(2020-06-18). Too late to reform, time to disband Philly police. workers.org 
Philadelphia The Philadelphia Police Department, the fourth largest in the U.S., is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, founded in 1854. Its history has been marked by patterns of police brutality, intimidation, coercion and disregard for constitutional rights. Philadelphia protest, June 6. Recently, a statue of former Police Commissioner . . . |
(2020-06-18). Civil Rights Class Action Filed in Reponse to Oakland Police Abuses of George Floyd Protesters. indybay.org "It was so heartening to see so many young Black people expressing their outrage and wanting to be part of the change, and they were attacked by our police department, that tells them 'don't come out here, because we will make your life hard, we will hurt you if you organize, we will hurt you if you say that there is anything wrong with society.'" | — Walter Riley…
(2020-06-18). "Tear Gas Is a Weapon": Amnesty Report Reveals Police Use of Tear Gas Fuels Rights Abuses Worldwide. democracynow.org 
As police officers in nearly 100 U.S. cities and towns have fired tear gas on protesters in recent weeks and left many with severe injuries, a new Amnesty International report finds the use of tear gas continues to grow each year, and fuels police human rights violations against peaceful protesters on a global scale. "Everywhere we look, police are just very quick to use tear gas, which is not a safe product and can cause real injuries," says Brian Castner, senior crisis adviser on arms and military operations for Amnesty International.
(2020-06-18). Planet Earth Police Department Blew Up Seven Innocent Black People in Somalia, Including a Child. anti-empire.com 
The United States military has not adequately investigated two air raids in Somalia earlier this year that have killed at least seven civilians, including a child, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW). [HRW is a major lobbyist for regime-change wars, and as such they're very tame on the Pentagon. If they say seven there was likely more.] | In a report released on Tuesday, the rights group said the killing of the civilians was in apparent violation of the laws of war. The HRW was referring to incidents on February 2 and March 10 in Jilib and Janaale, where no evidence of a military target involving the al-Sha…
(2020-06-18). The Empire Declares a "Maximum Pressure" War of Economic Strangulation on Devastated Syria. anti-empire.com 
The United States has imposed a sweeping set of new sanctions against any country, individual or entity that provides support to the Syrian government – a campaign that experts warn may devastate the lives of ordinary Syrians trying to survive and rebuild after nine years of war. | The Caesar Act, passed in Congress
(2020-06-18). Crippling new sanctions punish Syrian civilians for US defeat in proxy war. thegrayzone.com As Syria tries to recover from a nearly decade-long war, the US has imposed crippling new sanctions under the Caesar…
(2020-06-18). Irish housing rights group demands ban on evictions during COVID-19 crisis. peoplesdispatch.org A Day of Action was observed on June 17 on the call of the Community Action Tenants Union of Ireland. The COVID-19 lockdown has worsened the plight of tenants and homeless people in Irish cities…
(2020-06-18). US imposes new sanctions on Syria under Caesar Act. peoplesdispatch.org The US administration announced a new set of political and economic sanctions against Syria on June 17, Wednesday, under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection act. The act was enacted in the US in December 2019 and made part of the National Defence Authorisation act for the year 2020. | The Caesar act asks the government of Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran, to halt military operations aimed at retaking territories captured by armed militias and rebel forces supported by Turkey and the US in Syria. The Syrian government has rejected the act, saying that it cannot allow such a division of the country. | The exe…
(2020-06-18). Starving Syria and Lebanon into submission. thealtworld.com Hezbollah and its allies won't wait for their countries to be crippled before retaliating for the 'Casear Act' | As the so-called 'Caesar Act' came into force on Wednesday, the US announced the imposition of individual sanctions on 39 prominent Syrians — including President Bashar al-Asad and his wife Asma al-Akhras — while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo served notice that additional, more punishing, sanctions are to follow. | It is futile to point out that this Act is illegal, or set out all the evidence that those who will be punished most by it are the ordinary people of Syria, the great majority o…
(2020-06-17). 'I am my brother's keeper', Philonise Floyd tells UN rights body, in impassioned plea for racial justice. news.un.org The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday heard powerful testimony from the brother of George Floyd, whose death, captured on video, while a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes in Minneapolis, has sparked worldwide protest.
(2020-06-17). Support grows in Chicago for a new approach to police accountability. peoplesworld.org 
CHICAGO—This city is the national epicenter of police torture of African-American men. So, it's not surprising tens of thousands have taken to the streets following the police execution of George Floyd. "The wounds run deep here. Many protests make this an uprising," Jazmine Salas, 28, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression …
(2020-06-17). Police detain PKK/YPG terror sympathizer who jumped on PM Johnson's car. yenisafak.com British police on Wednesday detained a sympathizer of the terrorist YPG/PKK after he allegedly tried to jump on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's car in front of parliament.The man is thought to be among a small group of protesters who carried symbols of the YPG/PKK in Parliament Square.According to eyewitnesses, the man jumped on the prime minister's car while Johnson was leaving the House of Commons after Prime Minister's Questions – a weekly session where lawmakers ask the government questions.A security vehicle hit Johnson's car when it had to break suddenly due to the incident, but there are no reports of injur…
(2020-06-17). Why Cuban doctors should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. zcomm.org Due to Cuba's extraordinary commitment to humanity, to public health and to internationalism, a group of human rights organizations and social movements across the world have launched a campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Cuba's Henry Reeve medical brigade…
(2020-06-17). Florida Wants To Reinstate A 'Poll Tax' For Ex-Felons. therealnews.com 
The state's appeal to require payment of court fees before voting access is restored would amount to a poll tax, says Phil Telfeyan.
(2020-06-17). Trump signs bill allowing anti-China sanctions over alleged Uighur human rights abuses. rt.com 
President Donald Trump has signed a bill that would allow the US to sanction Chinese officials for the alleged repression of Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang Province. The bill passed Congress with bipartisan support. | Trump signed the act into law on Wednesday, and a statement from the president accused the Chinese government of the "systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and other minorities in China." | The president will now have 180 days to submit a report to Congress identifying the officials re…
(2020-06-17). IRGC Gears Up For 'Routine' Fuel Shipments To Venezuela, Defying Trump. iranian.com Here we go again — Iran is prepping a round two of major sanctions-busting gas delivery to fuel-starved Venezuela, which is of course rich on heavy crude oil but currently lacks the capacity to refine it based on its derelict and badly in need of repair facilities. Amid continued White House threats of military intervention to uphold a sanctions …
(2020-06-17). The US' Planned Imposition of Draconian "Secondary Sanctions" on Syria. Targets Any Entity Doing Business with Syria. globalresearch.ca The US hopes that making Syrians even more desperate than they already are could catalyze another Color Revolution at one of the country's most critical moments in its history, which could then be exploited for regime change purposes. | Reuters reported …
(2020-06-17). On Behalf of 43 NGOs, Al Mezan calls to lift Israel's illegal Gaza closure at the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva. imemc.org Al-Mezan Center For Human Rights: United Nations Human Rights Council — 43rd Regular Session Item 7 — Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories Joint Oral Intervention Delivered by: Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights NGOs in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social …
(2020-06-17). SCOTUS Must Now Ensure LGBTQ People Are Not Turned Away From Taxpayer-Funded Programs. aclu.org On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a
(2020-06-17). UN experts condemn Israeli annexation plan. peoplesdispatch.org UN experts, in a joint statement on June 16, said the controversial Israeli plan to annex the Jordan valley and the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank is illegal and would be a grave violation of the human rights of Palestinians…
(2020-06-17). Adalah backs warning from UN human rights experts: Morning after Israel's West Bank annexation will be 'vision of 21st century apartheid'. imemc.org 17/06/2020: ADALAH — The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights In Israel: UN experts:…
(2020-06-17). "I Can't Breathe, Please, Please!" The Martyrdom of George Floyd, Tortured and Murdered by US Police in 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds, May 5, 2020. globalresearch.ca "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon …
(2020-06-17). From Trans Rights to Black Lives Matter, Trump Supporters Are Outnumbered. zcomm.org An F-5 tornado has roared through Trumpland, the rural/exurban village where Trump's base resides with Fox News playing on one channel and OANN on the other…
(2020-06-17). German Party Calls For Sanctions On Israel. popularresistance.org Germany's left-wing party Die Linke is calling for sanctions on Israel if it proceeds with its planned annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank. | In Germany there is a strictly enforced — but intellectually lazy and morally repugnant — elite consensus that unconditional support for Israel and inaction in the face of its crimes against Palestinians are necessary to atone for the murder of millions of European Jews in German government death camps. | Few prominent German politicians have the courage or moral clarity to understand that genuine and principled atonement would mean applying the…
(2020-06-17). Here's Exactly Who's Profiting from the War on Yemen. globalresearch.ca Priyanka Motaparthy, a researchers for Human Rights Watch, arrived at a market in the Yemeni village of Mastaba on March 28, 2016, to find large craters, destroyed buildings, debris, shredded bits of clothing and small pieces of human bodies. …
(2020-06-17). Civil Rights Groups Call for Facebook Boycott Over Platform's Failure to Address Hate Speech. sputniknews.com Several civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), have urged corporations to boycott advertising on Facebook in July because they believe the platform has failed to address hate speech.
(2020-06-17). Pompeo announces new round of US sanctions against Syria's Assad, his wife. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — To further weaken the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the United States on Wednesday imposed fresh round of penalties on 39 Syrian individuals and companies including Assad and his wife Asma personally, Mike Pompeo announced.
(2020-06-17). Beijing, Moscow deplore US sanctions on Syria. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — In a statement during a Security Council's session and in comments on imposing so-called "Caesar Act" by the US, representatives of Russia and China to the UN asserted that the US sanctions against Syria target the Syrian people.
(2020-06-17). Tehran, Baghdad ink new financial accord. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 17 (MNA) — The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), announced on Wednesday that under a newly penned financial framework between Tehran, Baghdad, Iran will use its financial resources in Iraq for purchasing basic goods and unsanctioned products.
(2020-06-17). Trump Administration Sued for Denying Loans to Small Business Owners With Record. truthout.org A coalition of civil rights groups including the ACLU sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for denying coronavirus relief loans to small business owners with criminal records, arguing the restrictive policy violates the law and perpetuates systemic racial injustices by discriminating against people of color. | "The excluded small business owners are more likely to be Black and Latinx because of bias in our criminal legal system, and their communities are hardest hit by Covid-19," ReNi…
(2020-06-17). Iran to Use Joint Mechanism with Iraq for Foreign Purchases. iranian.com Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) unveiled plans for using a joint mechanism with Iraq to purchase basic commodities and items excluded from the list of anti-Iranian sanctions. Iran's top banker Abdonnaser Hemmati, who is on a visit to Iraq with a ranking economic delegation, held a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Ali …
(2020-06-16). India summons Pakistani ambassador after embassy staff detained following road accident. rt.com 
Pakistan's ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in New Delhi after two Indian embassy employees were held by Pakistani police, following an alleged hit-and-run incident in Islamabad on Monday. | The ambassador was handed a protest note against what India called "abduction and torture" of the staff of its embassy, officially called the High Commission. The two men were "video-graphed and coerced to accept a litany of fictitious allegations and concocted charges," the statement by the ministry read. | The embassy employees were "kept in illegal custody for more than 10 hours" and were released only af…
(2020-06-16). WATCH police brutally detain Covid-19 nurse as clashes erupt at Paris health workers protest. rt.com 
A video has emerged showing several French police officers round up a woman in a white medical robe during a health workers protest in Paris. Officers can be seen dragging her by the hair as she begs for help. | The shocking video, filmed at protest in the French capital on Tuesday, shows a policeman in full riot gear pulling the middle-aged woman by the hair and slamming her repeatedly against a tree in an apparent attempt to take her into custody. | Une femme en blouse blanche, tirée par les cheveux, durant une interpellation, finira évacuée le visage en sang durant la manifestation aux Invalides. Elle récla…
(2020-06-16). Headlines for June 16, 2020. democracynow.org In Long-Awaited Victory, SCOTUS Rules LGBTQ Workers Protected by the Civil Rights Act, Atlanta Mayor Orders New Police Rules After Killing of Rayshard Brooks, 911 Dispatcher Raised Concerns About Police Treatment of George Floyd During His Arrest and Killing, Protester Shot in Albuquerque While Toppling Racist Statue; Right-Wing Militia Members Arrested, 19-Year-Old BLM Protester Oluwatoyin "Toyin" Salau Found Dead One Week After Disappearance, Mourners Demand Justice for Killing of Black Teenager Na'Kia Crawford in Ohio, FBI, DOJ to Review Probes into Two Black California Men Found Hanging from Trees, U.N. Human…
(2020-06-16). Civil Rights Activist Annie Chambers Is Marching Again Against Police Brutality. therealnews.com 
Reverend Annie Chambers marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King throughout the 60s. This month she took to the streets to demand an end to police brutality when Baltimore City joined the nationwide movement calling for justice for George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minnesota. | The lifelong organizer says that while history repeats itself, racism is even worse than in her youth. "In the 50s and 60s we were taught to suffer. We got beat and shot and attacked by dogs. And you heard what Donald Trump say—get the dogs out on them," Chambers said in a phone interview with The Real News on…
(2020-06-16). Why should Cuban doctors receive the Nobel Peace Prize? peoplesdispatch.org Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba has taken an active role in extending international solidarity to nations hard-hit by the virus. So far, they have sent medical brigades to 27 countries to assist in the fight against coronavirus. Due to Cuba's extraordinary commitment to humanity, to public health and to internationalism, a group of human rights organizations and social movements across the world have launched a campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Cuba's Henry Reeve medical brigade. | On the
(2020-06-16). Why Cuban doctors should receive the Nobel Peace Prize? peoplesdispatch.org Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba has taken an active role in extending international solidarity to nations hard-hit by the virus. So far, they have sent medical brigades to 27 countries to assist in the fight against coronavirus. Due to Cuba's extraordinary commitment to humanity, to public health and to internationalism, a group of human rights organizations and social movements across the world have launched a campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Cuba's Henry Reeve medical brigade. | On the
(2020-06-16). Trump Hammers Cuba While Cuba Cures the Sick. mintpressnews.com 
Not content to sabotage Cuba's domestic health sector, the Trump administration has been attacking Cuba's international medical assistance, from the teams fighting coronavirus to those caring for underserved communities in 164 countries.
(2020-06-16). Hundreds march to defend DACA for immigrant youth, support movement against police terror. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – With the Supreme Court set to rule on their future, almost 1000 immigrant youth and their supporters marched on June 12 to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shields 800,000 young immigrants from deportation. | Organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), the march started outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar's office on Washington Avenue and marched to the Hennepin County Jail in downtown Minneapolis. | The march was very spirited, and speakers and chants made repeated connections between the fight against deportation and the fight of Blac…
(2020-06-16). Supreme Court rules that employers cannot fire workers because of sexual orientation or self-identity. wsws.org A 6—3 majority ruled that the federal civil rights in employment statute prohibits employers from terminating workers because of sexual orientation or gender self-identification.
(2020-06-16). Supreme Court rules in favor of Civil Rights Act of 1964 protecting LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination. nationofchange.org "LGBTQI people have a right to the same protections as everyone else, and they deserve to be able to live their lives without fear of discrimination—something the Supreme Court has affirmed today."
(2020-06-16). Rights experts call for global opposition to Israel's annexation plans. news.un.org Nearly 50 independent human rights experts are calling for the international community to oppose Israel's plan to annex significant parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank beginning as early as next month.
(2020-06-16). After Rayshard Brooks murder by Atlanta police, NAARPR demands community control of the police. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the recently formed National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, today, June 15, called for immediate passage of legislation establishing democratic community control of the police in every city and town across the nation. | Chapman stated, "This is really the only way the people will have the power to make the changes that everyone is demanding in the wake of countless murders by police. This is the only way to stop the killings, torture and brutality — a virtual war against Black and brown communities." | "What is it going to take? How many…
(2020-06-16). How is Face Recognition Surveillance Technology Racist? aclu.org Last week, IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft announced they would pause or end sales of their face recognition technology to police in the United States. The announcement caught many by surprise. For years, racial justice and civil rights advocates had been warning that this technology in law enforcement hands would be the end of privacy as we know it. It would supercharge police abuses, and it would be used to harm and target Black and Brown communities in particular., , But the companies ignored these warnings and refused to get out of this surveillance business. It wasn't until there was a national reckoning over…
(2020-06-16). A Groundswell for Reproductive Rights in Alabama. progressive.org Blowback against state's draconian anti-abortion law helps group keep clinic going.
(2020-06-16). UK disability campaigners speak out on coronavirus pandemic. wsws.org The WSWS spoke to disability rights campaigners last weekend about the impact of coronavirus pandemic and the Johnson government's "herd immunity" policy on the lives of disabled people.
(2020-06-16). UN Should Establish A Commission Of Inquiry On Systemic Racism And Law Enforcement In The US. popularresistance.org On Wednesday, June 17, 2020, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an "Urgent Debate" on systemic racism in law enforcement. The proximate catalyst for this debate is the recent police killing of George Floyd and many other Black people in the United States, and the breath-taking national and transnational uprising of the past two weeks against systemic racism in law enforcement. | The Urgent Debate is more than opportunity for discussion—it's an opportunity for meaningful action. In a letter to the President of the UN Human Rights Council, I, along with the UN Working Group of Experts on People…
(2020-06-16). Israel's annexation of West Bank to flout int'l law: UN. yenisafak.com The agreement by the new coalition government of Israel to annex significant parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank after July 1 would violate a cornerstone principle of international law, a group of UN experts said Tuesday.Forty-seven of the independent Special Procedures mandates appointed by the Human Rights Council said such move by Israel "must be meaningfully opposed by the international community"'."The annexation of occupied territory is a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions, and contrary to the fundamental rule affirmed many times by the United Nations S…
(2020-06-16). US authorities to monitor hanging deaths of two black men. yenisafak.com US federal authorities will monitor ongoing investigations regarding the hanging deaths of two black men in southern California, according to local officials."So we're making sure that we're transparent, fully accountable, and we're gonna constantly be cross-checking each other's to make sure we're right at the right conclusions based on the evidence and the facts that we have at hand," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Monday, explaining why he requested a monitor and review from the FBI, US Attorney's office in the Central District of California and Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.It…
(2020-06-16). Why U.S. Is a Major Human Rights Violator. strategic-culture.org The U.S. State Department annually publishes an extremely biased report on human rights around the world. Conveniently, the report omits one of the most systemic violators of human rights on the planet. Under Donald Trump, the United States has graduated from systemic human rights violator to human rights pariah, as witnessed by recent murders and assaults by police of innocent people on the streets of America. Although the United States has historically been more than willing to criticize the human rights policies of other countries, including in the venue of the United Nations, it has bristled at attempts to ha…