Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 10, 2022

Afghanistan

The Taliban never misses an opportunity to persecute women. Its latest attack on women’s rights came today when it announced women would be barred from parks and gyms. The ban on visiting parks includes amusement parks where women often bring their children and families gather. Reuters news agency saw at least one woman being turned away from an amusement park in the capital Kabul. The move is just the latest in a long line of deplorable restrictions imposed on women by the group, including banning them from school and a long list of professions as well as ordering them to cover themselves head-to-toe in public. Women - many of whom have bravely publicly protested the curbs - have been beaten for demanding their rights.

Egypt

Jailed Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah - who has been on hunger strike - has had “medical intervention” in prison, his family today said they had been informed by prison authorities. The precise nature of the intervention is unknown but fears had been expressed that Abd el-Fattah could be force-fed. The activist, who rose to prominence during the Arab uprisings of 2011, began refusing water on Sunday to coincide with the beginning of the COP27 climate summit, which has seen scores of world leaders jet into Egypt. His family hoped the conference, and the presence of so many heads of state, could be used to pressure Egyptian authorities into releasing him.

Ethiopia

It’s been more than a week now since Ethiopia’s warring sides signed a peace deal in South Africa. But, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), aid groups have yet to reach the millions of people in the country’s Tigray region who desperately need help. The Ethiopian government had been accused of blockading Tigray - the home region of its Tigray People’s Liberation Front enemies - and not allowing aid through before the deal was signed. “Nothing is moving in terms of food aid or medicines,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom, who is from Tigray, said. “Many people are dying from treatable diseases. Many people are dying from starvation.”