Spain: Madrid erupts in noise as rallies begin on eve of Int'l Women's Day
Spain: Madrid erupts in noise as rallies begin on eve of Int'l Women's Day
2018-03-08 06:23
Hundreds of feminist activists took to the streets of Madrid on Wednesday, marking the eve of International Women’s day.
Two separate rallies took place in the Spanish capital. One of them included hundreds of women on Sol Square, banging pots and pans. The other one, according to reports, was comprised of feminist activists who marched through Madrid's main boulevards.
Over 300 demonstrations are expected to take place across more than 200 locations in Spain on Thursday for International Women's Day. Participants will march, protest and strike for equality between men and women, united beneath the motto 'If we stop, the world stops'.
South Korea: IPC commends RPC for 'progress' ahead of Paralympics opening
2018-03-08 07:32
Chief organisers of the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games held a joint press conference on the eve of the opening of the games, in PyeongChang on Wednesday.
President of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons said, «Thirty years ago the Paralympics and the Olympics came together as parallel events for the first time since the Tokyo 1964 games, providing a platform for the Paralympics to grow into world 's number one sporting event for driving social inclusion.»
Speaking on the participation of Russian Paralympic athletes after a blanket ban during the last tournament, Parsons added, «we do have to recognise improvements that the Russian Paralympic Committee has made. That's why we're allowing the Neutral Paralympic Athletes Team.»
President of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee Lee Hee-boem echoed Parsons' words, saying, «Thirty years ago, it was Seoul 1988 Games, the Olympic games and the Paralympic games were held in the same city and in the same venue for the very first time. That tradition remains three decades on.»
The 2018 Winter Paralympics will take place from March 9 to March 18, in PyeongChang.
Syria: Aid convoy arrives to Eastern Ghouta
2018-03-08 09:24
A Red Crescent aid convoy arrived at the al-Wafideen checkpoint in Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, to deliver food and basic medicines to Syrian civilians trapped in the rebel-held enclave.
The aid convoy is the second UN-led interagency convoy, carrying health and nutritional supplies, to arrive in Eastern Ghouta since a government military operation to retake the area began last month.
China: 'No intention to displace US' — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
2018-03-08 10:27
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a press conference on the sidelines of an annual meeting of China's parliament in Beijing on Thursday, stressing that China «has no need or intention to displace America.»
While briefing the media on China's foreign policy, Wang Yi added that «China's path is completely different from that of traditional powers» underlining that the country is «on the long march to modernisation.»
He said that China would make a necessary response in the event of a trade war with the United States but added that such a war would only harm all sides.
The Chinese Foreign Minister also commented on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, calling on the United States and North Korea to have talks as soon as possible. He said that peace must prevail, amid signs of easing tension over North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
China: 'Sky is the limit' for Russia-China cooperation — Chinese FM Wang Yi
2018-03-08 10:38
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the «sky is the limit» for bilateral cooperation between Russia and China, during a press conference on the sidelines of an annual meeting of China's parliament in Beijing, Thursday.
The Chinese foreign minister voiced strong confidence in the China-Russia relationship, calling the strategic coordination partnership between the two nations «as unshakeable as a mountain.»
Speaking on the upcoming Russian presidential election, Wang said «we trust that the Russian people will again make the right choice and advance steadily towards national revitalisation.»
Syria: SAA advances through Eastern Ghouta villages
2018-03-08 11:10
The Syrian Arab Army reached the southern Syrian villages of Beit Sawa and Mesraba in the opposition-held district of Eastern Ghouta on Wednesday, according to local sources.
Syrian soldiers were seen passing through the villages of Beit Sawa and Mesraba, which have long been known as strongholds for opposition forces.
Footage shows pillars of smoke rising above Beit Sawa's farms in Eastern Ghouta as tanks approached the enclave.
Russia: Being a lawmaker 'does not give you a right to molest women' — Sobchak on Slutksy case
2018-03-08 14:48
Russian presidential candidate for the Civic Initiative party Ksenia Sobchak commented on Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky's alleged harassment by saying «the fact that you are a lawmaker does not give you a right to molest women» while holding a picket in front of the State Duma in Moscow, Thursday.
Sobchak stood next to the State Duma building in central Moscow, holding a poster reading «Deputies! We don't want you.»
Near the Duma building another woman held a yellow Amnesty international-marked poster reading «Mister Volodin [current State Duma Chairman], are you afraid to investigate harassment cases in the Duma? If so, you should quit!»
Three female journalists have accused Slutsky, the head of the Duma's foreign affairs committee, of sexual harassment. Slutsky has denied all the allegations and threatened to sue the women on defamation charges.
«Специальный репортаж»: Саудовская Аравия. Без паранджи
2018-03-08 14:49
В Саудовской Аравии впервые в истории страны прошел женский марафон. В нем приняли участие более 1,5 тысячи спортсменок. Как меняется жизнь прекрасного пола в одном из самых консервативных государств мира?
Запад с трудом переваривает военную промышленность XXI века РФ
2018-03-08 15:06
Осенью в Европе пройдут масштабные учения сил НАТО. Как сообщил командующий Корпусом морской пехоты США Роберт Неллер, они станут самыми крупными со времен «холодной войны». Участвуют около 45 тысяч военных.
Мальмстрем: ЕС использует механизм Соглашения о гарантиях ВТО
2018-03-08 15:12
Белый дом вводит пошлины на импорт стали и алюминия: 25% и 10% соответственно. Пекин обещает не остаться в долгу. Евросоюз также готовится действовать. Это подтвердила еврокомиссар по торговле Сесилия Мальмстрем.
Ван И: партнерство России и Китая непоколебимо, как гора
2018-03-08 15:13
Китай обязательно даст «оправданный и необходимый ответ» в случае введения США таможенных пошлин на импорт стали и алюминия. С таким заявлением выступил министр иностранных дел КНР. А вот отношения Москвы и Пекина Ван И оценил очень высоко.
Поставки СПГ на Запад и особые зоны в Африке
2018-03-08 15:14
Россия и Зимбабве подписали меморандум о создании специальной экономической зоны. Об этом заявил министр иностранных дел Сергей Лавров по итогам переговоров с президентом африканского государства.
Zimbabwe: Suggestion to meet Tillerson in Addis Ababa was sent contrary to US denial — Lavrov
2018-03-08 15:25
Russian Foreign Minister claimed that him and Rex Tillerson discussed the possibility of meeting and that the relevant suggestion to do so in Addis Ababa had been made by the Russian side, in Harare on Thursday.
«When it appeared that both of us would be in Addis Ababa tonight, we sent our suggestions [to meet] to the Americans and they said that they would consider them,» said the Russian Foreign Minister.
Earlier, the US side claimed that it hadn't received any suggestion from the Russian side for Lavrov and Tillerson to meet in Ethiopia this week.
Sergei Lavrov said that he «didn't want to comment» on the issue but had to after the US claimed that there were no discussions of him meeting Tillerson in Addis Ababa.
«Since they [Americans] deemed it appropriate to make such a statement, I would like to say that it is not true,» stated Lavrov. He went on to say that the possibility of meeting had been discussed since January.
After discussions, Russian and American foreign ministers «agreed that as soon as we realise that we may be somewhere together at approximately the same time, we are going to try to meet,» claimed Lavrov.
Без паранджи: новая жизнь женщин в Саудовской Аравии
2018-03-08 15:30
В Саудовской Аравии впервые прошел марафон, в котором приняли участие больше полутора тысяч женщин. Многие из них бежали три километра в традиционной одежде. Наблюдатели говорят о большом количестве законодательных изменений, которые коснулись женщин.
Суд ЕС отклонил жалобу: Жан-Мари Ле Пен вернет деньги Европарламенту
2018-03-08 15:41
Жан-Мари Ле Пен, бывший лидер французской партии «Национальный фронт», обязан вернуть Европарламенту 320 тысяч евро. Вердикт вынес суд Европейского союза. Деньги Ле Пен израсходовал на оплату работы парламентских помощников. Однако не смог доказать, что они были выплачены по назначению.
В Копенгагене судят предполагаемого убийцу журналистки Ким Валль
2018-03-08 16:04
Суд Копенгагена 8 марта начнет рассматривать дело изобретателя Петера Мадсена, которого подозревают в убийстве шведской журналистки. Ким Валль минувшим летом отправилась с датским инженером в плавание на частной подводной лодке и пропала.
Восточная Гута: наступление вместо перемирия
2018-03-08 16:14
Сирийский ад продолжается. Дамаск увеличивает интенсивность ударов по осажденной Восточной Гуте. Гуманитарный конвой ОНН, Красного Креста и Красного Полумесяца попали под бомбежку. А на севере Сирии курдский анклав Африн сражается с турецкой регулярной армией и отрядами протурецкой оппозициии.
В Австралии нашли 130-летнее послание в бутылке
2018-03-08 16:15
Это послание из бутылки. Ему же 132 года. Оно старейшее из всех ныне известных. Бутылку нашла австралийка Тоня Иллман. Это случилось в январе во время прогулки по пляжу в Западной Австралии.
Глава МИД КНР: партнерство России и Китая непоколебимо, как гора
2018-03-08 16:18
«Партнерство России и Китая непоколебимо, как гора». Так отношения Москвы и Пекина охарактеризовал глава китайского МИД Ван И. По его словам, Китай полностью уверен в отношениях с Россией.
Советский консерватизм: почему Беларусь не расстается со смертной казнью
2018-03-08 16:20
В Беларуси привели в исполнение очередной смертный приговор — в СИЗО-1 Минска расстреляли Кирилла Казачека. Казнь произошла еще в прошлом году, но правозащитники узнали о ней только 6 марта. Сейчас в Беларуси еще пять человек приговорены к смерти и ожидают исполнения приговора
Turkey: ‘International Convoy of Silence’ makes a stop in Hatay to support Syrian women
2018-03-08 17:06
A convoy consisting of at least 150 buses staged a protest in the southern Turkish province of Hatay on Thursday, where protesters called for the release of women they claim are imprisoned by the Syrian government.
Labelled 'International Conscience Convoy,' the convoy reportedly included feminist activists from over 50 countries marking International Women's Day.
According to local media, the organizers say there are more than 6,700 female prisoners in Syrian prisons.
The convoy started its three-day journey in Istanbul on March 6.
«Мне надо на что-то влиять»: Уитни Салдава – новое женское лицо латвийской политики
2018-03-08 17:12
Журналистка, правозащитница, студентка Гарварда, а с недавнего времени — сотрудница НАТО в Брюсселе, работает в проектах против насилия над женщинами по всему миру. Уитни мечтает сделать успешную карьеру политика, а однажды, возможно, стать президентом Латвии, как это сделала Вайра Вике Фрейберга.
Ukraine: Scuffles break out after far-right interrupts feminist march in Kiev
2018-03-08 17:19
Feminists took the streets of the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Thursday to demonstrate for International Women's Day, however, their protest was interrupted by far-right activists.
Images show conflict breaking out between the feminist participants and representatives of ultra-right organisations before the protest began.
Despite the scuffles, the march went ahead, with protesters holding banners and chanting against gender inequality, sexual discrimination and domestic violence.
Собчак провела одиночный пикет у здания Госдумы
2018-03-08 17:21
8 марта у Госдумы прошли одиночные пикеты с требованием привлечь Леонида Слуцкого к ответственности и начать в отношении него расследование. В акции приняли участие активисты правозащитной организации Amnesty International в России и кандидат в президенты России Ксения Собчак. Сегодня же депутат Госдумы от ЛДПР Леонид Слуцкий, которого несколько журналисток обвинили в домогательствах, попросил прощения у женщин, которым «когда-либо вольно или невольно причинил любые переживания». Об этом он написал в своем поздравлении с 8 марта, опубликованном в Фейсбуке.
СМИ: Скрипаль и его дочь находятся в коме
2018-03-08 17:25
«Предполагаемое отравление бывшего российского двойного агента Сергея Скрипаля и его дочери нервно-паралитическим газом "ужасающие и безрассудное преступление», - заявил в четверг представитель премьер-министра Великобритании Терезы Мэй.
Iran: ‘We don’t need permission’ — Khamenei slams US over regional presence
2018-03-08 18:06
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticised the US during a speech at a ceremony celebrating the birthday of Lady Fatima Zahra, an important figure in Shia Islam, in Tehran on Thursday.
«The US government, who is an agent for sedition and corruption, asks 'Why are you present in the region?' Well, do we have to ask for your permission to be present in our region? We should talk with regional governments about that, why should we talk to you?» Khamenei said to the crowds.
Khamenei also slammed Europe with similar criticisms saying: «They say that they want to negotiate with Iran over its presence in the region. It's none of your business. Why are you here?»
The speech came shortly after French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's visit to Tehran in which the FM expressed concerns over regional presence and ballistic programme.
Spain: Thousands of feminists demonstrate in Madrid during historic strike
2018-03-08 18:44
Thousands of feminists demonstrated in Madrid on Thursday to mark International Women's Day, during an unprecedented national strike in the name of gender equality.
Protesters marched under the slogan 'if we stop, the world stops', while chanting and holding banners against sexual discrimination, domestic violence and the male-female wage gap, amongst other issues.
Work has been halted as part of a 24-hour strike organised by the 8 March Commission.
Women are downing tools, boycotting domestic tasks and occupying the streets of Spain.
More than 5 million women have taken part in the 24-hour-strike, trade unions said.
Local media has described the day as 'historic', since this is it is Spain's first nationwide feminist strike.
В Дании судят изобретателя подлодки Мадсена: его обвиняют в убийстве журналистки
2018-03-08 18:49
47-летнему Петеру Мадсену, изобретателю трех подводных лодок, предъявлены обвинения в убийстве журналистки Ким Валль. Известно, что Мадсен согласился дать ей интервью и пригласил прокатиться на одной из подлодок. Но судно затонуло, а журналистку позже нашли утонувшей: без рук, ног и головы.
В музее Гента никак не могут выяснить подлинность картин русского авангарда
2018-03-08 18:51
Скандал в мире искусства, связанный с Музеем бельгийского Гента, где, как уверяли, выставили неизвестные полотна Малевича, Кандинского, Родченко и Гончаровой. Потом появились сомнения по поводу их подлинности. Выяснить, фальшивки это или нет, поручили специальной комиссии, которая ничего сделать так и не смогла. Ее даже отстранили от работы по указу министра культуры.
Syria: Colours and music fill Afrin as women celebrate March 8th
2018-03-08 18:57
Thousands of women took to the streets of Afrin on Thursday to celebrate International Women's Day and demand the end to hostilities led by the Turkish administration in Kurdish-held Syria.
Women with colourful scarfs, flags and musical instruments celebrated the eighth of March, a day marking women's struggle and fight for equality across the world.
«We came to celebrate the eighth of March in the city of Afrin. We reaffirm our support to the resistance. We will stand with you. We will not let anyone occupy this land,» a university student, Astira, said.
Fatima Osso, a resident of Kobany who came in Afrin for the rally, said: «Ask Erdogan to turn back, it is shameful to direct your planes and guns at civilians, in the pain of children, in the face of the elderly.»
Belgium: Migration, radicalisation on EU mayors' agenda for Brussels conference
2018-03-08 19:00
EU mayors tackled issues including migration, radicalisation and means of preventing terrorist attacks as they gathered in Brussels on Thursday for the conference entitled «Building Urban Defences against Terrorism: Lessons Learned From Recent Attacks.»
«We all have our role to play in the fight against terrorism and in the fight against radicalisation at the level of Brussels and at the national level,» European Commission member in charge of the Security Union Julian King said in a statement to journalists.
He added: «That's what we do here today to underline how we can work together both to better protect our public spaces, making it hard to carry out some of the horrible attacks we've seen.»
On his end, EU Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that «migration is still there. And I want to be frank with you; this phenomenon is not going to finish soon. We live in the era of human mobility.»
Jointly organised by the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions, the conference brought together a number of European mayors to follow up on the Nice Declaration of 29 September 2017.
Germany: 'Tschuss!' — Gabriel appears in last official engagement as FM
2018-03-08 19:33
Sigmar Gabriel, German Foreign Minister (German): «Yes.»
Journalist (German): «How do you leave the foreign ministry? With what kind of feeling?»
Sigmar Gabriel, German Foreign Minister (German): «If it is fixed that he will be the new foreign minister, then it's very good feeling, I'm doing just excellent.»
Journalist (German): «And yourself?»
Sigmar Gabriel, German Foreign Minister (German): «I am also fine. Everything is well, bye.»
German Foreign Minster Sigmar Gabriel met his counterpart from Bosnia-Herzegovina Igor Crnadak in his last official international press conference in Berlin on Thursday.
In the morning, the SPD politician was informed that he will not form a part of the next federal government. The current Justice Minister Heiko Mass, also an SPD member, will take his position as FM.
«If it is fixed that he will be the new foreign minister, then it's very good feeling, I'm doing just excellent,» said Gabriel.
Gabriel also talked about German-Bosnian relations, the common interests with the EU as well as the two countries joint fight against organised crime.
Austria: Turkey hopes to end Afrin operation by May — FM Cavusoglu
2018-03-08 19:50
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the ongoing military operation in the northern Syrian district of Afrin should be completed by summer, during a press conference in the Austrian capital of Vienna alongside the country's FM Karin Kneissl on Thursday.
«Iraq and the Syria should be cleansed of all terror organisations. Otherwise all the steps that we are taking on political side will fail,» said Cavusoglu. «When it's been asked of me today if it would be completed by May, frankly we hope that if it would be finished earlier than May. Now the critical stages are over.»
Cavusoglu also said that Turkey and Iraq will carry out a joint operation against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq.
Turkey, the US and the EU see the PKK as a terrorist organisation. Ankara considers the YPG to be a Syrian extension of the PKK.
Russia: Proud St Petersburg feminists rally for International Women’s Day
2018-03-08 21:35
Women held a rally in St. Petersburg’s Ovsyannikovskiy Garden on Thursday to bring attention to gender inequality in Russia.
According to the organisers, the participants hailed from different political backgrounds and social statuses and the goal of the event was to feel united under the banner of Women’s Day.
Women were playing drums and singing songs while others held banners saying ‘proud to be feminist.’
Russia: Volokolamsk residents block road to waste unit after smell lingers for days
2018-03-08 21:58
The police were forced to disperse angry residents in Moscow Region's Volokolamsk on Thursday, after they attempted to block the route to Yadrovo waste plant on Thursday.
Locals blocked trucks carrying waste from reaching the unit while shouting «shame on you.»
The head of Volokolamsk district, Yevgeny Gavrilov, introduced an emergency regime at the Yadrovo waste disposal plant on Friday, following locals' complaints of a strong lingering smell coming from the unit.
Philippines: ‘Mad dog’ Duerte mocked during women’s march in Manila
2018-03-08 22:23
Protesters, comprised of mostly women, descended upon the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila on Thursday to express outrage against the 'macho-fascist' Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte.
The protesters also decried state repression, human rights violations and gender-based violence in celebration of the International Women's Day.
«Women will never allow machismo, sexism, hatred and utter disrespect to women from the president, the mad dog president who is overflowing with anti-women sentiments,» Joms Salvador, Secretary General of a progressive women's organisation Gabriela said to protesters.
The demonstrators marched a mad-dog effigy of Duterte and scorned him by catching the effigy with a giant net.
Poland: Demonstrators praise 'Woman Power' in Warsaw for March 8th
2018-03-08 22:34
Some 2,000 demonstrators marched on the streets of Warsaw on Thursday, marking the annual Women's Day march.
Women and men marched alongside one another with banners and flags while chanting slogans such as «Woman Power» and «We are defending women's lives.»
The demonstrators protested against Poland's anti-abortion laws which restrict women's right to choose and extreme-right groups that often take to the streets of predominantly Catholic Poland.
Russia: Fake UN passports uncovered during St Petersburg police bust
2018-03-08 22:46
Fake United Nations Statelessness passports were uncovered during a police raid against counterfeiting operations in Saint Petersburg, according to footage released on Thursday.
The fake passports, which cost up to 100,000 roubles (US $1,750) each, were being printed and sold in a flat in the Russian city.
The passports are supposedly issued on behalf of the UN, despite no such passport actually existing.
Counterfeit driving licenses and certificates were also found during the search of the premise, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Criminal proceedings pertaining to fraud have been opened against those involved.
Colombia: FARC withdraws Timo from presidential race due to ill-health
2018-03-08 23:07
Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (FARC) party members announced that they will not field presidential candidate Rodrigo ‘Timochenko’ Londono in the country’s May presidential election during a press conference in Bogota on Thursday.
“Due to widely known circumstances about the recovery process of our presidential candidate Timo, after the surgery he went through yesterday along what was already mentioned about the electoral contest, we decided to decline our presidential aspiration”, said FARC party’s senate candidate Ivan Marquez, as Timochenko was hospitalised earlier in the week due to heart problems.
The party is yet to announce whether another candidate with stand in his place.
“We start our campaign despite the fact that about 600 ex-combatants, today militants of our party, are in jail without favours from the amnesty law”, said FARC party vice president Imelda Daza, after the party announced the suspension of its campaigning activities last month, due to “threats to its candidates”.
Formerly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the organisation has since transformed into a political party under the name Revolutionary Alternative Common Force, retaining its FARC initials.
As part of the peace deal in which ended the 52-year civil war in 2016, the new political outfit will be guaranteed five seats in both houses of Congress until 2026.
Spain: Two feminists arrested after clashes with police in Burgos
2018-03-08 23:20
Spanish National Police apprehended a group of feminists who participated in a picket in Burgos and arrested two of them during the Women’s international Day national strike on Thursday.
Police officers clashed against protesters as they entered the Camino de la Plata shopping centre to close its doors, local media said.
The two arrested were released after several hours.
More than 5 million women have taken part in the 24-hour-strike, trade unions said.
Local media has described the day as 'historic', since this is it is Spain's first nationwide feminist strike.
Syria: Russian MoD says humanitarian corridors under attack
2018-03-09 00:49
Armed opposition forces are responsible for an attack on a humanitarian convoy carrying Syrian civilians to a border-crossing out of Eastern Ghouta, stated the spokesperson of the Russian Centre for Syrian reconciliation Yury Yevtushenko, at a press briefing in Damascus on Thursday.
«When civilians moved towards the checkpoint, militants of the Faylak Al-Rahman armed group shot them, burned three cars, and there are dead and wounded,» Yevtushenko said.
He added that ongoing shelling of the 'humanitarian corridor' has suspended transfers and «no one has managed to leave the enclave at the border crossing point at the moment.»
According to Yevtushenko, «international humanitarian organisations, in cooperation with the Syrian authorities, decided to postpone the humanitarian convoy planned for the morning of March 8 to the settlement of Duma at a later date.»
Germany: Thousands of women march through Berlin on Int’l Women's Day
2018-03-09 01:37
Around 8,000 women hit the streets of Berlin for International Women's Day on Thursday.
Marching through the districts of Neukolln and Kreuzberg, the protesters chanted 'feminism' and carried banners such as 'my body, my choice', 'grab them by the patriarchy' and 'women's work is value'.
One protester commented that women «still experience a lot of sexism in our everyday life. It's not only about rape culture, it's about cliches, it's about stigmas and discrimination in all the areas of our everyday life.»
A number of different organisations and groups called for the protests, including Black Lives Matter, female refugee associations and health workers who were on strike on Thursday.
France: Thousands take on Paris for Int'l Women's Day
2018-03-09 02:04
Thousands of Parisian women took to the streets of the French capital to decry social inequalities, sexual and medical violence and to address the wage gap on Thursday for International Women’s Day.
Protesters carried banners with #MeToo and banners depicting influential female figures throughout history as they chanted and played drums.
A group of Kurdish protesters made use of the march to bring attention to the situation is Afrin asking women to «rise up for Afrin.»
Israel: Ultra-Orthodox Jews scuffle with police at anti-IDF draft protest
2018-03-09 02:32
Scuffles erupted between police and ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem on Thursday, as hundreds protested military drafts for their community.
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked off the Chords Bridge entrance to the city as they protested IDF conscription. The protest comes a week after the arrest of a member of the Jewish Jerusalem Faction, who refused to sign a document of deferral of service. While by law, ultra-Orthodox Jews do not have to carry out service they do have to sign a document declaring their deferral.
Military service in Israel is compulsory for all men and women who are 18 years old, but when the country was established in 1948, its first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion allowed 400 ultra-Orthodox Jews to avoid compulsory service to study the Torah.
Earlier in September, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews were unconstitutional.
Turkey: Women fill Istanbul's streets to denounce rise in femicide
2018-03-09 03:05
Thousands of women marched down Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue for International Women's Day on Thursday, denouncing the reported increase in violence against women in Turkey.
Protesters exhibited banners such as «We defend our lives» and «Stop femicide,» while shouting chants against the sex-based hate crime.
According to figures by the We Will Stop Femicide platform, 409 women lost their lives to the hands of men in 2017, which is an increase from 328 in 2016.
Spain: Madrid judders to a halt as thousands of women join 'feminist strike'
2018-03-09 04:35
Thousands of feminists continued to protest long into the night in Madrid on Thursday, to mark International Women's Day, in what is considered an unprecedented national strike in the name of gender equality.
Protesters marched under the slogan 'if we stop, the world stops', while chanting and holding banners against sexual discrimination, domestic violence and the male-female wage gap, amongst other issues.
Work has been halted as part of a 24-hour strike organised by the 8 March Commission. Women are downing tools, boycotting domestic tasks and occupying the streets of Spain.
More than 5 million women have taken part in the 24-hour-strike, trade unions said. Local media has described the day as 'historic', since this is it is Spain's first nationwide 'feminist strike'.
