Hong Kong.

The AJ Shorts digital documentary, Growing up too Fast in Afghanistan, won in the Short Video (English) category, which was announced at the event on May 16. The film is the first-person narrative of a 14-year-old boy, Khudai, whose father was killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) group, forcing him to abandon school and take odd jobs to ensure the survival of his mother and five younger sisters.

Filmed and directed by Preethi Nallu, Growing up too Fast in Afghanistan also garnered two awards at the Webby Awards gala in New York City earlier this month.

Al Jazeera Media Network’s director of Digital Innovation and Programming Carlos Van Meek said he is proud of his team’s accomplishments.

“This was a great collaboration between our broadcast partners and our digital team. I credit everyone involved for thinking laterally and working together across platforms to get the most out of a great story. Much more of this to come,” said Van Meek. Continue reading AL JAZEERA’s ‘AJ Shorts’ wins human rights press award in Hong Kong