Migrants in detention in Texas face COVID-19
Mirinda Crissman | workers.org | 2020-04-08
Austin, Texas Migrants being held in detention in Texas have been facing abhorrent sanitary conditions in the detention facilities long before the coronavirus pandemic began. Now that the virus is here, and threatens to infect such a vulnerable and captive population at higher rates than the general population, many migrants . . . | Continue reading Migrants in detention in Texas face COVID-19 at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47542/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=migrants-in-detention-in-texas-face-covid-19

San Diego "Honk for Justice" Calls for the Release of people in ICE Detention
repost | indybay.org | 2020-04-08
Author Pedro Rios serves as director of the AFSC's U.S./Mexico Border Program and has been on staff with AFSC since 2003. He is a steering committee member of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, which brings together over 60 organizations along the Southern border working to support migrants and border communities.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/05/18832119.php

'Fighting COVID-19 harder without relying on domestic capacities'
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-08
TEHRAN, Apr. 08 (MNA)

Amid Plague, Sanctions are Genocide
Eve Ottenberg | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-08
Sanctions have long been indefensible; now in the time of Covid-19, more so than ever. Nor are they some minor phenomena. Over a quarter of humanity lives under U.S. economic sanctions. That means millions of people lack untroubled access to food and medicines during a lethal pestilence. Thus in Iran, where the government fears millions of deaths from Covid-19, sanctions amount to genocide. Under ordinary circumstances, these embargoes are economic warfare. By putting Iran and Venezuela under economic siege even before the pandemic, the U.S. had murdered tens of thousands of those countries' citizens. Yet most Am…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/08/amid-plague-sanctions-are-genocide/

'Innocent Iranians dying as US sanctions limit humanitarian aid'
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-08
TEHRAN, Apr. 08 (MNA)

Iran welcomes Russia's idea of green corridors: FM Zarif
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-08
TEHRAN, Apr. 08 (MNA)

Tottenham Manager May Face Police Warning After Training With Players in Park Amid COVID-19 Lockdown
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-08
As we have recently found out, staying within four walls is quite a challenge, but four athletes, who spend most of their time training and preparing for competitions, self-isolation appears to be nothing short of torture.
sputniknews.com/society/202004081078880295-tottenham-manager-may-face-police-warning-after-training-with-players-in-park-amid-covid-19/

Billionaire-backed Human Rights Watch lobbies for lethal US sanctions on leftist governments as the Covid crisis rages
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-08
Regime change-hungry HRW is proudly taking credit for crushing new US sanctions on Nicaragua while pushing to escalate Washington's economic…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/08/billionaire-human-rights-watch-sanctions-nicaragua-venezuela/

COVID-19 Disastrous for US-Detained Migrants Amnesty Int. Warns
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
The risk that the new coronavirus poses to the people detained in the United States' large migration centers will have disastrous consequences if not addressed without delay, Amnesty International warned in a report released Tuesday. | RELATED: | Portugal Grants Citizens' Rights to Migrants During Pandemic | …
telesurenglish.net/news/Imminent-COVID-19-Disastrous-for-US-Detained-Migrants-Amnesty-20200407-0023.html

COVID-19 Disastrous for US-Detained Migrants Amnesty Int. Warns
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
The risk that the new coronavirus poses to the people detained in the United States' large migration centers will have disastrous consequences if not addressed without delay, Amnesty International warned in a report released Tuesday. | RELATED: | Portugal Grants Citizens' Rights to Migrants During Pandemic | …
telesurenglish.net/news/Imminent-COVID-19-Disastrous-for-US-Detained-Migrants-Amnesty-20200407-0023.html

Pakistani doctors detained for demanding safety gear
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-07
On March 6, doctors in the town of Quetta in Pakistan took out a protest demanding personal protection equipment that is vital while working with COVID-19 patients. Instead of addressing their concerns, the government detained them. This is a reflection of the larger situation in the country where doctors are struggling without adequate resources.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/07/pakistani-doctors-detained-for-demanding-safety-gear/

Doctors detained for demanding protective gear in Pakistan
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-07
At least 67 health workers who were protesting against the non-availability of personal protection equipment kits for medical professionals were detained by security forces in Balochistan province on Monday…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/07/doctors-detained-for-demanding-protective-gear-in-pakistan/

Bolivian Authorities Request Protection for Vulnerable Group
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
Bolivia's Ombudsman Office requested the de facto government provide benefits to the population during COVID-19 outbreak that has affected most of the world. | RELATED: | Bolivians Unable to Quarantine, Protest All Over the Country | The administrative body, who overlooks people's rights, asked the government to extend the "Family Coupon" program and a pension for the familiar basket. According to the people's defendant institution, these actions should benefit vulnerable and fe…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-public-defenders-request-protection-for-vulnerable-groups-20200407-0008.html

Iran Demands US End Their Oil Sanctions
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday called on the U.S. government to stop sanctions on Iran's oil exports. | RELATED: | Nearly 60 Groups Demand End to Sanctions During COVID-19 Crisis | "Iran is rich in human & natural resources. We don't need charity from (U.S. President) Donald Trump," Zarif tweeted. | The remarks of Zarif was an allusion to the recent help offer by Trump amid the surge of the novel coronavirus in Iran. | "What we want is for him to stop…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Demands-US-End-Their-Oil-Sanctions–20200407-0007.html

Iran to Test Asymptomatic People to Contain COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
Iran's Health Minister Said Namaki announced that the number of new infections has been reduced for the eighth consecutive day. However, his country would increase the number of diagnostic tests to detect asymptomatic patients and control the COVID-19. | RELATED: | Iran Nearly 60 Groups Demand End to Sanctions During COVID-19 Crisis | So far, the Iranian authorities have conducted 211,136 tests via phone or virtual media; they have monitored the health of 70 million of the 83…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-toTestAsymptomatic-People-to-Contain-COVID-19-20200407-0006.html

Iran Demands US End Their Oil Sanctions
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday called on the U.S. government to stop sanctions on Iran's oil exports. | RELATED: | Nearly 60 Groups Demand End to Sanctions During COVID-19 Crisis | "Iran is rich in human & natural resources. We don't need charity from (U.S. President) Donald Trump," Zarif tweeted. | The remarks of Zarif was an allusion to the recent help offer by Trump amid the surge of the novel coronavirus in Iran. | "What we want is for him to stop…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Demands-US-End-Their-Oil-Sanctions–20200407-0007.html

World Health Day: PCHR Calls for Providing Medical Supplies and COVID-19 Testing Kits to Gaza Strip's Health Sector
PCHR | imemc.org | 2020-04-07
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) World Health Day is celebrated each year on April 7th, and it was first sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1950 to raise health awareness. The theme for World Health Day 2020 is "Year of the Nurse and Midwife" to support nurses …
imemc.org/article/world-health-day-pchr-calls-for-providing-medical-supplies-and-covid-19-testing-kits-to-gaza-strips-health-sector/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-health-day-pchr-calls-for-providing-medical-supplies-and-covid-19-testing-kits-to-gaza-strips-health-sector

Children vulnerable to abuse and violence during coronavirus lockdowns, UN experts warn
news.un.org | 2020-04-07
Independent UN human rights experts have called on States to boost child protection measures to help safeguard the welfare of millions of children who may be more exposed to violence, sale, trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061282

Left members of the European Parliament outline pandemic recovery plan
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-07
BRUSSELS, Belgium–A Europe-wide coalition of left and progressive members of the European Parliament has outlined a wide-ranging plan to help the continent's workers cope with the coronavirus pandemic and particularly its economic impact. Among the measures unveiled are "maintaining work and income," guaranteed housing for all and strengthening Europe's collective bargaining rights for workers

Under Trump the NLRB Has Gone Completely Rogue
Lynn Rhinehart | thenation.com | 2020-04-07
Under Trump the NLRB Has Gone Completely Rogue…
thenation.com/article/politics/nlrb-workers-rights-trump/

'Cruel, Reckless, and Deadly': Amnesty Warns of Looming Covid-19 Disaster for Detained Immigrants and Refugees in US
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-04-07
"We are adrift, about to sink, because if there is one person to be infected, in our unit we would all perish." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/04/07/cruel-reckless-and-deadly-amnesty-warns-looming-covid-19-disaster-detained?cd-origin=rss

'A Day That Will Live in Infamy': This Is What It Looked Like When Wisconsin Forced In-Person Voting During a Pandemic
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-04-07
As footage of Wisconsin's crowded polling stations flooded the internet Tuesday, public health officials and civil rights advocates condemned the state's Supreme Court and Republican legislative leaders for allowing in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic and thwarting Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' last-minute efforts to address voter safety concerns. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2020/04/07/day-will-live-infamy-what-it-looked-when-wisconsin-forced-person-voting-during?cd-origin=rss

Zarif: Iran does not need Trump's charity
IRNA | iranian.com | 2020-04-07
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message urged US to stop preventing Iran from selling oil, saying Iran does not need Trump's charity. "Iran is rich in human & natural resources. We don't need charity from @realDonaldTrump –who's forced to buy ventilators from sources he's sanctioned," Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on …
iranian.com/2020/04/07/zarif-iran-does-not-need-trumps-charity/

Morocco releases over 5,600 incarcerated people amid COVID-19 threat in prisons
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-06
Several human rights groups and organizations had appealed to the king for the release of all political prisoners and detainees, a large number of whom were part of the popular Rif protests in Morocco.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/06/morocco-releases-over-5600-incarcerated-people-amid-covid-19-threat-in-prisons/

Senate Bill Challenges Online Encryption, Constitutional Rights to Speech and Privacy
VINS | projectcensored.org | 2020-04-06
A Senate bill, the EARN IT Act of 2020, introduced by Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in March 2020, appears to revise regulations aimed at preventing online sexual…
projectcensored.org/senate-bill-challenges-online-encryption-constitutional-rights-to-speech-and-privacy/

Amid Sanctions and Military Mobilization, Maduro Pens Letter Urging Americans to Question Trump
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-06
"I wholeheartedly ask you not to allow your country to be dragged once again into another unending conflict, another Vietnam, another Iraq, but this time, closer to home."
mintpressnews.com/nicolas-maduro-letter-oppose-war-venezuela-coronavirus/266397/

Cuban Medical Team Arrives in Barbados to Help Fight COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-06
A team of Cuban medical professionals including 100 intensive care specialists arrived Sunday in Barbados to join the Caribbean nation in its fight against the rapid spread of the new coronavirus. | RELATED: | Nearly 60 Groups Demand End to Sanctions During COVID-19 Crisis | Barbados Health Minister Jeffrey Bostic held a virtual press conference Sunday in which he…
telesurenglish.net/news/Cuban-Medical-Team-Arrive-in-Barbados-to-Help-Fight-COVID-19-20200406-0011.html

INSTEX: A way to get around US sanctions?
Nazila Bijari | liberationnews.org | 2020-04-06
On March 31, the trade vehicle INSTEX completed its first transaction by facilitating Iran's purchase of drugs and pharmaceutical supplies.
liberationnews.org/instex-a-way-to-get-around-us-sanctions/

Sanctioning the Way for COVID-19
Matt Sedlar | cepr.net | 2020-04-06
MarketWatch See article on original site While the United States is fighting COVID-19 here at home, US sanctions against other governments are aiding the virus' spread abroad. They've already likely contributed to many unnecessary deaths in Iran, and Venezuela's experience with the pandemic may also be much more deadly due to these punitive measures. COVID-19 …
cepr.net/u-s-sanctions-in-a-time-of-coronavirus-are-morally-depraved-as-well-as-illegal-under-international-law/

Rights experts warn against discrimination in COVID-19 response
news.un.org | 2020-04-06
Fearing a needless increase in COVID-19 deaths due to discrimination, UN independent human rights experts on Monday called for Governments to commit to racial equity and equality in their response to the pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061122

Everyone Must be Counted in the 2020 Census
Ebony Miranda | aclu.org | 2020-04-06
Every 10 years, the federal government conducts a census to count everyone living in the United States. For people of color, especially Black people, the census has traditionally been exclusionary and deeply flawed. | Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution was intentionally designed to protect the institution of slavery by immorally reducing those enslaved to three-fifths of a human being. It remains the only reference to slavery in the Constitution and was the law when the first census was completed in 1790 and for 75 years thereafter until the 14th Amendment was passed. Two hundred thirty years later, Bla…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/everyone-must-be-counted-in-the-2020-census

Prison shelling in Yemen kills five women and a child: UN rights chief condemns possible war crime
news.un.org | 2020-04-06
The UN has condemned the shelling of the women's section of the Central Prison in a district of Yemen's war-torn Taizz Governerate, in the south of the country, which has left at least five women and one child dead, and wounding more than 11, with casualties expected to rise.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061182

Trump's Iran sanctions policy on the turn
M. K. Bhadrakumar | iranian.com | 2020-04-06
The past week witnessed a sudden spurt of tensions in the US-Iran standoff. There was intense speculation that to divert public attention in America from his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump might order a military attack on Iran. Trump himself fuelled the speculation with the sudden outburst in a tweet on April 1: "Upon …
iranian.com/2020/04/05/trumps-iran-sanctions-policy-on-the-turn/

Stop Tightening the Thumb Screws: A Humanitarian Message
Kathy Kelly | zcomm.org | 2020-04-04
One way to help others survive is to insist that the United States lift sanctions against Iran and instead support acts of practical care…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/stop-tightening-the-thumb-screws-a-humanitarian-message/

Human Rights and Natural Facts
Dan Corjescu | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-04
Where do human rights come from? And can we establish a firm philosophical base for their existence? For Hobbes, a thin version of human rights stemmed from the fact that humans want to persist in their existence by doing whatever necessary to preserve their own life. From this, Hobbes deduced that humans have the "natural" …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/human-rights-and-natural-facts/

COVID-19: Many refugees face destitution and disease
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-04
Refugees & migrants Jonathan StraussIssue 1260 Australia COVID-19 temporary protection visasApril 5, 2020Other than those held in detention, refugees and those seeking asylum who are…
greenleft.org.au/content/covid-19-many-refugees-face-destitution-and-disease

Protect Immigrant Communities: Fear Mounts of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak in U.S. Border Camps, ICE Jails
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-03
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has joined thousands of medical professionals and immigration rights groups to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement release all prisoners from immigration jails as the coronavirus continues to spread. Meanwhile, immigration advocates are working to prepare crowded encampments of asylum seekers across the U.S.-Mexico border for a potentially catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19. Since the implementation of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, tens of thousands of asylum seekers from regions like Central America and Africa have been stranded in Mexican bord…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/3/covid_us_m…

Detained immigrants across Deep South feel like 'sitting ducks' as ICE ignores their safety amid global pandemic
splcenter.org | 2020-04-03
COVID-19 began to infect the nation at rapid speed in March, reaching every corner of the country and taking the lives of more than 6,000 people by April 3. The United Nations has dubbed the coronavirus the "most challenging" crisis the globe has witnessed since World War II.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/03/detained-immigrants-across-deep-south-feel-sitting-ducks-ice-ignores-their-safety-amid

Amazon on strike: what workers need to know about their rights
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-03
Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Kevin Gustafson, an organizer with Democracy at Work and host of the Sensible…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/03/amazon-strike-workers-rights/

Medical experts call for release of refugees and asylum seekers
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-03
Refugees & migrants Zebedee ParkesIssue 1259 Australia COVID-19April 3, 2020More than 1100 medical professionals have called on Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton to urgently release people in detention for their own health and that of the community. Many are in…
greenleft.org.au/content/medical-experts-call-release-refugees-and-asylum-seekers

7 ways to (virtually) support refugee rights on Palm Sunday
ZEB | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-03
Refugees & migrants Zebedee ParkesIssue 1259 Australia COVID-19April 3, 2020For the first time in years, we won't be able to organise mass multicultural and interfaith Palm Sunday rallies and marches for refugee rights. | People seeking asylum and refugees are going…
greenleft.org.au/content/7-ways-virtually-support-refugee-rights-palm-sunday

Refugees held by ICE struggle for their lives
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2020-04-02
Immigrant refugees being held in ICE detention centers are struggling for their lives and demanding to be released to prevent their deaths from COVID-19.
liberationnews.org/refugees-held-by-ice-struggling-for-their-lives/

Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic
Katrina Huber | splcenter.org | 2020-04-02
As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world

"There Aren't Enough Tests": As Pandemic Intensifies, Global South Prepares for the Worst
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-02
After devastating China, Europe and the United States, the coronavirus pandemic is now intensifying across the Global South. The United Nations warns the pandemic is poised to destroy fragile economies in poor nations, decimating food security, education and human rights. We speak with Yanis Ben Amor, assistant professor of global health and microbiological sciences at Columbia University and executive director of the Center for Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute.
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/2/yanis_ben_…

Biden walks balance between relaxation of sanctions & continuing maximum pressure
Joe Biden | iranian.com | 2020-04-02
Statement from Vice President Joe Biden on Sanctions Relief During COVID-19 In times of global crisis, America should lead. We should be the first to offer help to people who are hurting or in danger. That's who we are. That's who we've always been. And, in the midst of this deadly pandemic that respects no …
iranian.com/2020/04/02/biden-walks-balance-between-relaxation-of-sanctions-continuing-maximum-pressure/

The Added Importance of the Census, in Light of COVID-19
Steven K. Choi | aclu.org | 2020-04-01
Last year around this time, my biggest worry was how the inclusion of the Trump administration's proposed citizenship question would depress participation in the decennial census. Thankfully, our Supreme Court victory means there is no citizenship question on the census. Now, I have a new worry: a global pandemic and the health of my loved ones. As it turns out, the 2020 Census plays a role here too, as it will have enormous implications on our health care for decades to come. | Specifically, the census will determine the allocation of $300 billion dollars of federal aid for the states' health care

Venezuela Blasts US 'Transition' Plan as 'Tutelage'
Lucas Koerner | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-03-31
Washington has threatened to "increase" crippling sanctions until Caracas accepts the deal.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14830

Rosneft Dodges US Sanctions by Transferring Venezuela Operations to Russian State Firm
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-03-30
Moscow insists that its support for the Venezuelan government and role in its oil industry will remain unchanged.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14829

Abortion is essential health care: Covid-19 crisis exploited to attack women's rights
Candice Yanez | liberationnews.org | 2020-03-30
The following article is re-published from Breaking the Chains magazine.
liberationnews.org/abortion-is-essential-health-care-covid-19-crisis-exploited-to-attack-womens-rights/

Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers
splcenter.org | 2020-03-27
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/30/weekend-read-splc-demands-ice-act-amid-pandemic-save-lives-countless-immigrants-trapped-its