(2021-04-03). Mexico: Women Rights Activists Protest Over Femicides. telesurenglish.net Women rights activists took to the streets in Mexico City to protest recent femicides in the State of Quintana Roo and the murder of Salvadorean migrant Victoria Salazar. | RELATED: | Chanting "Victoria did not die, the police killed her!" and "My friends take care of me, not the police", activists marched from the Revolution Monument to the "Paseo de la Reforma" street. | NGO Marabunta Humanitarian Brigade accompanied the…
(2021-04-03). Jordan: Former Head Of Royal Court, Other Senior Officials Arrested. eurasiareview.com 
Jordanian citizens Hasan bin Zaid and Bassem Awadallah, who is a former head of the Jordanian Royal Court, have been arrested, Jordan News Agency reported. | The arrests were made after close security follow-ups and "for security reasons," the agency reported. | Jordan News Agency said Prince Hamza bin Al-Hussein was not one of the people detained, despite reports in some publications, including the Washington Post, which claimed he had been arrested. | Saudi Arabia expressed the Kingdom's support for Jordan and any measures that the country takes to protect it's security, Al-Ekhbariya reported.
(2021-04-03). US State Department Report Slams India On Media Curbs. eurasiareview.com 
In a wide ranging report on human rights violations in India in the year 2020, the US State Department has, among other things, detailed attacks on press and media freedom. | Released on March 30, the report quoted Indian journalists as saying that press freedom declined during the year. Reporters without Borders 2020 World Press Freedom Index said that physical attacks and "coordinated hate campaigns waged on social networks" against journalists were cited as major areas of concern. | "Harassment and violence against journalists were particularly acute for female journalists. Journalists working in Jammu and…
(2021-04-03). Revoking The Coup In Myanmar — Analysis. eurasiareview.com 
The situation in Myanmar following the Tatmadaw's coup d'état of February 1, 2021 is at a critical point. The insular Tatmadaw, backed by China and Russia, along with supportive regional players, is unlikely to capitulate from traditional sanctions and a compromised United Nations (UN). | The first step in crafting an effective response is to identify the primary drivers and objectives of the coup. Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, controlled the Ministries of Defense (armed forces), Home Affairs (national police force), and Border Affairs. Myanmar soldiers, police, militias, and the courts…
(2021-04-03). Brothers EMpowered Is Building That Village We All Need to Thrive. popularresistance.org Charles Caine has a dream. Just like Martin Luther King understood civil rights include economic rights, Caine wants to give all people an opportunity to prosper. That mission starts with his two sons (ages 16 and 13) and the other youth he mentors in North Minneapolis as the president and executive director of Brothers EMpowered. | Caine founded the community mentorship organization in 2014 to help men of color overcome the barriers in their lives and the lives in their communities. His inspiration came from years of struggling as a young Black man in urban America. After overcoming many challenges and barriers…
(2021-04-03). US Sanctions Are Killing Innocent Syrians. popularresistance.org A friend of mine was found dead in his bed this past winter because he had no heating. Why? Because U.S. sanctions are hurting ordinary people rather than Bashar al-Assad's government; there is only an hour or so of electricity per day. | Last month, my phone rang. A relative in Damascus asked me to help a young Syrian child, Mohammed Daafis. Two-year-old Mohammed's family uses a Primus kerosene stove, a Victorian-era product, for cooking. There is no boiler for running hot water in the shower. Electricity rationing in Syria has reached its highest levels due to the government's inability to secure the fuel neede…
(2021-04-03). No Talks Needed For US Return To Iran Nuclear Deal. popularresistance.org Last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced that Tehran is in "no hurry" to return to its obligations under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and is prepared to wait until the US lifts its illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic. | Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has stated that a possible US decision to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, also known asthe Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), does not require any talks. | Speaking to the deal's remaining signatories during a virtual meeting on Friday, Araqchi added that "Iran will suspend its steps [scaling back compliance…
(2021-04-03). Iran Rules Out US Claim of "Step-by-Step" Lifting of Sanctions. telesurenglish.net "As has been clearly stated many times, no step-by-step plan is being considered," Khatibzadeh told Press TV. | RELATED: | "The definitive policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the lifting of all US sanctions, whether those which Trump reimposed after withdrawing from the JCPOA or those which he initiated, as well as sanctions imposed under any other heading," he said. | His remarks came in response to claims…
(2021-04-03). Jordan's former crown prince detained amid crackdown on alleged coup plotters. middleeasteye.net 
Jordan's former crown prince detained amid crackdown on alleged coup plotters | Prince Hamzah bin Hussein restricted to his palace in Amman, though the army insists he is not among those arrested | Sat, 04/03/2021 – 19: 05 | A split photo showing King Abdullah II and Prince Hamzah bin Hussein (AFP) | Jordan has detained a former crown prince at home and arrested two senior ex-officials…
(2021-04-03). Treasury Notifies Congress of $650 Billion Emergency Reserves to Fight Global COVID Crisis. indybay.org Washington DC —Treasury notified Congress of its support for $650 billion in IMF global reserves, also known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), to assist developing countries struggling with the coronavirus crisis. US law requires a ninety-day advance alert to Congress before the US votes for SDRs with the IMF board.
(2021-04-03). Illinois: After 31 Years, Gerald Reed is Free! fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. | The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) greets the commutation of Gerald Reed's life sentence today by Governor J. B. Pritzker as a courageous act to set right a terrible crime against a Black man committed 31 years ago. Now we need to finish the job of freeing all survivors of police torture who were convicted by confessions coerced by police and dismantling the prison industrial complex as a whole. | Reed was convicted of a double murder in 1990 after…
(2021-04-03). Illinois: After 31 Years, Gerald Reed is Free! fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. | The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) greets the commutation of Gerald Reed's life sentence today by Governor J. B. Pritzker as a courageous act to set right a terrible crime against a Black man committed 31 years ago. Now we need to finish the job of freeing all survivors of police torture who were convicted by confessions coerced by police and dismantling the prison industrial complex as a whole. | Reed was convicted of a double murder in 1990 after…
(2021-04-03). Jordan's Prince Hamzah: 'No one is able to speak'. middleeasteye.net 
Jordan's Prince Hamzah: 'No one is able to speak' | Detained ex-crown prince releases video saying 'I am not the person responsible for the breakdown in governance, the corruption and for the incompetence' | Sat, 04/03/2021 – 22: 37 | A screenshot of a video of Prince Hamzah the royal sent to the BBC from house arrest (Screenshot) | From effective house arrest, Jordan's Prince Hamzah bin Hussein sent a video c…
(2021-04-03). New Batch Of Syrian Militants Moved To Turkey. What Is The Next Stop? southfront.org 
Illustrative image | A batch of Syrian militants has arrived in Turkey in preparation for a possible deployment in Libya or other countries, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on April 3. | According to the London-based monitoring group, around 380 militants were taken to Turkey in the last few days. Libya is the most likely end destination. | Despite recent
(2021-04-02). Thousands of migrant children remain detained in overflowing detention camps along southern US border. wsws.org Children are being kept in eight "pods" consisting of 500 children each, crowded into cages lined with see-through plastic sheets at a Department of Homeland Security facility in Donna, Texas.
(2021-04-02). Four FundaREDES 'Candid Activists' Detained in Apure State. orinocotribune.com 
On March 31, Venezuelan NGO FundaREDES denounced the arrest of two of its members in Apure state, and of two journalists from the Colombian channel NTN24 by the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB). | The opposition activist Javier Tarazona is promoting a smear campaign on social media, referring to the "forced disappearance" of four Venezuelans for allegedly "documenting the violation of human rights in the area" by Venezuelan military deployed to defend Venezuelan sovereignty. | These claims are contradicted by the fact that, while claiming a missing persons case, organizations like the National Union of Press Worke…
(2021-04-02). Young labor leader murdered by Duterte in Philippines. peoplesworld.org 
A 35-year old trade union leader Dandy Miguel was killed on 28 March in Calamba city, after taking cases of extrajudicial killings to the Commission of Human Rights. His death adds to the more than 50 trade unionists that have been killed since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016. Dandy Miguel was …
(2021-04-02). Gerald Reed freed after 31 years of wrongful imprisonment. peoplesworld.org 
Gerald Reed is finally free after spending 31 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker commuted Reed's sentence to time served on April 1. Reed was one of the hundreds of young African American men brutally tortured into making a false confession by Chicago police during the 1970s, 80s …
(2021-04-02). Australian Labor Party backs coal, gas and "border protection" wsws.org With no dissent, the party conference supported fossil fuel super-profits and the brutal detention of refugees.
(2021-04-02). Fake News Op in the 'Candid Activists' Case: There was No Arrest, Only Protection of Journalists in Apure. orinocotribune.com This Thursday, April 1, the launch of a new media conspiracy against Venezuela was attempted on social media networks and in the US-financed "free press," but the truth quickly emerged. Finally, the alleged detention of journalists in Apure state, allegedly covering the events in the Colombian-Venezuelan border territory, was reported as false. | A new fake news story was spread by some media and journalists who assured that several journalists and activists were apprehended; some even dared to describe the arrests as "force disappearance." | In addition, social media exploded with manipulations and falsehoods th…
(2021-04-02). New Domestic Terrorism Laws Won't End White Supremacy. aclu.org After the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, calls for new domestic terrorism laws grew louder. Proponents of the laws argue they'll provide law enforcement with more resources to go after white supremacists and stop the violence. Now, with the country reeling from a recent spike in mass shootings, the calls continue. | Not so fast, says Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project. New domestic terorrism laws will give the government even more power to surveil and criminalize communities of color. Existing counterrorism laws have already disproportionately affected these communities, an…
(2021-04-02). Syria and Iraq Cooperate To Promote Refugee Return. telesurenglish.net The Foreign Minister made the remarks during talks in Damascus with the Minister of Migration and Displaced Peoples in Iraq, Evan Faeq Gabro, referring to ongoing cooperation for the return of displaced Syrians. | RELATED: | Mekdad denounced that some Western countries politicize the issue and impose sanctions, in addition to dissuading refugees from returning to their homes and continuing to use their suffering…
(2021-04-02). Human Rights for Children: Beyond a Crime, Worldwide: The Immoral, Destructive Impacts of the Covid Measures on Our Children. globalresearch.ca Dear Mr. Nils Melzer, | My name is Peter Koenig, former economist …
(2021-04-02). Drawing a Line in a Time of Moral Decay: the Mission of William Alberts. counterpunch.org 
Americans want to be loved, yet are feared almost everywhere in the world. Americans see themselves as just and righteous, yet daily countenance harrowing transgressions of international law and basic human rights. We believe ourselves to be agents of freedom, yet most of us refuse to reflect on the ethical consequences of our imperial aggressions. We prefer not to know what is done in our name, not to see the mounds of corpses that litter the distant rims of the world from American missile and drone strikes. We don't want to know, because such an inquiry threatens the essential tenets of our self-identity, under…
(2021-04-02). Iran Says Removal Of US Sanctions First Step In Reviving JCPOA. eurasiareview.com 
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made it clear at an online session of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the verifiable termination of the US sanctions on Tehran is the first and foremost step in restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. | The 18th meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission was held via videoconference on Friday, April 2. | The webinar was chaired on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell by the Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora. | The meeting was attended by the representatives of Iran,…
(2021-04-02). UN expert calls on Bahrain to release human rights defender before 60th birthday. middleeasteye.net 
UN expert calls on Bahrain to release human rights defender before 60th birthday | Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, former president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, has been imprisoned on terror-related charges for the past 10 years | Fri, 04/02/2021 – 18: 29 | A placard reads "Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, will and determination, hunger strike" during an anti-government protest on 5 September 2014 (AFP/File photo) | A U…
(2021-04-02). As Biden Ramps Up Detention Capacity, Group Warns Contaminated Military Bases 'Are No Place' for Kids. commondreams.org "Immigrant children under the care of the federal government should not be in cages, let alone toxic sites in military bases," an Earthjustice attorney said. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-04-02). After UN Envoy Warns of 'Bloodbath,' Junta Imposes Internet Blackout Across Myanmar. commondreams.org The move came as Human Rights Watch said authorities have forcibly disappeared hundreds of politicians, election officials, journalists, activists, and protesters. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2021-04-02). Do We Really Want a Second Cold War? zcomm.org The protection of human rights is being geopolitically manipulated to mobilize public support for an anti-Chinese foreign policy in the West that risks generating a dangerous geopolitical confrontation…
(2021-04-02). "One more thing": Apple and Swatch at each other's throats. ukhumanrightsblog.com 
Swatch AG v Apple Inc [2021] EWHC 719 (Ch) This case has a history: the long running trade mark dispute between Swatch and Apple about the marks 'I-WATCH' and 'I-SWATCH'. I will go back to that in a moment. The dispute in question concerned trade mark applications designating the following signs, covering a wide range …
(2021-04-02). Repealing Sanctions on the ICC is a Critical First Step. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2021-04-02). Headlines for April 2, 2021. democracynow.org Ex-Supervisor Says Derek Chauvin's Fatal Restraint of George Floyd Violated Use-of-Force Policies , Texas Senate Passes Republican-Led Voter Suppression Bill, Texas Rangers Baseball Stadium to Open at Full Capacity Despite Surging Coronavirus Cases, U.N. Warns Burma Headed for Civil War as Military Junta Continues Brutal Crackdown, At Least 51 Dead, Dozens More Injured in Taiwan Train Crash , Arizona ICE Jail Violated Prisoners' Rights and Failed to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak, Biden Holds First Cabinet Meeting as Debate over Infrastructure Plan Continues, Unemployment Claims Rise as Pandemic Recovery Remains Uneve…
(2021-04-02). Will Georgia's Voting Law Be Repealed as Big Business Joins Critics Opposing "Jim Crow" Suppression? democracynow.org 
Activists are demanding accountability from Georgia-based companies in opposing a law that heavily restricts voting rights in the state, which many are calling the worst voter suppression legislation since the Jim Crow era. While some companies, including Coca-Cola and Delta, have weighed in on the Republican-backed crackdown on voting rights, Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter, says voicing opposition is not enough. "We're calling for a repeal of this voter suppression law, and we're asking these companies to divest future support that they've given," Albright says. "Stand b…