News Clips- July 14, 2017

Posted on July 14, 2017 by IJRC

President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta
Credit: AMISOM Photo / Ilyas Ahmed via Wikimedia Commons

Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who previously won the Nobel Peace Prize, died from cancer on Thursday. [New York Times]
On Wednesday, protesters in Zimbabwe demonstrated in favor of fair elections but were met with tear gas and water cannons. [Al Jazeera]
Last weekend, tens of thousands of protesters in Istanbul, Turkey demonstrated against the state of emergency that has been ongoing since July 2016. [Washington Post]

The President of Colombia granted amnesty this week to an additional 3,600 Farc members, following the completion of the Farc’s disarmament last month. [BBC]
A court in Kenya last week ruled that the Dubai-based company set to print ballots for the presidential race in Kenya could not do so due to the company’s ties to the current President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta. [BBC]

Nineteen of the 20 States represented at the recently concluded G20 summit reiterated their commitment to the Paris climate agreement while taking note of the decision of the United States not to follow the agreement. [Guardian]
An iceberg that is 5,800 square kilometers broke off from an ice shelf on the Antarctic peninsula this week. [Guardian]

A recently published declaration from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on human rights defenders recommends expanding protections for defenders in the region. [IJRC]
Several United Nations independent experts expressed concern this week over the power shortages in Gaza, stating that the reduced access to power has led to water shortages, reduced availability of health services, and increased food insecurity. [OHCHR Press Release]

The International Committee of the Red Cross announced this week that there are around 7,000 new cases of cholera in Yemen each day. [BBC]
This week Iraq announced that the government forces have taken the city of Mosul back from the Islamic State. [Washington Post]