(2021-01-08). Viet Nam: UN rights office denounces 'increasing clampdown' on freedom of expression. news.un.org The UN human rights office (OHCHR), on Friday, voiced concerns over the use of "vaguely defined laws" in Viet Nam, to arbitrarily detain an increasing number of journalists, bloggers, commentators and rights defenders, amidst what appears to be part of an "increasing clampdown" on the freedom of expression in the country.
(2021-01-08). Uganda: 'Deteriorating' human rights situation in run-up to elections next week. news.un.org The UN human rights office, OHCHR, is urging authorities in Uganda to ensure elections next week are free and peaceful, noting that the arrest of opposition candidates and their supporters are among several "worrying" developments ahead of the vote.
(2021-01-08). 60 High School Seniors Refuse To Serve In The Israeli Army. popularresistance.org Sixty Israelis of eligible draft age have signed a letter declaring their refusal to serve in the military because of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. | Departing from previous letters of this kind, the signatories call out the country's education system for various issues, such as encouraging enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces and emphasizing the Jewish narrative in Bible and history classes. | They also draw attention to issues they say the curriculum ignores, such as the expulsion of Arabs in 1948 and the current violation of human rights in the occupied territories. | In a letter sent…
(2021-01-08). Is Israel Practicing Vaccine Leadership or Medical Apartheid? counterpunch.org 
Israel has a population of around 9 million. About 20 percent of Israel's population are Palestinian citizens of Israel. These people can vote in elections, have representation in the Knesset, and are being vaccinated against COVID-19. But, there are another around 5 million Palestinians who live under Israeli rule, without rights, and like the rest of the world, are suffering from the pandemic.
(2021-01-08). 'Horrifying beyond words': China embassy tweet on Uighur women rebuked online. middleeasteye.net 
'Horrifying beyond words': China embassy tweet on Uighur women rebuked online | A tweet from Beijing's embassy in the US saying detained Uighur women were now 'emancipated' condemned as misrepresenting 'genocide' and 'forced sterilisation' | Fri, 01/08/2021 – 12: 26 | A demonstrator wears a mask painted with the colours of the East Turkestan flag and a hand bearing the colours of the Chinese flag in a pr…
(2021-01-08). Peruvian authorities confirm police responsibility in murder of agricultural worker amid strike. peoplesdispatch.org 
Since the beginning of December, hundreds of agricultural workers have been carrying out a strike demanding labor rights and better working conditions. Since then, 3 agricultural workers have been killed in various incidents of police repression…
(2021-01-08). Battleground Baltimore, Jan. 8. therealnews.com 
Local leaders react to the insurrection that happened just 45 minutes away in Washington. D.C.; why a move to end home detention fees might not go far enough; and a "spy plane" that has been flying in Baltimore (ostensibly to solve crime) is headed for St. Louis.
(2021-01-08). Hunger strikes at three New Jersey prisons. workers.org 
The filthy conditions, indefinite incarceration and escalating COVID infections have touched off desperate hunger strikes at three New Jersey county jails. Each jail operates as a prison-for-profit, renting space at $120 a day for ICE to jail out-of-state migrant detainees. The N.J. counties use the contracts to generate tens of . . . |
(2021-01-08). More War by Other Means: Sanctioning the Wife of Syria's President Makes No Sense to Anyone. globalresearch.ca I am a recipient of regular, usual weekly, emails from the Department of the Treasury providing an "Update to OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons." OFAC is the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is tasked …
(2021-01-08). Venezuela Reaffirms Its Sovereign Rights Over the Essequibo. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Thursday signed a presidential decree setting the country's maritime and territorial borders in order to protect national jurisdiction rights, especially on the disputed Essequibo territory. | RELATED: | He informed that the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was notified about his government rejections over the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling…
(2021-01-08). Censorship in America: The New Abnormal. POTUS Censored by Twitter. globalresearch.ca Speech, media and academic freedoms are too precious to lose. | Without them, all other rights are threatened — totalitarian rule replacing them, enforced by police state harshness. | What happened on Capitol Hill Wednesday has clear earmarks of an orchestrated false …
(2021-01-08). Censorship in America: The New Abnormal. President Trump Censored by Twitter. globalresearch.ca Speech, media and academic freedoms are too precious to lose. | Without them, all other rights are threatened — totalitarian rule replacing them, enforced by police state harshness. | What happened on Capitol Hill Wednesday has clear earmarks of an orchestrated false …
(2021-01-08). Requiring Men but not Women to Register for the Draft is Sex Discrimination. aclu.org The requirement that only men — but not women — register for the draft is one of the last examples of overt sex discrimination written into our federal law. Today, we joined two young men and the National Coalition For Men (NCFM) to
(2021-01-08). Chile intensifies its war against the Mapuche people. peoplesdispatch.org On the day the verdict was announced regarding the assassination of Mapuche leader Camilo Catrillanca, police carried out a violent raid of 6 Mapuche communites and violently detained members of Catrillanca's family to stop them from attending court…
(2021-01-07). Saudi Arabia: UN rights expert welcomes 'positive first step' toward détente in Gulf. news.un.org Saudi Arabia's action in lifting sanctions against Qatar is a "positive first step" towards normalized relations in the Gulf region, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday, urging the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to follow suit.
(2021-01-07). Callamard calls for 'clear, explicit and unambiguous standards' to protect civilian planes during conflicts. news.un.org Urgent measures are needed to protect civilian aircraft flying over conflict zones or other areas where military tensions are high, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday.
(2021-01-07). Hong Kong: UN human rights office urges immediate release of arrested activists. news.un.org The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Thursday voiced deep concerns over the arrests of over 50 individuals under the new National Security Law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, and called for their immediate release.
(2021-01-07). Brutal Human Rights Abuses — Torture, Sanctions and Our Failure to Discuss Economic Rights. zcomm.org People in advanced nations assume that their governments do not torture prisoners, but it is practized by the US, and was used by Britain in its colonies and in Northern Ireland…
(2021-01-07). UN Rights Chief Slams US Capitol Attack. telesurenglish.net UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday said that her office is deeply troubled by Wednesday's assault on the U.S. Capitol, noting that the violence showed the destructive impact of hatred by political leaders. | RELATED: | "We are deeply troubled by Wednesday's attack on the U.S. Capitol, which demonstrated clearly the destructive impact of sustained, deliberate distortion of facts, and incitement to…
(2021-01-07). Police Arrest Several People Near Court After Assange's Bail Denied. popularresistance.org London – The police arrested several supporters of Assange who did not have press IDs and refused to disperse as the city is currently under a lockdown and public gatherings prohibited. Among the detained are several women and an elderly man. | Journalists with proper identifications were allowed to continue their work. Earlier in the day, Westminster Magistrates Court refused to release Assange on bail, leaving him incarcerated while a US appeal against the decision not to extradite him to the United States is considered. | Assange was arrested in London in April 2019 and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jump…
(2021-01-07). PDF of January 7 issue. workers.org 
Download the 12-page PDF. Alabama prisons: ON STRIKE! 'Relief' bill offers little; Outrage at year's end; Workers as 'contractors'; Massive hack; Historic postal strike; Editorial: COVID unpreparedness. GLOBAL: Cuban and Haitian revolutions; Brexit crisis; Long live DPRK; Argentina: abortion rights victory. TEAR DOWN THE WALLS: Exonerate Mumia! Letter from Pennsylvania . . . |
(2021-01-07). Consumers 'targets of technical bullying' by Chinese tech firms, watchdog warns. rt.com 
The government-backed China Consumers Association (CCA) has accused tech firms in the country of violating consumer rights by misusing data, distorting algorithms and subjecting users to "technical bullying." | While the CCA did not single out any specific companies in its criticism, it raised concerns over firms that have developed rapidly into large-scale organizations in the consumer sector, particularly those dealing with accommodation, food delivery, online shopping, online gaming, transportation and travel. | The watchdog noted that the collection and handling of data have "aroused widespread concern in…
(2021-01-07). Cuba: Infant Mortality Stayed Low in 2020. telesurenglish.net Cuba's Health Ministry (MINSAP) reported an infant mortality rate of 4.9 per 1,000 live births in 2020 despite the pressures put by the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. sanctions on the health system. | RELATED: | The Medical Records and Statistics Division informed that 105,030 children were born on the island, which represents 4,686 fewer births than in 2019. | Experiencing a reduction in the under-five years' mortality rate, the Carib…
(2021-01-07). Trump Auction for Arctic Oil Rights Sees Little Interest: 'Era of Drilling for Oil at Any Cost Is Over'. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-07). Nurses Join Calls for Trump to be Removed 'Sanctions, Accountability Needed for Failed Coup'. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-07). National Lawyers' Committee Board Co-Chairs Scheindlin, Sager and West on Kristen Clarke's Nomination as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-01-07). Police Reform Advocates Press Minnesota Legislature For More. popularresistance.org Civil rights organizers were back at Minnesota's Capitol as a new legislative session got underway Tuesday, ready to mount another push for changes to police accountability laws less than a week after another fatal police shooting in Minneapolis. | "We know that George Floyd is not an anomaly," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "George Floyd represents the history of state violence against people of color in this country and particularly against Black people." | Floyd's death last May in the custody of Minneapolis police officers made M…
(2021-01-07). Tunisian Forces Arrest High-Ranking Al-Qaeda Operative, Interior Ministry States. sputniknews.com CAIRO (Sputnik) – Tunisia's security services have detained a terrorist from among the leaders of the Al-Qaeda* terror group (banned in Russia), the country's interior ministry said on Thursday.
(2021-01-07). China Urges UK to Forget Colonial Mentality in Hong Kong Issues. telesurenglish.net China on Thursday urged the United Kingdom to abandon its illusion of colonial influence on Hong Kong and to cease interfering in China's internal affairs. | RELATED: | British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday said that the arrests of activists in Hong Kong were "a grievous attack on Hong Kong's rights and freedoms" as protected under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. | In response, Foreign Affairs Ministry spok…
(2021-01-07). The DWP is continuing with sanctions despite a national lockdown. thecanary.co The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has just DWP Jobcentres: remaining open: | On Wednesda…
(2021-01-07). Hirak activists on hunger strike against pre-trial detention hospitalized in Algeria. peoplesdispatch.org The three Hirak activists – Mohamed Tadjadit (25), Noureddine Khimoud (25) and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani (38) – began a hunger strike on December 27 last year after they were denied bail and their pre-trial detention was extended by the authorities…
(2021-01-07). Pamela Winn Fights the Shackling of Pregnant People. aclu.org Pamela Winn was sent to federal prison when she was six weeks pregnant. In prison, she fell down attempting to step into a van while shackled. She was not given prenatal care and she miscarried a little over three months later, shackled to a prison bed., , Winn, who was released from prison in 2013, is now an activist for the rights of incarcerated women. She helped enact a law to prevent the shackling of pregnant people in Georgia and is leading a mission to end prison birth altogether , But her story is not unique. There are currently thousands of pregnant people in prison. Many are not given proper medical…
(2021-01-06). Human Rights Watch Urges Biden to End Trump's 'Devastating' Remain In Mexico Policy. commondreams.org The global organization Human Rights Watch urged President-elect Joe Biden to "quickly and decisively" end a two-year-old policy under which tens of thousands of asylum seekers have been forced to stay in squalid and often dangerous makeshift shelters in Mexico. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-01-06). UN human rights expert 'cautiously' welcomes UK court's refusal to extradite Julian Assange. news.un.org An independent UN human rights expert has welcomed a British court's refusal to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States on the basis that he would be exposed to oppressive conditions of imprisonment.
(2021-01-06). Trade union coalition in Sudan launches campaign to dissolve government-backed militia. peoplesdispatch.org The Sudanese Professionals Association launched the campaign following the torture and killing of a young activist, Bahaeldin Nouri, who was abducted by the intelligence wing of the government-backed Rapid Support Forces on December 21…
(2021-01-06). Medical doctors respond to Assange extradition ruling: "He must be released without delay" wsws.org "We demand that all legal proceedings be dropped and that he be released from prison, and only then will his psychological torture finally end."
(2021-01-06). Journalists, Activists Condemn UK Decision to Keep Assange Locked Up without Charge. mintpressnews.com 
"To us, that is nothing more than a pretext to keep him detained. This seems unnecessarily punitive and adding insult to injury after the 10 years of hell that he has endured" — Rebecca Vincent, Reporters Without Borders…
(2021-01-06). The COVID-19 RT-PCR Test: How to Mislead All Humanity. Using a "Test" To Lock Down Society. globalresearch.ca The misuse of the RT-PCR technique is used as an intentional strategy by some governments, supported by scientific safety councils and by the dominant media, to justify the violation of a large number of constitutional rights, the destruction of the economy with the bankruptcy of entire active sectors of society,…
(2021-01-06). Iran Uses Its Grip on Strait of Hormuz to Fight Back US-Imposed Sanctions. globalresearch.ca Iran has found an original way of dealing with sanctions and limitations imposed on it by the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign launched by the Trump administration. | On January 4, the Navy of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detained a …
(2021-01-06). The Onus Is Now on the SC to Protect Constitutional Rights to Privacy and Free Choice. zcomm.org While the apex court on January 6 will take up pleas for anti-conversion laws, two views of citizen's rights will be in direct contention — one propagated by the right-wing and the other enshrined in the constitution…
(2021-01-05). Minnesota Is Changing The Way It Teaches Social Studies. popularresistance.org Minnesota's K-12 social studies standards are undergoing extensive revisions in search of a more inclusive approach that teaches about people previously left out of the discussion. | A diverse committee's first draft, now open for public comment, gives greater consideration to the Dakota and Anishinaabe tribes and covers for the first time the civil rights struggles of LGBTQ people. | The draft standards, according to Doug Paulson, the state education department's academic standards director, are "more inclusive" and "culturally affirming." | Still, some committee members think the first draft doesn't go far enou…
(2021-01-05). "We have fewer rights than animals": The unbearable life in the Greek refugee camp Kara Tepe. wsws.org Anyone wanting to gauge the criminal character of European governments and the European Union (EU) must look to Kara Tepe, the temporary camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.