BBC在线收听下载:迪拜“出走王妃”离婚案开审

Hello, I'm David Harper with the BBC news.

A human rights group says that the Philippines is the deadliest place in the world for environmental activists and land defenders. A report by Global Witness says thirty people were murdered there last year defending their homes, land and natural resources. Ben Leather is the report's author.

The Philippines traditionally has been one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a land rights or environmental activists and that's partly down to historic. Land rights issues and indigenous communities are marginalized, their community is militarized and effectively businesses are allowed to carry out bad practices without being held accountable.

The European Court of Justice has ruled against Hungary's tough asylum rules in a case which human rights defenders say will have positive repercussions across Europe. The case concerned a Russian businessman active in opposition circles. Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest.

For six years, the asylum claim of Alexei Torubarov bounced back and forth between the Hungarian immigration office and the local court. Meanwhile, in 2015, during the refugee crisis, the Hungarian government passed a new law stripping courts of the right to reverse the decisions of the immigration office. On Monday, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice ruled that by doing so, Hungary had broken EU directives and undermined the rule of law. The ruling restores the right of courts in Hungary to grant international protection in all asylum cases.

US senators have failed in their latest bid to block President Trump's deal to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia. Congress wants the deal canceled, citing Saudi Arabia's role in the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the widespread killing of civilians in the war in Yemen. But the White House says the arms are vital to help the Saudis confront the regional military threat posed by Iran. The senators have been unable to reach required two thirds majority.

One of the richest and most high-profile rulers in the Middle East is taking his estranged wife to court today in London. In the case that has attracted worldwide attention, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, is petitioning princess Haya over the welfare of their children. Frank Gardner reports.

Princess Haya, a half sister of the King of Jordan fled Dubai for London earlier this year and friends said she was living in fear of reprisals. Her husband, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, a huge figure in the horse-racing world whose wealth is estimated at over three billion pounds has penned an angry poem accusing an unnamed woman of betrayal and treachery. A close confidant of princess Haya said she recently discovered the facts behind the alleged forcible return to Dubai last year of one of the ruler's daughters. A third member of Sheikh Mohammed's court fled in 2001 and was allegedly abducted in Cambridge and flown back to Dubai.

BBC news.