(2020-03-20). Fighting COVID 19 in Cuba, China and the United States. counterpunch.org 
Governments, according to Thomas Jefferson, are supposed to guarantee people's rights to "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness." COVID 19 has out people's lives and health in the spotlight now. What kind of tools do governments have at their disposal to protect lives and health? Cuba has the advantages of forward-looking leadership, well-orchestrated state
(2020-03-20). Fighting COVID-19 in Cuba, China, and the United States. peoplesworld.org 
Governments, according to Thomas Jefferson, are supposed to guarantee people's rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." COVID-19 has put people's lives and health in the spotlight now. What kinds of tools do governments have at their disposal to protect lives and health? Cuba has the advantages of forward-looking leadership, well-orchestrated state planning, …
(2020-03-20). Pakistan's PM Khan calls for lifting of Iran sanctions amid global virus crisis. rt.com 
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Friday for the lifting of US-led sanctions on neighboring Iran, so Tehran can better deal with its novel coronavirus crisis. The comments came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote to Khan, asking for help in dealing with the novel coronavirus outbreak that has now killed at least 1,433 people in the Islamic republic, AFP reported. | "I would stress and insist to the international community to lift the sanctions on Iran," Khan told reporters. "It is very unjust they are dealing with such a large outbreak on one side, and on the other they are facing interna…
(2020-03-20). 'Utter contempt for human life': Iranian FM Zarif slams US for hitting Tehran with new sanctions amid Covid-19 crisis. rt.com 
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif accused the US of taking its policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran to a "new level of inhumanity" by imposing new sanctions on Iran as it struggles to cope with a huge surge of Covid-19 cases.
(2020-03-20). Stanford Professor Michael McFaul dunks on Khamenei… by puzzling over why Iran doesn't use Gregorian calendar. rt.com 
Ex-ambassador Michael McFaul has taken to Twitter to express astonishment over the start of the Iranian New Year, leading to speculation that he might not know that there are non-Gregorian calendars out there. | The former US envoy to Russia and current Stanford academic found it fitting to mock Iran's supreme leader for commenting on the start of the Iranian (or Persian) New Year, Nowruz. In his tweet, Ali Khamenei had congratulated his country for becoming more self-reliant in the face of US sanctions, but urged for further production boosts in 1399 to help the Islamic Republic recover from Washington's econ…
(2020-03-20). Santa Rita Jail Solidarity During the Coronavirus Pandemic. indybay.org As businesses, schools, and institutions close to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, many people are wondering how to support people in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers.
(2020-03-20). U.S. sanctions on Iran are making its coronavirus crisis worse. zcomm.org Ilhan Omar is calling for them to be suspended…
(2020-03-20). Immigrants in US detention facilities plea for help as coronavirus pandemic spreads. wsws.org The lack of medical care and the extremely close quarters in America's detention camps create excellent conditions for the coronavirus to spread rapidly if even a single person catches the disease.
(2020-03-20). Immigrants in US detention facilities plead for help as coronavirus pandemic spreads. wsws.org The lack of medical care and the extremely close quarters in America's detention camps create excellent conditions for the coronavirus to spread rapidly if even a single person catches the disease.
(2020-03-20). Headlines for March 20, 2020. democracynow.org Worldwide COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 10,000 as Italian Nurses "Stop Counting the Dead", Refugee Groups Warn of COVID-19 "Carnage" in Camps Housing Millions of Refugees, Coronavirus Multiplies Across Australia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East, California Gov. Gavin Newsom Issues Statewide "Stay at Home" Order for 40 Million, New York Mayor Calls on Trump to Mobilize Military to Aid Overwhelmed Hospitals, Georgia State Legislators Urged to Self-Quarantine; Spring Break Revelers Party On in Florida, Demands Grow to Empty ICE Jails as NJ Detention Center Worker Tests Positive, Trump Blasts "Corrupt" Media at Ramb…
(2020-03-20). Expert: US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during pandemic could be genocidal. thegrayzone.com Intensified US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to genocide, a former UN expert warns. Iran…
(2020-03-20). It's Been Open Season on Voting Rights Since SCOTUS Gutted Voting Rights Act. truthout.org Election protection is increasingly seen as a critical issue in the US. Since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, there have been problems with voter purging, voter ID laws, what some call modern-day 'poll taxes', precinct closures, and difficulties with voting machines. Congress has noted serious attempts to hack into voting systems in the US based in partisan politics. Women Rising Radio joins two election protection activists to talk about threats to the U.S. electoral p…
(2020-03-20). Sanctions: Unilateral Coercive Measures for Regime Change in Venezuela. globalresearch.ca In discussing the issue of "sanctions" there are two main points that need to be made. One is the use of the correct terminology when referring to the government actions that the US, Canada and the EU take in order …
(2020-03-20). Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws against Iran. A Humanitarian Message. globalresearch.ca U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people. Presently, the U.S. "maximum pressure" policy severely undermines Iranian efforts to cope with the ravages of COVID-19, causing hardship and tragedy while …
(2020-03-20). Iran's IMF Request Shows Just How Desperate Tehran has Become. globalresearch.ca The combination of crippling American sanctions, the compliance with the aforesaid by the US' "comprehensive global strategic partner" India (formerly one of Tehran's top energy partners) out of fear of so-called "secondary sanctions", the uncontrollable outbreak of COVID-19 in the …
(2020-03-20). ACLU Demands the Release from Prisons and Jails of Communities Vulnerable to COVID-19. indybay.org ACLU Also Calls for Release of People Currently in Pretrial Detention Because of Cash Bail to Prevent a Public Health Crisis…
(2020-03-20). Grassroots effort sponsored by SPLC protects voting rights for hundreds across South Florida. splcenter.org Clutching a clipboard full of voter registration forms under his arm, Marq Mitchell knocked on the front door of a small, beige, stucco house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
(2020-03-20). [Commentary] Women and girls' health agency: Operationalizing the "Can-Act-Resist" of the women's empowerment process. thelancet.com This year marks the 25th anniversary of Bejing Declaration and Platform for Action — which committed to the improvement of human rights for women and girls, as well as the 5th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly ratifying the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG5- to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Unfortunately, despite advancements made in some areas of gender equality and empowerment, such as reductions in child marriage and female genital mutilation, we have seen minimal improvements in either the health indicators related to women and girls' e…
(2020-03-20). [Comment] UN General Assembly tuberculosis targets: are we on track? thelancet.com The 2018 UN General Assembly (UNGA) Political Declaration on Tuberculosis was a turning point in global efforts to end the tuberculosis epidemic.1,2 Ambitious targets were set for scale-up and roll-out of diagnostic, treatment, and prevention services, political commitments, principles of equity and human rights, and financing, implementation, and research. Targets included diagnosing and treating an additional 40 million people with tuberculosis by 2022 and generating US$13 billion per year for tuberculosis care and prevention and $2 billion per year for research and development.
(2020-03-20). The Sudanese Ousted a Dictator Last Year—Why Is Washington Still Imposing Sanctions? thenation.com The Sudanese Ousted a Dictator Last Year—Why Is Washington Still Imposing Sanctions?
(2020-03-20). US imperialism exploits coronavirus as a weapon of war. wsws.org The maintenance and tightening of punishing economic sanctions against Iran as it confronts one of the world's worst outbreaks of the coronavirus constitutes a US war crime.
(2020-03-20). Hundreds of EU Citizens Denied Right to Stay in UK Following Brexit. sputniknews.com Home affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said the British government's deadline for a settled status would leave thousands of EU nationals at risk of eviction, detention, and even deportation.
(2020-03-20). US sanctions impede Iran's fight against coronavirus. yenisafak.com The eerie silence in the deserted streets of Tehran is in sharp contrast to the palpable buzz in hospitals these days with the novel coronavirus pandemic assuming alarming proportions and cases mounting.The total number of confirmed cases has reached 18,407 with the death toll climbing to 1,284. According to the Health Ministry, around 50 new cases and six deaths are reported every hour across the country.While new cases have seen an inconsistent increase, the fatalities are surging steadily and alarmingly. Thursday's death toll of 149 is the highest single-day coronavirus death toll in Iran.The epicenter of the…
(2020-03-19). Trump's Deportation Machine Is Still Churning Despite Coronavirus Outbreak. truthout.org This story has been updated. | Federal deportation proceedings for incarcerated migrants and immigration defendants continue nationwide despite pleas from defense attorneys, human rights groups and some judges who fear that in-person court hearings and conditions of confinement inside immigration jails could facilitate the rapid spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. | The Trump administration's decision to continue pursuing deportation orders and immigration charges against jailed immi…
(2020-03-19). Headlines for March 19, 2020. democracynow.org Italy Records Record 475 Coronavirus Deaths as Infections Continue Climbing, British PM Boris Johnson Closes Schools After Reversing Lax Virus Containment Plan, Millions of Brazilians Protest from Windows and Balconies Demanding President's Ouster, World Health Organization Warns Critical Lack of Testing Is Costing Lives, Egypt Arrests Protesters Calling for Release of Prisoners at Risk of COVID-19, Yemen, Already Wracked by U.S.-Supported, Saudi-Led War, Braces for Coronavirus, Trump Admin Tightens Sanctions That Have Devastated Iran's Public Health System, Trump Signs Coronavirus Relief Bill Providing Paid Leav…
(2020-03-19). Video: Aleppo Man Imprisoned and Tortured by West's "Rebels" in Terrorist-Occupied Hospital Complex. globalresearch.ca Long, productive, rewarding, and also sad, day in Aleppo. The sad—tragic—part was meeting a man, Abdel Aziz, who was held in the terrorists' underground prison in the Eye/Children's Hospital complex, occupied by terrorist factions until liberation of eastern Aleppo areas …
(2020-03-19). PCHR Demands Provision of Health and Humanitarian Standards at Gaza Strip COVID-19 Quarantine Centers. imemc.org The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is closely monitoring the precautionary measures adopted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the Gaza Strip in the face of Coronavirus (COVID-19), including the medical exam procedures and quarantine policies for Palestinians returning from abroad via Rafah and Beit Hanoun "Erez" Crossings, …
(2020-03-19). We Know Prisons Need COVID-19 Plans, but our Arizona Prison Tour Suggests it's not Happening. aclu.org Earlier this month, the
(2020-03-19). Economists Demand Trump Immediately Lift Iran, Cuba, Venezuela Sanctions. truthout.org A group of economists and policy experts on Wednesday
(2020-03-19). US Aims to 'Maximize Suffering' With Iran Sanctions as Outbreak Deepens — Scholar. iranian.com On Tuesday, the US added even more sanctions on Iran, which is in the midst of a severe COVID-19 outbreak. US sanctions were already killing the sick in Iran even before the pandemic, but one Iranian scholar told Sputnik the bigger problem is regional poverty, which is also largely Washington's doing. US Secretary of State …
(2020-03-18). Delay or Hold Primaries: Can the 2020 Election Be Safeguarded Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic? democracynow.org 
Tuesday night's primary election for the Democratic presidential nomination was marred by chaos, confusion and fears over the spread of coronavirus at polling places as former Vice President Joe Biden consolidated his lead as he won Florida and Illinois by a wide margin and scored a victory in Arizona. We are joined by Vanita Gupta, former head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in the Obama administration, now president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights coalition. They issued a call with 100 voting rights groups for states to proce…
(2020-03-18). Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws: A Humanitarian Message. dissidentvoice.org 
Protester's sign decries sanctions, "a silent war" (Photo Credit: Campaign for Peace and Democracy, 2013) U.S. sanctions against Iran, cruelly strengthened in March of 2018, continue a collective punishment of extremely vulnerable people. Presently, the U.S. "maximum pressure" policy severely undermines Iranian efforts to cope with the ravages of COVID-19, causing hardship and tragedy while …
(2020-03-18). How Victims of the US' "Maximum Pressure" Campaign Are Coping with Coronavirus. mintpressnews.com 
Despite crippling sanctions, years of war, military intervention and a "maximum pressure "campaign that has only increased since the coronavirus began, victims of America's heavy-handed foreign policy are rising to the challenge.
(2020-03-18). The Military Should not be Searching Cars or Checking Documents at the Border. aclu.org There's an old saying that goes, "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." This adage is especially applicable to the Trump administration's approach toward border policy, which is ever more militarized. On March 6th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials
(2020-03-18). China's Damning US Human Rights Report May Be Propaganda, but It's Not Wrong. mintpressnews.com China just released a 13,000-word report on the state of human rights in the United States. While the report clearly has an agenda, it's not inaccurate.
(2020-03-18). US Imposes New Iran Sanctions, Complicating Coronavirus. iranian.com Last week, Iranian officials emphasized that US sanctions are making their reaction to the coronavirus outbreak much more difficult, leading to both Iran and China to urge the US to put those sanctions on hold for humanitarian reason. Not going after Iran for humanitarian reasons, needless to say, isn't a policy that the administration considers, …
(2020-03-18). Is murder still a crime, though? Philly introduces catch-and-release for looters & drug dealers until coronavirus crisis ends. rt.com 
Cops in Philadelphia have stopped making arrests for an array of crimes — including drugs, theft and sex work — adopting a catch-and-release policy for the span of the Covid-19 crisis, in what some saw as a step toward anarchy. | The city's (perhaps aptly named) Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw ordered the dramatic policy change on Tuesday, detailed in a memo leaked to local media outlets. Starting on March 17, officers were instructed to only briefly detain those caught committing a laundry list of non-violent offenses, ranging from car and retail theft — which would cover looting — b…
(2020-03-17). Italy and UK rely on help from Cuba, China, Venezuela to fight coronavirus — as US steps up brutal sanctions. thegrayzone.com Italy requested doctors from China, Cuba, and Venezuela to contain the coronavirus, while Cuba rescued a ship of British citizens….
(2020-03-17). US ramps up sanctions devastating Venezuela's health sector as coronavirus spreads. thegrayzone.com Promising to "smash" Venezuela's government during a "maximum pressure March," Trump has imposed crushing sanctions that force Venezuela to spend…
(2020-03-17). 475 lawyers demand Israel Bar Association rescind effort to intervene in Int'l Criminal Court deliberations on 'Situation in Palestine'. imemc.org By The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel — Aadalah: Lawyers: IBA move, pushed through in a hasty and underhanded manner, is strictly political in motive and is seemingly intended to advocate Israeli government positions entrenching occupation.
(2020-03-17). Israeli Troops Detain Palestinian Residents in the West Bank. imemc.org Israeli army troops reportedly detained earlier on Tuesday, seven Palestinian residents from different areas in the West Bank. According to the Palestinian Detainees Club Forum in Ramallah city, Israeli occupation troops stormed both Awarta and Beita villages of Nablus city, arresting two Palestinian young men, Mojahed Awwad and Sameh Barakat. …
(2020-03-17). Iran calls on Europe to defy US sanctions amid COVID-19 outbreak. iranian.com Iran's foreign minister has called on London and the European Union to defy Washington's anti-Iran sanctions amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. In a Monday phone conversation with his British counterpart Dominic Raab, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced the US' illegal and unilateral sanctions against Iran as an obstacle to the battle …
(2020-03-17). Spain Locks Down & Nationalizes Private Healthcare as Coronavirus Deaths Double & Cases Skyrocket. democracynow.org 
Europe is the epicenter of coronavirus, and Spain now has the second most cases in Europe, with more than 2,000 new cases in 24 hours and the number of deaths doubled. We'll go to Madrid for an update, where more than half of the country's cases have been reported. This comes as the Spanish government announced it is nationalizing hospitals and private healthcare companies to better manage the pandemic. We are joined by María Carrión, a freelance journalist and former Democracy Now! producer who is also executive director of FiSahara and co-founder of Nomads HRC, which focus on human rights in Western Sahara.
(2020-03-16). As Coronvirus Grips the US, Americans Get a Taste of Life Under Sanctions. mintpressnews.com Crippling shortages, travel restrictions and overwhelmed medical services will give Americans a taste of what it is like for the millions of people living under US sanctions worldwide.
(2020-03-16). Headlines for March 16, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Pandemic Death Toll Tops 6,500 Worldwide, About 170,000 Confirmed Cases, U.S. Coronavirus Cases Reach 3,600 as True Number of Infections Continues to be Unknown, Trump Tests Negative for Coronavirus After Being in Contact with Brazilian Official Infected with COVID-19, States Across U.S. Ramp Up Measures to Control Spread of Coronavirus, Including Massive School, Business Closures, Federal Judge Blocks Trump Rule That Would Have Thrown 700,000 People Off Food Stamps, AOC Confronts ICE Agent at LaGuardia Airport as 6 Migrant Children Detained in Texas Were Relocated to New York, Sanders, Biden Faced Of…
(2020-03-16). Iran Tests 10 Million People for Coronavirus — Report. iranian.com With nearly 14,000 confirmed cases and more than 800 deaths, Iran has been one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19. The country's medical response to the crisis has been complicated by crippling US sanctions, which have led to shortages of basic medical equipment, including protective facemasks. Iran's health authorities have screened over 10 million …
(2020-03-16). China Calls US Sanctions against Iran 'Immoral' amid Virus Epidemic. iranian.com China on Monday called on the US to remove its sanctions against Iran, saying that the embargoes will hamper the country's response to the coronavirus outbreak. The unilateral US sanctions will further hamper Iran's efforts in combating the virus while it's already struggling to cope with the crisis, Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry …
(2020-03-14). SPLC offices, Civil Rights Memorial Center close. splcenter.org Our work continues with fervor and is needed more now than ever.
(2020-03-13). No, Venezuela does not have a six child per family policy. zcomm.org I respect UK journalist Andrew Buncombe. As I noted for FAIR last year, he was one of the few corporate journalists who reported on a study linking Trump's financial sanctions on Venezuela to thousands of deaths by the end of 2018. Since 2018, Trump has repeatedly intensified the sanctions and threatened Venezuela with military action,
(2020-03-13). Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group Presents "Make the Family Great Again" Petition to U.S. State Department Commission. splcenter.org Anti-LGBTQ hate group Ruth Institute presented a "Make the Family Great Again" petition to the State Department at its Commission on Unalienable Rights meeting Feb. 21.