Latest news with #RihamAlkousaa
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Syrian man handed life sentence in Germany for war crimes
By Riham Alkousaa BERLIN (Reuters) -A German court sentenced a Syrian man to life in prison on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes it said he had committed as a leading member of a Hezbollah-backed militia during Syria's civil war. The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart found the 33-year-old man guilty of leading a militia that carried out brutal attacks on Sunni Muslim civilians in his home town of Busra al-Sham in southern Syria. It did not name the man. In 2013 the militia beat three people with Kalashnikovs and handed them over to the military intelligence of Syria's then-president Bashar al-Assad, which tortured them and kept them in appalling conditions, the court found. In a 2014 raid, the group also forced a 40-year-old man and his family from their home. The man was tortured and later found on the street unable to walk due to his injuries, the court verdict said. Hezbollah, a Lebanese Iranian-backed Shi'ite group, played a major role propping up Assad during the civil war in Syria. German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Based on these laws, several people suspected of war crimes during the Syrian conflict have been arrested in the last few years in Germany, which is home to almost one million Syrians. In a landmark case in 2022 a German court jailed Syrian ex-intelligence officer Anwar Raslan for life for murder, rape and crimes against humanity, in the first ever conviction for state-backed torture committed during Syria's civil war. In January this year, a high-ranking member of the Islamic State militant group, a Syrian national identified as Ossama A., was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Germany, partly for alleged involvement in a genocide against the minority Yazidi community. The trial of the man sentenced on Tuesday began last October and lasted for 42 court days. It included 30 witnesses, most of whom were Syrian nationals now living around the world, testifying over multiple sessions. The court also consulted expert witnesses and reviewed extensive image and video evidence, some of which was made available after Assad's fall from power last December, including images of detention facilities and looted homes. The court said the verdict could be appealed.
Zawya
29-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Syria signs $7bln power deal with Qatar's UCC Holding-led consortium
Syria has signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of international companies led by Qatar's UCC Holding to develop major power generation projects with a foreign investment valued at about $7 billion, UCC said in a statement on Thursday. The agreement involves building four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts, plus a 1,000 MW solar power plant in southern Syria. Construction is expected to begin after final agreements and financial close, and is targeted to finish within three years for the gas plants and less than two years for the solar plant. After 14 years of war, Syria's electricity sector has been suffering from severe damage to its grid and power stations, aging infrastructure, and persistent fuel shortages, generating only 1.6 gigawatts of electricity today, down from 9.5 GW before 2011. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa. Writing by Ahmed Elimam. Editing by Mark Potter)
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany's SPD to decide on backing coalition with Merz
By Riham Alkousaa and Markus Wacket BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democrats will announce on Wednesday whether members have backed a treaty for a coalition with the CDU/CSU conservatives, potentially clearing the last hurdle for the formation of a new government in Europe's largest economy. The conservatives-SPD coalition was the only path to a majority government after both major parties suffered steep losses in the February federal election. They have both ruled out governing with the far-right Alternative for Germany which scored a historic second place. Over the last two weeks, SPD members have voted on the coalition treaty drawn up by leaders of both parties. Their approval, which is widely expected, would enable conservative leader Friedrich Merz to become chancellor on May 6. If SPD members vote down a coalition treaty drawn up by the leaders of both parties, it would throw German politics deeper into disarray just five months after the collapse of the last majority government. Reviving Europe's largest economy, now in its third year of contraction, is a top priority for Germany's next government, amid fears that a trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcements could further hurt its export-driven economy. Despite the SPD's historic low of just 16.4% of the vote, political experts say it secured key gains in the deal, leveraging the conservatives' lack of alternative paths to the chancellery for the next four years. The next coalition aims for example to invest heavily in Germany's infrastructure, raise the minimum wage to 15 euros ($17.01) per hour, keep pensions level at 48% of the current average wage and extend a cap on rents, according to the contract. The SPD also secured the coveted finance ministry, along with six other cabinet posts. The SPD's concessions on tighter migration rules and cuts to unemployment benefits as well as its failure to secure tax hikes for the wealthy have, however, drawn sharp criticism from the party's influential Jusos youth wing, whose leaders have urged members to reject the deal. A rejection by SPD members would leave few viable options: the party could seek to renegotiate the deal, although this is deemed unlikely as many conservatives feel their party already made too many concessions. Parties could consider forming a minority government although that would foster instability. Germany could hold new elections with the possibility the AfD comes in first place after surging in polls in recent weeks. Or the conservatives could reconsider their veto on forming a coalition with the AfD, also widely deemed unlikely. "A no vote would be a disaster for the entire party leadership, and they would then likely have to resign," Jun said. ($1 = 0.8819 euros) (Writing by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Sarah Marsh and Sharon Singleton)
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany halts Afghan refugee admission flights pending new government decision
By Riham Alkousaa BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's outgoing government has suspended flights for voluntary admissions of Afghan refugees for two weeks pending a decision by the next government on how to proceed, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the future governing coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) agreed to curb irregular migration, reflecting a mounting public backlash after several violent attacks by migrants as well as increasing pressure on housing and other infrastructure. After the Western allies' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Germany felt a strong obligation to protect former local staff of German agencies and humanitarian organisations there, and established several programmes to resettle them along with particularly vulnerable Afghans. According to the Federal Foreign Office, a total of 36,000 people have entered Germany under such voluntary programmes, including a good 20,000 who were local staff and their families. Around 2,600 people approved for admission by Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) are currently waiting in Pakistan for a German visa and charter flights, 350 of whom are former local employees, the foreign office added. In addition to receiving admission approval, applicants must complete a visa process and security screening involving the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Police, and the Federal Criminal Police Office. The current Greens-led foreign ministry said that existing admission confirmations were legally binding and could only be revoked under specific conditions. This meant it could be difficult for the new government to cancel them regardless of who takes over the interior or foreign ministries. Germany's outgoing government arranged several resettlement flights in recent weeks, drawing criticism from conservative politicians who argued that the SPD-Greens coalition was rushing to admit new arrivals before it hands over. "For several weeks now, we've been seeing planes arrive in Germany on a daily basis. I believe that's wrong. It creates the impression that an outgoing federal government is trying to establish facts on the ground in its final days," Thorsten Frei, a parliamentary leader of the conservative bloc, said. ProAsyl, a German NGO providing legal help to asylum seekers, warned that halting the final rescue flights would leave vulnerable Afghans at risk of torture or death if returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. "The German government itself has determined their endangerment ... A return or deportation to Afghanistan could mean torture or even death for them," said Wiebke Judith, ProAsyl legal policy spokesperson.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peruvian farmer takes German energy giant RWE to court in landmark climate case
By Riham Alkousaa HAMM, Germany (Reuters) - A German court on Monday resumes hearing a landmark case brought by a Peruvian farmer who argues that the German energy giant RWE's emissions have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers, increasing the flood risk to his home. The case could set a precedent for future climate litigation by holding companies accountable for past emissions and requiring them to help fund climate adaptation for affected communities. Saul Luciano Lliuya, supported by the activist group Germanwatch, wants RWE to pay around 21,000 euros ($23,000) toward a $3.5 million flood defence project. Using data from the Carbon Majors database of historic production from major fossil fuel and cement producers, Lliuya says RWE has caused nearly 0.5% of global manmade emissions since the industrial revolution, and should cover a proportional share of the costs of the global warming they have caused. "Legal experts are watching closely to understand the extent to which this is going ... to set a strong precedent," said Sebastien Duyck, senior attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law. The sum that industrialised countries should contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming - such as rising sea levels or extreme storms and heatwaves - has been argued over at successive U.N. climate summits up to last year's COP29 in Baku. Since then, President Donald Trump has announced the U.S.'s withdrawal from the U.N. process, while other developed countries are diverting aid budgets to domestic challenges or defence spending. Harjeet Singh, founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, dedicated to global climate justice, said cases like Lliuya's could one day generate alternative funding. "We can double down on those companies who are responsible for the crisis and how we can raise the proceeds to help people recover from current impacts," Singh said. RWE, which is phasing out its coal-fired power plants, says a single emitter of carbon dioxide cannot be held responsible for global warming. "If such a claim were to exist under German law, it would also be possible to hold every motorist liable," it said in a statement. GLACIER MELT CAUSES ICE AVALANCHES AND ROCK SLIDES The case started in 2015 in the German city of Essen, RWE's home. It was initially dismissed, but the Higher Regional Court of Hamm let it go forward in 2017. The court must first determine whether melting glaciers are raising water levels in Lake Palcacocha, over 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) above sea level, and pose a direct risk to Lliuya's home in Huaraz over the next 30 years. Court-appointed experts visited the site in 2022, and their reports, released in 2023 and 2024, will be examined in the two-day hearing. Lukas Arenson, a geotechnical expert and vice president of the International Permafrost Association, said the report had focused on the effect of ice avalanches on the water level, but overlooked the greater risk of rock slides from permafrost areas, which play a crucial role in holding mountains together. If the court finds there is a specific flooding risk to Lliuya's home, it will then examine the impact of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions on Andean glaciers melting and increasing the risk, which could take another two years. "We have a strong causal field, and we have also an attribution paper that shows that the glacier would not have retreated at all without climate change," said Friederike Otto, climate scientist at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. A 2021 study by Oxford and Washington universities found that the melting of a glacier in the Peruvian Andes was caused by man-made global warming. Roda Verheyen, Lliuya's lawyer, said the fact that the court had taken on the case was already a win. "Saul ... had very little to no hope that this would get anywhere. And now we're all here." ($1 = 0.9192 euros)
