NGO

Piles of washed up trash on Lebanese shore cause outrage

Beirut - Muslimchronicle

Environmentalists say a winter storm has pushed a wave of trash onto a Lebanese shore just outside Beirut, stirring outrage over a waste management crisis that has choked the country since 2015. Zouq Mosbeh’s beach was covered in a mantle of garbage on Tuesday, after an extended storm battered the Mediterranean country. Paul Abi Rached of the NGO EcoMovement saysRead more

Pope focuses on migrants at final Chile mass

Santiago - Muslimchronicle

Pope Francis highlighted the plight of vulnerable immigrants on Thursday and robustly defended a bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse at the end of a visit to Chile overshadowed by controversy. In the northern border region of Iquique, which he said was "the land of dreams" for so many, the pope hit out at human traffickers and others who seek to takeRead more

NGOs lose case against Norway over Arctic oil exploration

Oslo - Muslimchronicle

A Norwegian court on Thursday dismissed a case by Greenpeace and two other NGOs which sued Norway, western Europe's largest oil producer, over licences it awarded in 2016 for oil prospecting in the Arctic. In a verdict which could be appealed, the Oslo court ruled that the Norwegian state did not violate the Constitution by granting in May 2016 explorationRead more

Relatives mourn Morocco stampede victims

Essaouira - Muslimchronicle

Mourning relatives on Monday started burying the victims of a stampede that killed 15 women during a food aid delivery near the popular tourist town of Essaouira on Morocco's coast. "It's a tragedy," said the husband of one of the victims, breaking down in tears after burying her. Hundreds of women had gathered on Sunday at a marketplace in theRead more

Syria to join Paris climate pact, leaving US only nation left out

Bonn - AFP

Syria said at UN climate talks in Bonn on Tuesday that it would join the Paris Agreement, leaving the United States as the only nation to say it will remain outside the landmark treaty. "We are going to join the Paris Agreement," the Syrian delegate, speaking in Arabic, said during a plenary session at the 196-nation talks, according to SafaRead more

NGO accuses Libya coastguard

Rome - Muslimchronicle

Five migrants including a young child died Monday as result of a "violent, reckless" and "illegal" intervention by Libya's coastguard in a rescue in international waters, a German charity group said. Sea Watch, one of several NGOs which operate search-and-rescue boats in the Mediterranean, said the lives had been lost needlessly because of heavy handed tactics of a coastguard beingRead more

Stars of S.Korean hit TV show marry in real life

Seoul - AFP

Two South Korean stars who played lovers in a TV drama that took Asia by storm last year tied the knot in real life on Tuesday in a highly-anticipated wedding. Actress Song Hye-Kyo, 35, and actor Song Joong-Ki, 32, who played the two leads in the military romance "Descendants of the Sun", married in a star-studded ceremony in Seoul. TheRead more

Israel approves 176 settlement homes for east Jerusalem

Jerusalem - Muslimchronicle

Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved a major expansion of an east Jerusalem settlement, signing off on plans to add 176 homes, the city's deputy mayor said. The expansion would create the largest Israeli settlement inside a Palestinian neighbourhood of the city, NGOs say. It will allow the Nof Zion settlement to add 176 housing units to the 91 existing homes.Read more

Top Turkish civil society figure held at Istanbul airport

Istanbul - Muslimchronicle

Turkish police on Thursday detained a businessman who is one of the country's leading civil society figures, reports said, raising fresh alarm over freedom of expression under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Osman Kavala was detained at Istanbul's Ataturk airport after flying in from the southern city of Gaziantep, the Dogan news agency said. Kavala is the chairman of the AnadoluRead more