The United Nations says it resembles “a massive internment camp, shrouded in secrecy.”

But China says the facility is a “vocational education and employment training centre.”

More than a million Uighur Muslims are believed to be held in the Western region of Xinjiang – a mainly Uighur populated area.

Beijing denies accusations of the mass detentions, saying Uighurs who have been involved in crime are being given a second chance through vocational work.

But the centres where they are thought to be held have come under increasing scrutiny by many rights groups.

During questioning at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, which is reviewing China’s human rights record this week, Beijing said it protects the freedoms of its ethnic minorities.

But will the growing international pressure make any difference?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Max Oidtmann – assistant professor of history at Georgetown University

Einar Tangen – political and economic analyst

Sophie Richardson – China director at Human Rights Watch

Source: Al Jazeera News

Manchester City and Paris St-Germain “are cheating and should be sanctioned”, according to La Liga following financial conduct allegations.

German news magazine Der Spiegel says City and PSG overvalued sponsorship deals to help meet Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

And it says that in 2014 the clubs negotiated with Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was then general secretary of European football’s governing body Uefa, to agree reduced punishments.

City say they will not be commenting on the claims and that the attempt to damage their reputation is “organised and clear”.

Paris St-Germain have been contacted for a response.

Joris Evers, chief communications officer for Spain’s top flight La Liga, told BBC Sport: “The Football Leaks documents [in der Spiegel] appear to confirm what we have been saying for years. Both PSG and Manchester City are cheating and should be sanctioned.

“We certainly hope Uefa will take the right decisions and enforce Financial Fair Play rules, but we don’t have full confidence that they will.

“Should Uefa fail to act, we will do what we have said before: launch a complaint with European Union competition authorities.”

Responding to the claims, City manager Pep Guardiola said he “trusts the club and what they have done”.

He added: “I’m part of the club, I support the club. We want to do what we have to do in terms of the rules.”

‘Project Longbow’ and ‘global enemies of football’

In its latest claims, Der Spiegel says Manchester City used “creative solutions” to avoid costs, calling their endeavour ‘Project Longbow’.

That included selling players’ image rights to an external company, therefore writing off that cost from their accounts.

The external company paid City “almost 30m euros” (£26m) and were then reimbursed approximately £11m a year in secret by owner Sheikh Mansour’s holding company, Abu Dhabi United Group.

The magazine said the name ‘Longbow’ was chosen, according to City’s chief legal adviser, Simon Cliff, as it was “the weapon the English used to beat the French at Crecy and Agincourt” in the Hundred Years’ War.

French Uefa president Michel Platini was the man behind FFP.

In an internal memo seen by the magazine, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano said: “We will need to fight [FFP] and do it in a way that is not visible, or we will be pointed out as the global enemies of football.”

What punishments did Man City suffer?

Uefa found City had breached FFP rules in 2014 and the two parties reached a settlement, with City paying a £49m fine – £32m of which was suspended – while their Champions League squad was reduced for 2014-15.

Der Spiegel calls the settlements “weak” and claims Uefa “wasn’t even entirely aware of the degree to which it had been deceived”.

It says that Uefa was unaware of the arrangement with the external company and it was only raised when auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers took a closer look on behalf of the European football governing body.

“This was a very good deal for MCFC,” a PwC analyst, said, according to Der Spiegel. But the magazine said the analyst “was having trouble” figuring out “how the [external company] expected to make a return”.

Documents also suggested that Abu Dhabi United Group had invested more than £1.1bn in 2012, four years after Sheikh Mansour took over the club.

Since 2008, City have won three Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and three League Cups, and have spent more than £1.4bn on players.

Four former presidents, three ex-prime ministers, a pastor and a popular rock singer; when it comes to picking their next head of state, voters in Madagascar are not short of options.

Far from it. Overall, the names of 36 hopefuls will be on display in the A3-sized ballot papers on Wednesday, when nearly 10 million registered voters will take to the polls to determine who will lead the Indian Ocean nation for the next five years.

Polling stations will be open from 6am local time (03:00 GMT) until 5pm local time (14:00 GMT).

But the build-up to the high-stakes vote has been marred by controversy over campaign spending and allegations of corruption, as well as protests against proposals to change the country’s electoral laws.

Here’s all you need to know about Wednesday’s presidential election.

Why does the vote matter?

The world’s fourth-largest island and home to about 25 million people, Madagascar has been beset by frequent political upheaval since becoming independent from France in 1960.

A disputed 2001 presidential election led to violent clashes that ended with Marc Ravalomanana, then-mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, taking power.

The outgoing leader was Didier Ratsiraka, a one-time Marxist who had ruled since 1975 and went into exile.

In in 2009, Ravalomanana was toppled in an army-backed coup by Andry Rajoelina, another Antananarivo mayor.

But neither of them was allowed to run in the last elections, in 2013, which were won by Hery Rajaonarimampianina.

Earlier this year, Rajaonarimampianina’s attempt to amend electoral laws sparked months of protests, with political opponents claiming the proposed changes were aimed at barring their candidates from taking part in Wednesday’s poll.

Following the demonstrations, the Constitutional Court ordered the 60-year-old to form a government of national unity with a “consensus prime minister” in order to avert a full-blown crisis.

Sahondra Rabenarivo, a member of locally-based electoral observer organisation Sefaifi, told AFP news agency the “challenge of this year’s election is to consolidate peace”.

In Madagascar, presidents operate as the head of state, positioned above the country’s prime minister and its bicameral parliament.

The multitude of candidates hoping to fill the post – only five of which are women –  points to a “weakness of political parties” in the country’s fragile democracy, Rabenarivo said.

Who are the top contenders?

Rajaonarimampianina, Ravalomanana and Rajoelina – all former presidents – are widely seen as the frontrunners among an assortment of political leaders, business figures and celebrities.

A pre-vote poll conducted by the German-headquartered Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) gave Rajoelina 25 percent of votes, Ravalomanana 17 percent and four percent for Rajaonarimampianina.

The Malagasy government banned publication of the study, citing a threat to “public order”.

It was later obtained by and reported on by AFP, however.

Ranked in pole position by the FES study of voter intentions, Rajoelina has drawn impressive numbers to his pre-election rallies.

Nicknamed the “disc jockey” on account of his past as a party-promoter in Antananarivo, the 44-year-old has proposed to make the eastern port city of Tamatave the “Miami” of Madagascar. He has also vowed to install electronic tracking devices on cattle to curb widespread theft of the animals.

For his part, Ravalomanana, a 68-year-old self-made agro-business mogul, has promised to equip school children with electronic tablets.

Rajoelina and Ravalomanana were both prevented from running during the previous election five years ago – Rajoelina for not filing his candidacy papers before the deadline, an electoral court ruled, while Ravalomanana was prevented from entering the country after fleeing into exile following his 2009 removal from power.

Fellow contender Rajaonarimampianina, a beneficiary of the pair’s ban in 2013, has promised to initiate a “a new phase in development” if elected.

In line with article 46 of Madagascar’s constitution, he resigned 60 days prior to this year’s polls, on September 7.

How does voting work?

If none of the three-dozen hopefuls win more than 50 percent of the votes cast, a runoff between the two best performers will be held on December 19.

The winner will serve a five-year term, beginning in January 2019.

According to reports, 9.9 million people are eligible to take part in the elections. 

Preliminary results are expected by November 14 and officials have until two weeks past then to declare the final outcome.

Have there been any controversies?

A number of the less-fancied candidates have alleged irregularities in Wednesday’s voters roll and unsuccessfully called for the polls to be delayed.

Campaign spending has also presented a source of controversy.

There are no laws capping the financing of candidates’ bids for office, prompting concerns some contenders have disproportionately large election war chests.

The three frontrunners have crisscrossed the island – which is bigger than Spain, Thailand or Iraq – by helicopter in a bid to reach would-be voters, a strategy not all candidates can afford.

According to FES spokesperson Marcus Schneider, the 2013 election was “one of the most expensive in the history of Madagascar”.

“A study by the European Union, which came out in 2016, claimed the campaign budget of the winner in 2013 [Rajaonarimampianina] was $43m, meaning he spent more per-voter than US President Donald Trump did [in the 2016 US election],” Schneider told Al Jazeera.

What are the key issues?

Many voters see access to basic services such as water and electricity, as well as job creation, as their basic priorities.

Despite being the leading global producer of vanilla and a major exporter of Sapphire gems to the international market, more than 76 percent of Malagasys live in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank, subsisting on less than $2 per day.

The United Nations Human Development Index – which measures health, education and economic performance – ranks Madagascar 161st out of 189 countries.

Its agriculture sector, the main source of income for most people, is vulnerable to regular weather-related disasters such as tropical storms, flooding and drought.

Nearly 50 percent of children under the age of five are affected by malnutrition, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), making Madagascar the fifth worst affected country in the world.

Meanwhile, fewer than eight percent of the population, about two million people, are active internet users.

“We hope, [the new president] will be able to recover the country and to defeat its most persistent demons: poverty, corruption, impunity, bad governance,” Ketakandriana Rafitoson, director of anti-corruption NGO Transparency International’s Madagascar branch, told The Associated Press news agency.

“Unfortunately, this looks bad because those who are likely to win these elections are the specialists and sources of these vices mentioned above … One after another, they have pushed this country into the abyss in which it is today,” Rafitoson said.

Madagascar was ranked 155th out of 180 nations in Transparency International’s 2017 corruption perceptions index.

It’s easy to say ‘poor Jimmy’, but he had a charmed life in a way and he seemed determined to live life to the full.

Jimmy Seed was revered as a special player and respected as a manager.

The battle for the rebel-held city of Hodeidah in western Yemen has placed dozens of children in a hospital “at imminent risk of death”, according to the United Nations’ children’s agency (UNICEF).

The urgent warning on Tuesday came amid reports of fierce clashes between pro-government forces, which are backed by a Saudi-UAE-led military coalition, and Houthi rebels near the strategic Red Sea port, where hundreds of thousands of civilians could be trapped as war closes in.

“Intense fighting in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah is now dangerously close to al-Thawra hospital – putting the lives of 59 children, including 25 in the intensive care unit, at imminent risk of death,” UNICEF said in a statement.

The agency said that medical staff and patients in the hospital in southern Hodeidah city, just 500 metres from the port, heard heavy bombing and gunfire.

“Access to and from the hospital, the only functioning one in the area, is now imperilled,” it said.

The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by the Houthis, who toppled the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Saudi-UAE-led alliance, which is backed by the United States, intervened in 2015 in the form of a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling Hadi’s government.

In June, the coalition launched a new offensive to retake Hodeidah, held by the Houthis since 2014.

The city is the main portal for humanitarian aid to the suffering population of Yemen, where famine looms over 14 million people – half of the country’s population – and a child dies every 10 minutes, according to the UN.

“The toll in lives could be catastrophic if the port is damaged, destroyed or blocked,” UNICEF said.

The Saudi-UAE coalition has imposed a blockade on the port, allegedly as part of efforts to prevent the Houthis from using it as a landing point for weapons supplied by Iran – an accusation denied by both the rebels and Tehran.

Rights groups are also warning that the worst could be yet to come in Hodeidah.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said: “As fighting intensifies in Hodeida, MSF is concerned for patients and staff at Al-Salakhana hospital and for thousands of residents who remain in the city.

“All parties to the conflict must ensure that civilians and facilities such as hospitals are protected in Yemen,” the aid group said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Refugee Council on Monday warned fighting and air strikes in Hodeida threatened “to further deteriorate civilians’ access to safety and aid”.

Save the Children has reported almost 100 air raids counted by its staff at the weekend – five times as many as in the whole first week of October.

The poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen is now home to what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

According to the UN, at least 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition entered the conflict.

The death toll has not been updated in years, however, and is likely to be far higher – the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, an independent watchdog, recently said around 56,000 Yemenis had been killed in the violence.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

The United States Olympic Committee is seeking to strip USA Gymnastics (USAG) of its status as a national governing body, saying “athletes deserve better”.

In January ex-USAG team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years after nearly 160 women accused him of sexual abuse.

His victims included Olympic champions Aly Raisman and Simone Biles.

USAG chief executive Kerry Perry resigned in September after criticism of her handling of the fallout.

A month later interim boss Mary Bono also stepped down.

Bono previously worked for a law firm which defended USA Gymnastics and Nassar during a sex abuse scandal in 2015.

She had also been criticised after appearing to oppose a Nike advertising campaign with Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL player and civil rights activist.

‘Today is only the beginning’

Explaining the decision to begin proceedings, United States Olympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland wrote an open letter to “gymnasts and the gymnastics community in the United States”.

It read: “Seeking to revoke recognition is not a decision that we have come to easily, but I believe it is the right action.

“We believe the challenges facing the organisation are simply more than it is capable of overcoming in its current form.

“Even weeks ago, I hoped there was a different way forward. But we now believe that is no longer possible.

“Today is only the beginning of an important process for gymnastics in the United States. The path is not crystal clear, but our motives are.

“We move forward, committed to ensuring the type of organisation each gymnast and the coaches, trainers and club owners who support them, deserves.”

Rachael Denhollander, the first gymnast to come forward with allegations against Nassar, said “a complete regime change should start right now” and that the news was “for every survivor”.

She added: “After overseeing the abuse of hundreds of children by Larry, national coaches and club coaches, it is high time for this organisation to end and a new one, truly dedicated to athlete safety, to begin.”

Archaeologists working at a dig in Cairo have found several fragments of stone slabs with inscriptions that could be 4,000 years old, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities said.

Some of the limestones date to the 12th (founded in 1991 BC) and 20th dynasties, of the Middle and New Kingdoms, the ministry said on Tuesday.

German Egyptologist Dietrich Raue, the head of the mission, said one inscription refered to Atum, an important and frequently mentioned god, as being responsible for the flooding of the Nile River in the Late Period between 664 and 332 BC.

Matariya, in eastern Cairo, was once part of the ancient city of Heliopolis, or the city of the sun.

Egypt has seen a haul of archaeological finds over the past two years.

A sandstone sphinx dating to the Ptolemic Dynasty was found in the southern city of Aswa in September.

The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt for roughly 300 years – from around 320 to about 30 BC.

In May 2017, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of what is believed to be the 3,700-year-old burial chamber of a pharaoh’s daughter in a suburb of Cairo.

Archaeologists also found 12 cemeteries that are believed to be about 3,500 years old.

Another 17 mostly intact mummies were found that month in central Egypt. These mummies were thought to be from Egypt’s 600-year Greco-Roman period, which began in 323 BC.

Egypt frequently announces archaeological discoveries, hoping this will spur interest in its ancient treasures and revive tourism, called the “lifeblood” of its economy, which declined following a failed revolution in 2011, the military coup that put President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in power and a series of extremist attacks.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

The reign of the self-actualized bop continues, thanks to Carly Rae Jepsen. Late last week, she dropped the glimmering celebration of self “Party For One,” just about a week after Robyn’s magnificent Honey album, and a few days later, Ariana Grande followed it up with one of her own, the much-discussed “Thank U, Next,” a true anthem of loving yourself and realizing you’re the best one for you.

To extend the party, Carly has returned, this time bringing her song to the national spotlight with an appearance on The Tonight Show Monday night (November 5). There were no solo hotel-room fantasies or impromptu parties stemming from emergency blackouts, like in the video. It was just a black-clad CRJ and her squad, delivering the song and beckoning people to dance.

Let’s take a second to shout out the live-band arrangement of this track, which really helps with the dancing impulses. Live drums, man. Does it get any better than that? No offense against backing tracks, but come on. Nothing will get you on your feet faster than some analog percussion.

Also, on a personal level, I appreciate the black wardrobe commitment while singing a song that could very easily be represented with a pastel or neon palette.

“Party For One” is the first taste of an impending new Carly Rae album, due sometime in 2019. In the meantime, watch the wintry, dance-like-we’re-in-a-snowglobe performance above.

Red Star Belgrade v Liverpool live in Champions League – Live – BBC Sport

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Tyson Fury says it is his “calling” to help people with mental health problems and that rival Deontay Wilder’s views on the issue are “uneducated”.

Fury will fight American Wilder on 1 December for the WBC heavyweight title.

It will be the Briton’s third bout since he vacated his WBO and WBA titles to focus on treatment for depression.

“Other than boxing, I think this is my calling – trying to help other people with the same problems,” Fury told BBC Sport.

“Trying to get it across that you are not a weak person, you are not a let down, you are not a failure.

“People won’t laugh at you. It is an illness. Just like cancer. Just like every other illness out there. This is a real, real problem.”

He added: “Mental health is one of the biggest issues we have now in the world. It’s a silent killer. It’s just a constant battle with yourself.

“The more it’s talked about, the more it becomes open and will smash the stigma of mental health.

“If I can get through it and live a normal happy life I suppose everybody else can too.”

What did Wilder say about mental health?

Wilder, 33, has a 40-0 unbeaten record going into the fight in Los Angeles and said Fury was “trying to feed off this mental illness thing like it isn’t a recurring issue with the world”.

“We all have been there – I can tell you stories about myself,” Wilder said.

“[It’s] a state of mind where we feel like killing ourselves and feel like doing the wrong thing or something to ourselves because life isn’t going right.

“He put himself in that position. Drinking is a choice and, once we continue to do it, it becomes a habit. Doing drugs is a choice and, if you continue to do it, it becomes a habit. If that habit continues it becomes life-threatening.

“I’ve been there. We all have been there. I took hold of my life.

“I thought about my kids and said ‘I ain’t going out like no punk’. So now he overcomes this situation and he wants to take advantage of it, which he should.”

What does Fury think about Wilder’s comments?

Fury became world champion in 2015 with a shock win over Wladimir Klitschko but then spent just over two and a half years out of the ring.

During that time, he said he “hated boxing”, admitted to using cocaine and relinquished his titles.

He tested positive for a banned steroid – something he blamed on eating uncastrated wild boar – while he had treatment for depression.

“I had money, fame, glory, belts – I had everything everyone would want,” said Fury. “I had family, kids, house, cars, watches, jewellery, whatever.

“There was no drinking at this time but the day after the [Klitschko] fight I was totally depressed and wanted to die. This is before alcohol and drug abuse, so that opinion means nothing to me at all.

“It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t understand what you are going through but, listening to that message, it’s clear to see that he doesn’t have mental health problems and he has never had mental health problems.

“Some people have never touched a drug in their life or a drink but they still take their life through mental health problems. It’s got nothing to do with drugs or drink.

“I suppose you take the drugs or drinks to get rid of the pain and get out of what you are going through. You don’t do it to get yourself in that position.

“So that’s coming from Deontay Wilder and his uneducated opinion on the matter. It’s that sort of behaviour that makes people not want to come out with their problems.

“Deontay Wilder is a boxer. He is not a doctor in mind and mental health.”

Analysis

Jo Loughran, director of the mental health anti-stigma campaign Time to Change

Mental health problems are a serious subject. One in four of us will experience them in any one year, and they should not be oversimplified.

We know that many people are still uncomfortable talking about their mental health problems.

We ask everyone to consider their use of language carefully when discussing mental health – negative comments can have a lasting and damaging impact, making people feel isolated, ashamed and unable to reach out for support.

Back to the fight – how does Fury beat Wilder?

Fury, who has beaten Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta since his return to boxing, and Wilder are both unbeaten going into their fight.

Fury boasts a 27-fight winning streak, while Wilder has 39 knockouts from 40 bouts.

“I’ll beat this guy with what I do best and that’s boxing,” said Fury.

“I think he is the most fearsome puncher of all time. It must be natural because he doesn’t have great ability. What he lacks in boxing, he makes up for in power.”

He added: “You can’t go swimming and not get wet. It’s boxing. Am going to get hit? It’s about getting caught and not getting caught again straight away.

“I don’t fear getting knocked out. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could win.

“But you never can tell. There is no shame in losing. If I beat him or he beats me, I will shake his hand.

“All this nonsense of body bags and all that rubbish – it’s a sport. I don’t hold any hard feelings towards Deontay.”