 Hello and welcome to today's episode of the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch where we bring you some of the top stories from around the world. Let's take a look at today's headlines. Yemen war investigator targeted with Pegasus Spiveyre, Egyptian activist Ala Abdel Fattah sentenced to prison, UK court ruling continues blockade on Venezuelan reserves, and mining law withdrawn amid protests in Argentina. A United Nations backed investigator who was looking into war crimes in Yemen was targeted by the Israeli NSO groups Pegasus Spiveyre. Analysis suggests that Tunisian politician Kamal Jandubi was selected as a potential surveillance target by Saudi Arabia. Analysis by Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab shows that his mobile phone was targeted in August 2019. Jandubi was the head of the former group of eminent experts or GEE in Yemen set up by the United Nations in 2017. In September 2019, the panel released a report concluding that the Saudi-led coalition had committed serious violations of international law and possible war crimes in Yemen. Jandubi's phone was targeted shortly before this. His mobile number was also part of the leaked database which was at the center of the Pegasus project investigation. While forensic analysis did show that an NSO client had tried to hack his phone, it is not clear if the attempt was successful. Nevertheless, the revelations are serious in light of Saudi Arabia's effort to shut down the UN war crimes probe into Yemen. A report by the Guardian revealed that Saudi officials had lobbied extensively to shut down the probe using threats and incentives. In 2020, the GEE had started pushing for war crimes accountability stating that the Security Council referred the matter to the International Criminal Court. However, a resolution to extend the GEE's mandate was defeated by a majority of 21 to 18 in October 2021. Among the countries targeted by the Saudi threats and incentives were Indonesia and Togo. Between 2020 and 2021, both changed their votes from abstention to no on the Yemen resolution. In our next story, we take a look at Egypt, where prominent activist Al-Abdul Fattah has been sentenced to five years in prison. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Al-Baqir and blogger Mohammed Oxygen Ibrahim have also been sentenced to four years. The rulings were issued by Egypt's Emergency State Security Court on December 20. Abdul Fattah is a left-wing blogger and activist who was one of the key figures in the 2011 revolution. He was first jailed in 2013 and then again in 2015. He was granted conditional release in March 2019 before being arrested again in November with charges of publishing false news belonging to a terrorist group and a misuse of social media. Lawyer Mohammed Al-Baqir was also arrested during this time while serving as Abdul Fattah's legal counsel. Meanwhile, blogger Mohammed Ibrahim was arrested in 2018 for reporting on irregularities in the presidential election and opposition figures. He was released on parole before being arrested again under new charges in September 2019. All three men have already spent over two years in pre-trial detention. They have been sentenced for spreading false news undermining national security in a new case numbered 1228. This case is a replication of the original 2019 case and has been rejected as an attempt to prolong detention beyond the law. As reported by Middle East Eye, the trial was also based on a series of due process violations. The activist's lawyer were not informed of the charges and did not have access to the files. No other evidence except for social media posts have been presented. Despite all this, the prison sentence cannot be appealed and must now be ratified by the President. Now we take a look at the United Kingdom, where the Supreme Court has ruled to continue a blockade on 31 tons of Venezuelan gold. The gold which is worth nearly $2 billion is being held at the Bank of England. The case first went to court in 2020 after the bank refused to release the gold reserves to the Bolivarian government of Nicolás Maduro. It stated that it recognized opposition member and co-leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate authority. However, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the Central Bank of Venezuela in October. It considered the possibility that the UK could recognize a de jure president which would be Guaidó and a de facto president which would be Maduro. This order was overturned by the Supreme Court this Monday based on the so-called one-voice doctrine. It argued that courts could not go against the UK government's political decision to recognize Guaidó as Venezuela's president in charge. It added that until the conflict of authorities was resolved, the reserves would remain in the Bank of England. Meanwhile, another aspect of the case is the ruling by Venezuela's Supreme Court declaring Guaidó's transition statute as null and void. The UK Supreme Court has asked the commercial court to decide if this ruling is to be recognized. The Maduro administration had proposed that the reserve money be transferred to the UN to buy medical supplies for the pandemic. It has rejected the UK Supreme Court ruling as an abusive action representing the judicial system's subordination to illegal foreign policy actions. And finally, we go to Chubut Province in Argentina where the government has agreed to repeal a controversial mining law. Law 17 No. 149 for the zoning of mining activity was approved by the Chubut's provincial legislature on December 15. It would have allowed open-pit mega-mining in the department of Telsen and Gastre. Environmental groups and activists had long opposed mining in the area due to potential contamination. Following the vote last week, major protests broke out in different parts of Chubut Province. Violent police repression was reported in the capital of Rawson on December 15 where several protesters were injured with rubber bullets. Protests were held again on December 16 in the town of Askel. Massive demonstrations were also held in the cities of Porto Madrid and Commando Ro Rivadavia on December 17. Raising the slogan mega-mining is equal to death, protesters marched to the government house from the governor's residence. People also raised the slogan, water is worth more than gold to protest water, scarcities and chemical contamination caused by mining projects. A massive anti-mining demonstration was held in Madrid again on December 20. Governor Mariano Arsione has stated that a provincial plebiscite will be held on the mining law. In 2003, Chubut had passed a law banning open pit mining and the use of cyanide for mineral processing in the entire province. This impacted companies like the Canadian Pan Am Silver which was forced to halt operations at its Navidad Silver Mine in 2013. The zoning law passed last week would have allowed mining to resume at the site. And that's all for today's episode. For more such stories, visit our website at www.peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thank you for watching.