Friday, September 17, 2021

*) HRW reports 'war crimes’ attacks on Eritrean refugees in Tigray Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia's Tigray have suffered abuses ranging from executions to rape in what amount to "clear war crimes", Human Rights Watch says. The rights watchdog says the Tigrayans distrusted them as they were the same nationality as occupying Eritrean soldiers, who in turn doubted the refugees' loyalty. HRW said it had received credible reports that Eritrean troops killed 31 people in Hitsats, one of the two camps in Tigray where abuses were documented. *) Google, Apple remove Navalny app from stores as Russian elections begin Google and Apple have removed jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny's tactical voting app from their stores, after Russia accused the tech giants of interference. Russians are voting to elect a new parliament in a three-day vote starting on Friday. The ruling United Russia party is expected to win despite a rating slump after the biggest crackdown on the Kremlin's critics in years. Allies of Navalny, President Putin's fiercest opponent, planned to use the app to help voters find and support candidates to deal a blow to United Russia. *) US defends nuclear sub deal with Australia The US has defended its decision to share nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia, rejecting criticism from both China and France. China claims the new alliance, referred to as Aukus, damages regional stability, and jeopardises efforts to halt nuclear weapon proliferation. But White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said the agreement is not aimed at China, although the US has mounting concerns about Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. *) Austria hears first lawsuit over virus outbreak in ski resort The first civil lawsuit begins in a court in Vienna over a notorious outbreak of Covid-19 at the ski resort of Ischgl in March 2020, where thousands of people from 45 countries became infected. The case is the first of 15 lawsuits filed by plaintiffs from Austria and Germany, accusing authorities of not respo