Aid at Risk in Yemen: Daily Brief

Aid at risk in Yemen; Another mass shooting in the US; Airstrikes kill civilians in Libya; The "Paradise Papers"; Abuse of female prisoners in North Korea; Forest Defenders at COP23; Turkmenistan activism; Protecting tea workers in India; Seeking equality in China; and Good news from Slovakia

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Amid a disturbing escalation in Yemen's devastating war, civilians may be about to face even more horrors as entry points to the country are shut down.
There's been another mass shooting in the US, this time 26 people were killed when a gunman opened fire in a church in Texas. Police have identified the gunman as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, who - like many mass shooters in the US - had a history of domestic violence.
An investigation into an October 30 air strike in Libya’s eastern city of Derna has revealed that 16 civilians were killed and 4 children critically wounded. Derna medical sources said that most victims were from the same extended family and included 12 children, ages 2 to 16.
A vast trove of documents - the "Paradise Papers" - has been leaked, revealing offshore wealth, tax evasion and corruption of high-level politicians, celebrities and the super rich around the world.
Today not only marks the start of the 2017 climate change talks, but also the end of a long journey for a group of indigenous leaders who have been crisscrossing Europe for weeks drumming up support for indigenous forest defenders. The Guardians of the Forest campaign has been hammering home a key point: One of the best ways to combat climate change is to support the world’s indigenous peoples and local communities in their efforts to protect forests.
Unidentified people in Dashaouz, Turkmenistan, attacked the family home of an exiled human rights activist, where his 76-year-old mother lives alone, Human Rights Watch said today. Turkmen authorities should publicly condemn the attack and ensure that it is effectively investigated and hold those responsible to account.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women should press the North Korean government to stop security officials and prison guards from physically and sexually abusing female prisoners, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 8, 2017, the UN committee will meet with North Korean government officials during its 68th plenary session.
The World Bank should fulfil its commitment to protect workers through its investment in tea plantations in Assam, India, six Indian and international nongovernmental organizations said today. In November 2016, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability office of the World Bank Group’s private sector lending arm, released an investigation report that found low wages, abysmal sanitation, lack of pesticide safety equipment, and inadequate housing on India’s tea plantations – but the bank has since done little to address the problems.

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