China announces ban on British politicians, organizations

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China on Friday imposed sanctions on several UK members of Parliament and British organizations. It’s seen as a retaliation over the UK’s recent move to join the European Union in sanctioning Chinese officials allegedly involved in human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

The sanctions, which ban the group from traveling to China and freeze their assets in the country, are largely symbolic and come after the US and Canada also levied sanctions on Chinese officials over Xinjiang. China has called reasoning for the sanctions “lies and disinformation.” Several  Western countries have described the human rights abuses against Uyghurs as genocide.

The newly announced sanctions follow similar measures China imposed on the European Union and reflect China’s increasingly tough diplomacy under nationalist leader Xi Jinping.

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed released a statement Friday suggesting Eritrea has agreed to withdraw troops from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The announcement comes as the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it will work with the United Nations to investigate reports of killing and raping of civilians, among other human rights violations in Tigray. Ethiopia has come under pressure from Western governments for an alleged massacre in November last year that Human Rights Watch said included summary executions and the killing of children in the historic town of Axum.

And China has released its official view of the COVID-19 origins before an official World Health Organization report that is expected to be released later on Friday. The move appeared to be an attempt at getting the Chinese government version out ahead of the much delayed WHO report that stems out of an investigation that took place in Wuhan in February. The WHO’s investigation has been criticized by the United States and others for coming under the influence of Beijing.

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