Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Monday approved a law that will increase state control of non-governmental organizations, the latest crackdown on opposition in the country. Human rights groups and U.S. officials blasted the law, warning it will turn civil society into another arm of government.

The new law restricts NGO activities to social and development work, and mandates their activities abide by the “state’s development plan.” NGOs will need permission to conduct fieldwork and publish surveys and also must inform authorities before collecting or spending donations of $550 or more. Groups that don’t comply could face either a five-year jail term or a $55,000 fine.

“This is a complete disaster,” human rights defender Mohamed Zaree, told the New York Times. “It’s not just human rights organizations—they are also going after charities and any organized group they do not already control.”

The non-governmental organizations have a year to comply with the law or face dissolution. About 47,000 local NGOs and another 100 foreign nonprofits currently work in Egypt.

Lawmakers passed the bill in November, but it needed the president’s ratification. U.S. officials threatened to cut back American aid to the country if the legislation passed. Egypt has argued the crackdown will keep out terror groups and their influence. The government on Thursday banned 21 news websites, including Aljazeera and Egyptian independent news site Mada Masr. State officials accused the sites of supporting terrorism and dispatching false news.

Human Rights Watch and the United Nations both warned the legislation could turn Egypt’s civic institutions into government puppets. Maged Atef with the Washington Institute said the ratification could signal the final elimination of Egypt NGOs and civil society, especially given the country’s precarious economic situation.

“The Egyptian state, in order to silence a handful of human rights groups if found meddlesome, has strangled thousands of groups shouldering the burdens the government could not handle,” Atef said. “This will cause the very unrest which the war against the rights organizations was intended—according to authorities—to guard against.”

A municipal worker inspects damage to a home after February shelling in the city of Donetsk. Associated Press/Photo by Alexander Ermochenko

Civilians still caught between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels

Civilians living in parts of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine continue to suffer from the protracted conflict, even though it’s no longer making headlines. After Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, pro-Russian separatists seized several Ukrainian cities, including Donetsk. Ceasefire agreements have failed to end the fighting.

Separatists ruling the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) recently sentenced religious scholar Ihor Kozlovskyy to nearly three years in prison. They arrested him in January 2016, and later claimed the 63-year-old possessed two grenades. The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group called the charge “absurd,” especially since Kozlovskyy remained in Donetsk to care for a son with Down syndrome. Militants determined to stamp out dissent have persecuted the non-Russian Orthodox, including Ukrainian Orthodox, Baptists, Jews, and Muslims. Many Ukrainian Orthodox priests fled in 2015.

In addition to persecution, residents in the area continue to face threats from the fighting and the resulting humanitarian crisis. Kyiv Post reported 44 civilian deaths and 181 injuries so far this year. Monitors with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe counted dozens of explosions and hundreds of tracer rounds between May 24 and May 25 in several cities in the region. The group also spotted convoys of “humanitarian aid from the Russian federation” headed to DPR-controlled cities, further confirming Russian support for the uprising.

“Damage to housing, social institutions and infrastructure are beyond the [Ukrainian] government’s capacity to manage,” Vanessa Merlet of People in Need told The Irish Times. “There is still a very real risk of the humanitarian situation deteriorating even further.” —Julia A. Seymour

A municipal worker inspects damage to a home after February shelling in the city of Donetsk. Associated Press/Photo by Alexander Ermochenko

Ethiopia issues terrorism charges over deadly stampede

Ethiopia has issued the first charges against two people for the stampede during a religious festival in October that killed more than 52 people. State authorities accused Tufa Melka of snatching a microphone from community leaders and causing trouble during the festival, while Kedir Bedasso orchestrated the violence by phone. Both men face terrorism charges. The stampede and a series of anti-government protests led the government to declare an ongoing state of emergency. But opposition and rights groups have said the government is using the outcry to stifle dissent. The government on Thursday sentenced opposition politician Yonatan Tesfaye to six and a half years in prison on terrorism charges. Tesfaye posted a series of anti-government messages on Facebook, which the government said encouraged terrorism.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has elected Ethiopia’s former health minister as its new leader, making him the first African ever to hold the position. Tedros Ghebreyesus received more than half the votes, but concerns about his role in the country’s repressive regime remain. The minister’s administration blamed the Ethiopian diaspora and Human Rights Watch for triggering the country’s anti-government protests, activist Feyisa Lilesa noted.

“Having systematically decimated domestic opposition, his regime was attempting to intimidate and silence critics abroad,” Lelisa said. —O.O.

A municipal worker inspects damage to a home after February shelling in the city of Donetsk. Associated Press/Photo by Alexander Ermochenko

American missionary honored for efforts in Sudan

U.S. physician Tom Catena on Sunday won the $1.1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity in Armenia. Catena, a medical missionary from New York, is the only doctor now stationed in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains as conflict persists in the country. He received a $100,000 grant and another $1 million to donate to charities. Catena said he would award the money to the U.S.-based African Mission Healthcare Foundation and the Catholic Medical Mission Board, as well as Germany’s Aktion Canchanabury. “With my faith as my guide, I am honored to continue to serve the world and make it a better place,” Catena said after receiving his award. Aurora Humanitarian Initiative established the Aurora Prize in memory of Armenian genocide survivors. —O.O.

China silences another dissenting activist

He Weifang, a prominent Chinese law professor and government critic, has decided to stop publishing his works on social media after facing obstruction and criticism from the Chinese government. His writing on law and politics, as well as social issues, garnered him some 20 million readers between his personal blog, his Weibo microblog, and two Wechat accounts. Authorities repeatedly shut down the blog and froze some of his social media accounts. He also faced attacks from Communist Party supporters, who have organized demonstrations against the scholar. He has criticized China’s lack of judicial independence and also advocates for imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo. His last major post came after the government passed a law in March that forbids any criticism of Communist Party heroes. China has continued to suppress any voice that opposes the Republic’s authoritarian ruler and founder, Mao Zedong. “They can slit the throats of every rooster in the world but the sky will brighten,” He said. “Let’s just sit and wait for the dawn.” —O.O.

Libyan extremist group announces dissolution

Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan-based Islamic extremist group, said it has disbanded after facing several losses. The al-Qaeda-linked group is one of several that sprung up in Benghazi following Muammar Qaddafi’s death. In a statement, the terror group said fighting in Benghazi weakened its capacity and cost it several fighters. Leader Mohammed Azahawi died in clashes in 2014. The United States has accused the group of staging the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. —O.O.