(2020-03-06). Serbia will continue to source weapons from 'friendly states' despite US sanctions threat — minister. rt.com 
Serbia will continue to source weapons from "friendly states," despite a looming threat of US sanctions in the event of further such deliveries from Russia, Serbian defense minister said on Friday. "Serbia is not a colony" and will decide for itself about "the strengthening and equipping of its armed forces," Aleksandar Vulin said in a statement. | US officials have spoken openly about introducing sanctions against Serbia if Moscow sends more arms to the country. Belgrade has recently received a sophisticated anti-aircraft system from Russia, which has also provided fighter jets, attack helicopters and armored…
(2020-03-06). Trump's Afghanistan Deal Prioritizes Bragging Rights Over Lasting Peace. zcomm.org It's true that the Trump administration signed a "peace deal" with the Taliban — something that eluded both George W. Bush and Barack Obama — but a closer look at the agreement reveals it to be riddled with conditions that are fraught with obstacles…
(2020-03-06). Israel detains six Palestinian travelers from Gaza. imemc.org Israeli authorities have been reportedly detained six Palestinians from Gaza since early 2020. Those arrested are said to be travelers, who were passing through the Israel-controlled Erez checkpoint, north of the Gaza Strip. According to a statement, released on Friday by the Ramallah-based Palestine Center for Detainee Studies, the sixth …
(2020-03-06). ICE Uses a Rigged Algorithm to Keep Arrestees in Detention. zcomm.org The ACLU Says It's Unconstitutional…
(2020-03-06). COVID-19: countries, businesses must safeguard human rights as virus spreads: Bachelet. news.un.org As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread globally, the UN's top human rights official appealed on Friday to put rights "front and centre" when implementing preventative measures.
(2020-03-06). Are Our Prisons and Jails Ready for COVID-19? aclu.org The | country and the world face a public health emergency in the new coronavirus | causing COVID-19. The media is filled with concerns about how we will respond. | Will we close schools? Cancel sporting events and other large gatherings? Work | from home? Avoid public transportation? | But | little has been said about one of the most vulnerable sectors of our | population: the people in our prisons and jails. Although people often think of | prisons and jails as closed environments, they are not. Medical staff, correctional | staff, and visitors come from the community into the facilities every day and | then…
(2020-03-06). Palestinian Rights Organization Challenges Meritless Lawsuit Filed Against It. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-03-06). Israeli Forces Demolish the Homes of Two Palestinian Detainees. imemc.org Israeli forces, overnight Wednesday, demolished the family homes of two alleged Palestinian attackers in Ramallah and nearby Birzeit town, resulting in intense confrontations with local youths, WAFA correspondent said. She said that a large Israeli army force invaded the town of Birzeit after midnight, and surrounded the family home of …
(2020-03-06). Greece's suspending asylum bids lacks legal basis: UN. yenisafak.com The UN human rights office said Friday that Greece's suspending new asylum applications has no legal basis under the international refugee law.Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the rights office follows the position of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, on the Greek decision."There is no legal basis for the suspension of refugee procedures under the international refugee law," she said during a UN press briefing at Geneva.On Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Twitter that Greece will not accept any new asylum applications f…
(2020-03-06). Turkey deports Croatian national over terror links. yenisafak.com Turkey on Friday deported a terrorist from Croatia back to his country of origin, the Interior Ministry said.In a statement, the ministry said the fighter was sent back as part of Ankara's ramped-up efforts to expel foreign terrorists.Turkey continues to send back foreign terrorist fighters, it added.The issue of the handling of Daesh/ISIS members and their families detained in Syria
(2020-03-06). Selected Articles: The Pentagon's "Ides of March 2020": Best Month to Go to War? globalresearch.ca Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
(2020-03-06). UK in better BREXIT negotiating stance than EU thanks to its fishing rights — business development leader tells Boom Bust. rt.com 
The British negotiators have returned home from Brussels after the first week of talks with the European Union over UK's exit from the bloc. The two sides have still many disagreements to work out. | Boom Bust is joined by Hilary Fordwich of the British-American Business Association to get a closer look. Fordwich reminds about concessions that have been made in 1973, when the UK was getting into the EU. | In France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, fishing communities "depend their whole livelihoods on basically what the British consider invading the British coastal waters." | When the UK leaves the…
(2020-03-06). Boyle Heights to celebrate working-class women. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – The Boyle Heights group Centro Community Service Organization (Centro CSO) will host Día Internacional de la Mujer, International Women's Day, Saturday, March 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Benjamin Franklin Library. CSO aims to honor and represent local women who are working for LGBT rights, fighting for socialism, defending public education, resisting police terror and brutality, and ending deportations. | Speakers participating will include a student from Garfield High School; Rosario Bonilla from Centro CSO; Josefina Rizo, mother of 16-year-old Jose Mendez who was killed by LAPD; Vibiana Aparicio…
(2020-03-06). Activists rally for detained Tamil family. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-06). After Alabama Executes Nathaniel Woods, Ayanna Pressley Leads Fresh Calls for US to Abolish Death Penalty. commondreams.org After the state of Alabama on Thursday night executed 44-year-old Nathaniel Woods despite serious concerns about injustices in his case, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other lawmakers and civil rights advocates implored Congress to abolish the death penalty nationwide. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-03-06). 'Don't Look Away. This Nation Is So… Cruel': Rights Advocates Decry Execution of Nathaniel Woods by Alabama. commondreams.org The state of Alabama on Thursday executed Nathaniel Woods—who was pronounced dead at 9: 01pm local time—after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of execution that was later lifted and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey declined to exercise her powers of commutation or reprieve despite widespread public outcry, doubts about Woods' guilt, and concerns about the legal proceedings that led to his death sentence. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-03-06). Have we killed it? Kalashnikov puts antique RPD machine gun through full-auto torture test (VIDEO). rt.com 
The gun expert team at iconic arms maker Kalashnikov Concern has put a WWII-era RPD machinegun through a 'full-auto' nightmare, bringing the antique weapon to its demise in a new 'Destroyers of Weapons' video. | The renowned arms producer has surely developed the taste for making literally hot internet content, adding its new video to its popular series. | This time, the expert team obtained an RPD machinegun — a Second World War design chambered in 7.62×39mm and created in 1944 by Vasily Degtyaryov. In Russia, the gun was retired long ago, yet Soviet-era RPDs and its foreign knockoffs are still in…
(2020-03-06). "People Are Being Hunted Down" — ICE Launches Rights-Busting Onslaught Against Sanctuary Cities. mintpressnews.com 
Rights are routinely being violated as hundreds of ICE agents storm New York City and other sanctuary cities in a fresh attempt to round up undocumented immigrants.
(2020-03-06). Exactly How Many People in Iran Will Die of Coronavirus Because of Trump's Inhumane Sanctions? commondreams.org Fire fighters and municipality workers with protective suits disinfect the streets, buses and taxies as a precaution to the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Tehran, Iran on March 06, 2020. (Photo: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-03-05). The New Poll Tax? Long Lines, Closed Polling Stations Hurt Black, Latinx & Student Voters in TX, CA. democracynow.org 
Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of black and Latinx voters and college students. Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were long lines, too, in Los Angeles, where many polling places reported problems with a brand-new $300 million voting system. The Sanders campaign sued to keep polling places open a…
(2020-03-05). Hunt for Russians continues? US charges 'Putin's oligarch' banker Oleg Tinkov with tax fraud, demands extradition from UK. rt.com 
The US Department of Justice has unsealed the indictment against Oleg Tinkov, accusing the Russian-born businessman of failing to pay taxes after renouncing his US citizenship and threatening him with six years behind bars. | Tinkov, 52, was detained and released on bail in London earlier this week, pending an extradition hearing. On Thursday, the US Department of Justice unsealed the indictment against him, dated September 26, 2019. | The DOJ
(2020-03-05). Trump is Sending Special Forces-style Agents into Pro-Immigrant Cities. aclu.org As part of its governments that choose not to collaborate with Immigration and Customs | Enforcement (ICE), Trump administration officials have confirmed plans for two new tactics in their anti-immigrant | agenda. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will deploy Border Patrol's | special forces-style unit, known as BORTAC, and other Customs and Border | Protection (CBP) agents — dressed in plainclothes [m…
(2020-03-05). Inside the World Uyghur Congress: The US-backed right-wing regime change network seeking the 'fall of China'. thegrayzone.com While posing as a grassroots human rights organization, the World Uyghur Congress is a US-funded and directed separatist network that…
(2020-03-05). PCHR: Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (27 February — 04 March 2020). imemc.org SUMMARY This week, PCHR documented 228 violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL) by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory. IOF continued to use excessive force against the peaceful protests organized against Trump's Peace Plan for the Middle East known as …
(2020-03-05). Long Lines, Closed Polling Places Hurt Black, Latinx and Student Voters. truthout.org Long wait times plagued polling places in Texas throughout Super Tuesday, especially in districts with high numbers of Black and Latinx voters and college students. Many voters reported waiting in line for more than three hours to cast a ballot. At least 750 Texas polling sites have been shuttered since 2013, when the Supreme Court slashed federal oversight of Texas and other Southern states under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were long lines, too, in Los Angeles, where many polling places repor…
(2020-03-05). New PR Group Pushes Private Prison Industry Talking Points. truthout.org In late 2019, the three largest private prison operators joined forces to establish a new group to push pro-industry talking points to the press and on social media: the Day 1 Alliance. Why is the private prison industry going on the offensive to improve its public image and secure positive earned media? | In the wake of the family separation and detention crisis of summer 2018, a broad array of organizations joined forces under the banners of #FamiliesBelongTogether and #BackersOfHate. This coalition specific…
(2020-03-05). Farmworkers Step Up Pressure on Wendy's Shareholders to Protect Workers' Rights. truthout.org For years, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has waged a campaign to convince Wendy's to join the Fair Food Program, an internationally renowned human rights partnership that protects farmworkers from abuse and ensures better wages. Many big retail food companies, from Walmart and McDonald's to Chipotle and Burger King, have joined the Fair Food Program — but not Wendy's. | The main power behind Wendy's is Trian Partners, a powerful hedge fund run by billionaire Nelson Peltz. Trian is…
(2020-03-05). International Women's Day: progress on gender equality remains slow. news.un.org Women's Rights in Review, 25 years after Beijing takes stock of how the landmark gender equality plan, the Beijing Platform for Action, is being implemented and calls for greater parity and justice.
(2020-03-05). Venezuela's Rejects US Decree Making It a 'Threat'. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza rejected Thursday the renewal of the U.S. Executive Decree labeling the South American as an "unusual and extraordinaire threat." | RELATED: | The accusation is "infamous, shameful and irrational," said the government official, adding that "it was just a way to justify all the assaults and human rights crimes that Washington has been implementing since 2015," when…
(2020-03-05). Those Shoes Were Made by a Uighur Detainee. thenation.com Those Shoes Were Made by a Uighur Detainee…
(2020-03-05). Trump's Harsh Iran Policy Helped Hardliners Win Iran's Elections. truthout.org Note: This article was supported by the Pulitzer Center. | TEHRAN — The landslide victory for hardliners in Iran's recent parliamentary elections confirms that whoever occupies the White House next year won't have an easy time dealing with Iran. | Many Iranians were already angry at President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear accord, imposition of harsh sanctions and the Jan. 3 assassination of the popular military leader Qassem Soleimani. And they showed that anger at the polls.
(2020-03-05). Washington Hawks Are Softening Their Hard Line on Sanctions Against North Korea. thenation.com Washington Hawks Are Softening Their Hard Line on Sanctions Against North Korea…
(2020-03-05). MLK Jr's Son Among Justice Advocates Urging Alabama Governor to Halt Execution of Nathaniel Woods. commondreams.org Civil rights groups and the son of Martin Luther King Jr. are calling on Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to halt the execution of 44-year-old Nathaniel Woods, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday evening despite serious questions about his guilt and serious concerns about the legal process that led to his sentence. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-03-04). Eyewitness Venezuela: Sanctions kill but Venezuelans stand strong. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – Over 40 people gathered March 1 to hear Brad Sigal and Sarah Martin talk about their experience at the third World Anti-Imperialist Congress in Venezuela. This Congress was attended by over 1500 delegates from 73 countries in January, included a delegation from Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The delegates were able to bring their organizational and individual experience to Caracas to work with each other on resisting imperialism. | Since Nicolás Maduro was elected president, the U.S. has ratcheted up sanctions, currency manipulation, and backed coup attempts to destabilize Venezuela…
(2020-03-04). Human rights defenders, too often left defenceless themselves — UN expert. news.un.org Human rights defenders working in conflict and post-conflict situations need to be given greater recognition, protection and support, an independent UN expert said on Wednesday, in his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
(2020-03-04). Violent extremism prevention 'only effective' if human rights are enshrined. news.un.org Many global programmes aimed at countering violent extremism have negative impacts on human rights and may even 'foster radicalization' rather than preventing it, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Wednesday.
(2020-03-04). Counter-Terrorism Programs Violate Human Rights: Report. telesurenglish.net Counter-extremism programs in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.) among other countries are violating human rights, a United Nations (U.N.) report submitted Wednesday to the Human Rights Council has found. | RELATED: | "Prevention is an important and necessary tool but it will only be effective when it is practiced in a way that protects and affirms rights," said Fionnuala Ni Aolain, U.N. Special Rap…
(2020-03-03). TRAP Laws are the Threat to Abortion Rights You Don't Know About. aclu.org This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case | that will have wide-reaching consequences for reproductive freedom and abortion | rights in America. It's the first time the Court has weighed those rights since | gaining a new conservative majority with the appointments of Justices Neil | Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And the stakes are high. | The case that the court will | hear, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, | is being argued by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CCR), and it involves a | law in Louisiana known as a "TRAP" — Targeted Restriction on Abortion | Providers. The detai…
(2020-03-03). No country is free from child sexual abuse, exploitation, UN's top rights forum hears. news.un.org Child sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and the use of children in prostitution "are a reality in all parts of the world", the Human Rights Council heard on Tuesday.
(2020-03-03). World remains a 'violent, highly discriminatory place' for girls. news.un.org Twenty-five years after the historic Beijing women's conference in China — a milestone in advancing equal rights — violence against women and girls is not only common, but widely accepted, a new UN report revealed on Wednesday.
(2020-03-02). Death Toll Rises in Iran, Middle East Epicenter of Coronavirus, Amid U.S. Sanctions & Gov't Negligence. democracynow.org 
The official coronavirus death toll in Iran, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, has risen to at least 54 — the highest number of fatalities outside of China, where the outbreak began. Experts say the real number of people who died from the disease may be as high as 200. This comes after Iran's deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, posted a video on social media last week acknowledging he contracted coronavirus. Just one day before, he seemed ill at a press conference, where he downplayed the spread of coronavirus in the city of Qom and said mass quarantines were unnecessary. Iran…
(2020-03-02). Refugee rights supporters rally for freedom outside detention hotel. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-01). Why are 1000s of Americans Being Detained for Dissent? dissidentvoice.org Author and civil rights attorney John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute joins Rick Sanchez to discuss the enduring effects of the PATRIOT Act and erosion of civil liberties in the US. He also explains "Operation Vigilant Eagle," a surveillance program to keep tabs on US veterans and track what they say online.
(2020-02-29). Protest demands reversal of decision in Chicago police torture survivor case. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – In an attack on the human rights movement to stop police torture in Chicago, a Cook County judge ordered a torture survivor back to prison for life on February 14. In doing so, Judge Thomas Hennelly ignored irrefutable X-ray evidence of Gerald Reed's torture at the hands of the infamous Jon Burge "midnight crew," flouted the findings of the governor-appointed Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission — which affirmed Gerald's claim of torture — and overturned the ruling of the judge formerly assigned to the case, who vacated Reed's original conviction before retiring. | In response to Hennel…
(2020-02-28). Weekend Read: 55 years after 'Bloody Sunday,' voting rights are still under attack. splcenter.org When they looked over the steel-arched crest of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965, the voting rights activists knew there would be trouble.
(2020-02-28). How Kevin DeAnna Orchestrated the Alt-Right's Approach to Conservative Institutions. splcenter.org Months after the loosely bound white nationalist movement known as the "alt-right" began to coalesce around then-candidate Donald Trump, Kevin DeAnna won the attention he felt he long deserved.
(2020-02-28). Prominent Iranian physician clears up misconceptions about outbreak & impact of sanctions. iranian.com Prominent Iranian physician & member of the Health Ministry Minoo Mohraz has for her part defended the health ministry's data but has also said the number of people infected has been underreported because sanctions had blocked access to diagnostic kits: twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409214… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409467… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409591… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409679… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233409919… twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1233410030… twitter.co…
(2020-02-27). Headlines for February 27, 2020. democracynow.org Fears of Coronavirus Pandemic Grow as U.S. Cites First "Community Spread" of Pathogen, Trump Blames "Caronavirus" Fears on Democrats and Fake News Reporting, Trump Taps VP Mike Pence, Who's Blamed for Indiana HIV Outbreak, to Lead Coronavirus Response, Gunman Kills 5 at Molson Coors Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Physicians Group Calls U.S. Migrant Family Separations "Torture", U.S. Drops Charge Against Scott Warren, Who Aided Migrants Crossing Desert, House Approves Emmett Till Act to Make Lynching a Federal Hate Crime, Feds Arrest Five Neo-Nazis for Threatening Journalists and Activists, ABC Suspends David Wr…
(2020-02-27). Defending Immigrants' Rights and Reproductive Freedom in the U.S. Supreme Court. aclu.org The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a number of cases this term that will have a crucial impact on civil rights and civil liberties — from LGBTQ equality to reproductive freedom and immigrants' rights. Earlier in the term, the ACLU had two cases asking whether workers can be fired for being LGBTQ. On March 2, we will be arguing a case on immigrants' rights, and we have filed or will file friend-of-the-court briefs in major cases involving reproductive freedom, contraceptive access, and religious freedom. | We sat down with David | Cole, the ACLU's national legal director, to discuss what's in store for the…
(2020-02-26). Family Separation, Two Years After Ms. L. aclu.org When the ACLU filed