Netflix Bows to Saudi Pressure, Removes Episode on Khashoggi
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-01
Human rights' advocates Human Rights Watch has hit back at Netflix for removing an episode of the satirical show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj from its Saudi catalogue, citing "an undermining of the streaming service's claim to support artistic freedom." | RELATED: | Turkish TV Airs Video Purporting Transfer of Khashoggi Remains | Netflix removed the program after the Saudi Kingdom took offense to a segment in the show that criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's alleged in…
telesurenglish.net/news/Netflix-Bows-to-Saudi-Pressure-Removes-Episode-on-Khashoggi-20190101-0021.html

N. Korea's Kim Offers an Olive Branch and a Warning for 2019
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-01-01
Kim Jong Un expresses hope for continuation of nuclear talks with Trump but also warns the U.S. against further sanctions and pressure. | The post N. Korea's Kim Offers an Olive Branch and a Warning for 2019 appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
truthdig.com/articles/n-koreas-kim-offers-an-olive-branch-and-a-warning-for-2019/

Tokyo: 8 Injured as Vehicle Plows into New Year's Crowd
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-01
A man plowed his vehicle into crowds celebrating New Year's Day in Tokyo shortly after midnight, injuring at least eight people, one in serious condition. | RELATED: | Intoxicated Japanese Pilot Arrested Moments Before Takeoff | The 21-year-old driver, Kazuhiro Kusakabe, originally from Osaka, has been detained, according to a police spokesman. Japan's national broadcaster NHK said Kusakabe was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. | NHK said the suspect had initially described…
telesurenglish.net/news/Tokyo-8-Injured-as-Vehicle-Plows-into-New-Years-Crowd-20190101-0011.html

Four Days in Occupied Western Sahara–A Rare Look Inside Africa's Last Colony
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-01
In this special rebroadcast of a Democracy Now! exclusive documentary, we break the media blockade and go to occupied Western Sahara in the northwest of Africa to document the decades-long Sahrawi struggle for freedom and Morocco's violent crackdown. Morocco has occupied the territory since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. Thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed and disappeared while resisting the Moroccan occupation. A 1,700-mile wall divides Sahrawis who remain under occupation from those who fled into exile. The international media has largely ignored the occupat…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/1/four_days_…

The Judge Tucker Court of Appeal's Decision Opens the Door to Mumia Abu-Jamal's Freedom
ICFFMA | globalresearch.ca | 2019-01-01
Dear Comrades and Friends Across the Globe: | On December 27, 2018, in a historic action, Court of Common Pleas Judge Leon Tucker granted Mumia's petition for new appeal rights, over the opposition of "progressive DA" Larry Krasner. | This is the … | The post The Judge Tucker Court of Appeal's Decision Opens the Door to Mumia Abu-Jamal's Freedom appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/the-judge-tucker-court-of-appeals-decision-opens-the-door-to-mumia-abu-jamals-freedom/5664424

Denuclearization: Kim Jong-un Ready to Talk to US 'Anytime'
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-01-01
During his New Year's address, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reiterated his commitment to working to denuclearize the North Korean peninsula and to keep up talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in efforts to achieve this goal, but warned that he could be forced to take a "new path" if the North American nation continued to impose sanctions on his regime. | RELATED: | North Korea Warns US Sanctions Could Derail Denuclearization | Kim Jong-un noted his willingness to talk to D…
telesurenglish.net/news/Denuclearization-Kim-Jong-un-Ready-to-Talk-to-US-Anytime-20190101-0001.html

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil's far-right leader sworn in
aljazeera | aljazeera.com | 2019-01-01
Far-right politician sworn in amid high hopes from supporters and fears from rights activists and minority groups.
aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-leader-sworn-190101134031350.html

As UNESCO Says Its Only Wish for 2019 is World Peace, US and Israel Officially Ditch UN Body
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-01
Critics on Tuesday said the joint decision by the U.S. and Israel to leave the United Nations' organization dedicated to promoting peace and education speaks volumes about the two countries' current worldview, as they continue to defend ongoing attacks on the rights of Palestinians. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/01/unesco-says-its-only-wish-2019-world-peace-us-and-israel-officially-ditch-un-body?cd-origin=rss

Prosecutors Mull 'Assault' Charges After Videos Show Children Being Dragged and Hit at Arizona Immigration Detention Center
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-01
Maricopa County prosecutors in Arizona are considering potential criminal charges after viewing footage of children being dragged, hit, and shoved by staff members at a detention center near Phoenix, after the videos, first published by the Arizona Republic, provoked outrage. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/01/prosecutors-mulling-assault-charges-after-videos-show-children-being-dragged-and-hit?cd-origin=rss

'You Are Courting a Fascist': Pompeo Gives Inauguration US Blessing as Brazilians Brace for 'Repugnant' Bolsonaro
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-01
While progressives, women's rights advocates, journalists, and the LGBTQ community were among the many mourning Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's inauguration on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo angered critics Tuesday with a celebratory tweet congratulating the proud misogynist, who has defended Brazil's former military dictatorship. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/01/you-are-courting-fascist-pompeo-gives-inauguration-us-blessing-brazilians-brace?cd-origin=rss

Human Rights Abuses: Israel Most Condemned Country At UN In 2018
Middle East Monitor | iranian.com | 2019-01-01
Israel was the most condemned country at the UN in 2018 with the General Assembly passing at least 20 resolutions against Tel Aviv for human rights abuses, illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory and its continued occupation of East Jerusalem says Anadolu Agency. At least six efforts passed at the end of November sought to draw attention to the […] | The post Human Rights Abuses: Israel Most Condemned Country At UN In 2018 appeared first on The Iranian.
iranian.com/2018/12/31/human-rights-abuses-israel-most-condemned-country-at-un-in-2018/

An Extraordinary Year for Civil Rights
Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet | naacp.org | 2018-12-31
This was an extraordinary year for the NAACP. From building more political power in communities of color to fighting to protect the federal bench from those who have a record of purposefully harming our communities, we've had great successes–and it was your support that made it all happen. Here's a look at what we did […] | The post An Extraordinary Year for Civil Rights appeared first on NAACP.
naacp.org/latest/extraordinary-year-civil-rights/

Worse than Obsolete: NATO Creates Enemies
John Laforge | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-31
NATO's and the US military's desecration of corpses, attacks on wedding parties, mosques, hospitals and market places — along with the bombing of allied troops, torture of prisoners, and their notoriously unaccountable drone warfare — are a few of the alliance's more infamous outrages in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia.
counterpunch.org/2018/12/31/worse-than-obsolete-nato-creates-enemies/

A Disaster for Brazil: Noam Chomsky on Brazil's New Far-Right President Jair Bolsonaro
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-31
As Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro prepares to take office on Tuesday, we return to our conversation with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky shortly after the election. Bolsonaro's impending presidency marks the most radical political shift Brazil since military rule ended more than 30 years ago. Bolsonaro is a former Army officer who has praised Brazil's former military dictatorship, spoken in favor of torture and threatened to destroy, imprison or banish his political opponents. Bolsonaro has also encouraged the police to kill suspected drug dealers, and once told a fem…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/31/a_disast…

Not My Revolution
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-31
"If I can't dance to it, it's not my revolution." — Emma Goldman The Women's March is not immune to the same forces that have confronted the political left in the U.S. for decades. The larger women's movement itself, that sprang from the antiwar movement and civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, carried…
counterpunch.org/2018/12/31/not-my-revolution/

Prisoner for Free Speech: the Relentless Pursuit of Julian Assange
Serge Halimi | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-31
CNN correspondent Jim Acosta returned to the White House on 17 November, a few days after a US judge had forced President Donald Trump to reverse the revocation of his press pass. Smiling before 50 or more photographers and cameramen, Acosta said triumphantly: 'This was a test and I think we passed the test. Journalists need to know that in this country their First Amendment rights of freedom of the press are sacred, they're protected in our constitution. Throughout all of this I was confident and I thought that … our rights would be protected as we continue to cover our government and hold our leaders accounta…
counterpunch.org/2018/12/31/prisoner-for-free-speech-the-relentless-pursuit-of-julian-assange/

UDHR: Setting Limits On Power Still Pending Since 1948
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-31
An attentive review of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights suggests that 70 years on we have not fully averted the kinds of mistakes that the drafters of the UDHR sought to prevent from ever being repeated | The post UDHR: Setting Limits On Power Still Pending Since 1948 appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/udhr-setting-limits-on-power-still-pending-since-1948

The Long Hand of U.S. Intervention: The Intercept's 2018 World Coverage
The Intercept | theintercept.com | 2018-12-31
Many of the world's troubles are legacies of American intervention. In Iraq, there is the continuation of a war that began with the U.S. invasion in 2003. One of the casualties is an American citizen imprisoned in Iraq for more than a decade, a victim of torture, secret evidence, and witnesses who later recanted. Decades of U.S. meddling in Central America, and support for repressive dictatorships there, have undermined social fabrics; gangs are rampant, and if joining them is easy, getting out is not. In Yemen, where the Saudi-led war has been supported by the U.S. military, children are dying of starvation. |
theintercept.com/2018/12/31/the-intercept-2018-world/

UAE: Rights Defender's Conviction Upheld
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-31
Ahmed Mansoor speaks to Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 30, 2011. | © 2011 Reuters | The United Arab Emirates Federal Supreme Court, the country's court of last resort in state security cases, on December 31, 2018, upheld a 10-year sentence for Ahmed Mansoor, an award-winning human rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today. | In May, an Abu Dhabi court sentenced Mansoor to 10 years in prison for "defaming" the UAE on s…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/31/uae-rights-defenders-conviction-upheld

Bahrain: Rights Defender's Conviction Upheld
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-31
Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab arrives for his appeal hearing at court in Manama, February 11, 2015. | © 2015 Reuters | (Beirut) — The Bahrain Court of Cassation, the country's court of last resort, on December 31, 2018 upheld a five-year sentence for Nabeel Rajab, a prominent human rights defender, Human Rights Watch said today. | The sentence arose from comments criticizing torture in a Bahrain prison and the Saudi-led military camp…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/31/bahrain-rights-defenders-conviction-upheld

Iran's Oil Exports To Asia Slump To Five-Year Low In November
Oil Price | iranian.com | 2018-12-31
Iran's oil sales to the four major crude buyers in Asia plunged in November to the lowest level in more than five years, as Indian imports slumped and South Korea and Japan had halted purchases before the U.S. sanctions on the Iranian oil industry returned. The combined oil imports from Iran of China, India, South […] | The post Iran's Oil Exports To Asia Slump To Five-Year Low In November appeared first on The Iranian.
iranian.com/2018/12/30/irans-oil-exports-to-asia-slump-to-five-year-low-in-november/

Canada's Barbaric Policies Toward Native Peoples (2/2)
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-30
MP Niki Ashton tells Paul Jay that Canadian government policy in Indigenous communities must be premised on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the principle of respect for free, prior, and informed consent in cases of land development | The post Canada's Barbaric Policies Toward Native Peoples (2/2) appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/canadas-barbaric-policies-toward-native-peoples-2-2

Exploitation, Marxism, and Labour Law (Part Two)
Eds. | mronline.org | 2018-12-29
The first model is a radical critique of all forms of bourgeois right, including employment rights, which are considered to constitute an ideological reflection of the capitalist mode of production, and therefore an inseparable companion of exploitation. | Source…
mronline.org/2018/12/29/exploitation-marxism-and-labour-law-part-two/

U.S. Military Posture In The Persian Gulf Threatens Indian Hopes For Iran's Chabahar Port
James M. Dorsey | iranian.com | 2018-12-29
The arrival of the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier group in the Gulf to deter Iran from further testing ballistic missiles is likely to dampen Indian hopes that the Trump administration's exemption of the port of Chabahar from sanctions against the Islamic republic would help it tighten economic relations with Central Asia and further regional integration. […] | The post U.S. Military Posture In The Persian Gulf Threatens Indian Hopes For Iran's Chabahar Port appeared first…
iranian.com/2018/12/29/u-s-military-posture-in-the-persian-gulf-threatens-indian-hopes-for-irans-chabahar-port/

How Israel's Conscription Law Assaults its Own Ultra-Orthodox Community
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2018-12-28
Not unlike the Palestinian people whose stance against Zionism is anchored in historical and moral rights, the Haredi community's heroic stance on military conscription is anchored in faith and principle that no power has been able to defeat. | The post How Israel's Conscription Law Assaults its Own Ultra-Orthodox Community appeared first on MintPress News.
mintpressnews.com/israel-conscription-law-assaults-its-own-ultra-orthodox-community/253394/

The Courts Consistently Brushed Back Trump's Assaults on Immigrants in 2018
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-28
From family separation to the asylum ban, our independent judiciary stepped in to ensure that the president is not above the law. | This article was originally published in The Los Angeles Times. | For immigrants, there's no way to sugarcoat 2018. The Trump administration enacted a series of draconian policies targeting noncitizens, and the one that will most define the year — and this administration — is the separation of thousands of children, some less than a year old, from their mother…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/courts-consistently-brushed-back-trumps

What Can Humanity Learn From The Great Law Of Peace (2/2)
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-28
Stuart Myiow, Wolf Clan Representative of the Mohawk Traditional Council, says Western 'democracies' wrongly prioritize individual rights over the rights of the collective | The post What Can Humanity Learn From The Great Law Of Peace (2/2) appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/what-can-humanity-learn-from-the-great-law-of-peace-2-2

The Roots of Venezuela's Economic Crisis
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-28
As US sanctions against Venezuela take an ever-greater toll on the country and its people, it is important to understand how the sanctions work and the extent of the damage they have caused, say Steve Ellner and Greg Wilpert, in a joint analysis of the situation | The post The Roots of Venezuela's Economic Crisis appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/the-roots-of-venezuelas-economic-crisis

Amber Heard: I Spoke Up Against Sexual Violence and Faced Our Culture's Wrath
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-27
It's time to reform institutions that protect men accused of abuse. | This piece was originally published in the Washington Post. | I was exposed to abuse at a very young age. I knew certain things early on, without ever having to be told. I knew that men have the power — physically, socially and financially — and that a lot of institutions support that arrangement. I knew this long befor…
aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/violence-against-women/amber-heard-i-spoke-against-sexual-violence-and-faced-our

The First Step Act Is a Small Step for Incarcerated Women
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-27
While the law ends two gender-specific indignities of federal incarceration, it only begins to scratch the surface for incarcerated women. | The enactment of the First Step Act earlier this month will bring some much-needed change to our criminal justice system. But the First Step Act remains just that, a first step — particularly with respect to the impact that mass incarceration has had on cisgender women and trans people. | The legislation ends two gender-specific indignities…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/women-prison/first-step-act-small-step-incarcerated-women

Counterbalancing Disproportionate Power: The Message from Harris Gleckman
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2018-12-27
No major democratic country deals with domestic civil or criminal matters related to human rights based on a voluntary system, explains Harris Gleckman, in an op-ed on the disproportionate power wielded by transnational businesses in the current world system | The post Counterbalancing Disproportionate Power: The Message from Harris Gleckman appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/counterbalancing-disproportionate-power-the-message-from-harris-gleckman

8-Year-Old Guatemalan Boy Dies in Border Patrol Custody Days After High Court Rejects Asylum Ban
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-26
For the second time this month, a Guatemalan child has died in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Eight-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo died in New Mexico on Christmas Eve, after being detained since December 18. This follows the death of a 7-year-old indigenous Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquín, who died on December 8, two days after she and her father presented themselves at the border in a bid for asylum. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's asylum ban, which attempted to deny asylum to anyone entering the country from outside of a legal port of entry. Supreme Court Chief…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/26/8_year_o…

The Battle to Stop Family Separation
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-26
How a Congolese mother and child set in motion an extraordinary battle that exposed government conduct unprecedented in its cruelty and carelessness. | In March 2017, John Kelly, then Secretary of Homeland Security, said in an interview with CNN that the Trump administration was considering a national policy to separate parents from their children to deter immigrants from crossing the border into the United States. The proposal triggered a backlash because it was so unpalatable, and the…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/battle-stop-family-separation

Muslim Ban: Meet the Yemeni Americans Suing Trump in an Attempt to Reunite with Loved Ones
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-26
A group of Yemeni Americans have filed a new federal lawsuit over President Trump's Muslim ban. The suit alleges the State Department has revoked previously approved visas, preventing many Yemenis from reuniting with their families living in the United States. We speak to two of the plaintiffs and the Center for Constitutional Rights, which brought the lawsuit.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/26/muslim_b…

UN Members Thwart China's Bid to Gut Funds for Myanmar Probe
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-24
Smoke is seen rising from Burma's Taung Pyo Let War village from across the border in Bangladesh. | | © 2017 Private | United Nations member countries thwarted an attempt by China to slash proposed funding for investigations into Myanmar's ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. This ensures that a newly established UN body will have the necessary financing to gather and preserve criminal evidence for future trials. | After marathon negotiations — during which China called for cutting the propos…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/24/un-members-thwart-chinas-bid-gut-funds-myanmar-probe

Iraq/Kurdistan Region: Risk of Double Trials for ISIS Ties
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-23
Cigarette burns cover the hands and arms of 18-year-old "Karim." Kurdish authorities held him for 13 months. He then returned home and was rearrested by authorities under Baghdad's control, who tortured and held him for months. | © 2018 San Saravan | (Beirut) — Sunni Arab boys who serve prison time in Iraq's Kurdistan region for Islamic State (also known as ISIS) connections risk rearrest after their release if they try to reunite with their families…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/23/iraq/kurdistan-region-risk-double-trials-isis-ties

Bangladesh: Violent Campaign Targets Opposition
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-22
Police rush Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters at a protest on February 9, 2018, Dhaka, Bangladesh. | © 2018 Allison Joyce/Getty Images | (New York) — A repressive political environment in Bangladesh ahead of the December 30, 2018 national elections is undermining the credibility of the process, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Bangladeshi authorities should impartially investigate allegations of election violence and ensure that…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/22/bangladesh-violent-campaign-targets-opposition-0

Headlines for December 21, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-21
Secretary of Defense Mattis Resigns in Rebuke of Trump Foreign Policy, Trump & Senate at Impasse over Border Wall Funding as Shutdown Looms, Acting AG Whitaker Rejected Advice of DOJ to Recuse Himself from Mueller Probe, U.S. Plans to Send Asylum Seekers Back to Mexico While Awaiting Claims Processing, Treasury Dept. Lifts Sanctions on Russian Oligarch's Business Empire, DOJ Charges 2 Chinese Nationals over Massive Hacking Campaign, Yemeni Mother Reunites with Dying Son After Travel Ban Waiver, Egypt: Court Acquits 40 NGO Workers over 2013 Illegal Funding Charges, Pope Francis: Catholic Church Will "Never Again"
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/21/headline…

States Are Cracking Down on the Movement for Palestinian Rights–but Cities Are Pushing Back
Alex Kane | thenation.com | 2018-12-21
States Are Cracking Down on the Movement for Palestinian Rights–but Cities Are Pushing Back…
thenation.com/article/jvp-cities-israel-bds-palestinian-human-rights/

#SaveHakeem — Stop deportation of Bahraini refugee
kathy_f | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-21
Bahraini refugee Hakeem Al-Araibi has been held in detention in Thailand since November 27, facing the terrifying prospect of deportation to the country where he was tortured. | Al-Araibi fled to Australia in 2014 and was accepted as a refugee. In November, he travelled on UN travel documents to Thailand for a short holiday with his wife. When he arrived at Bangkok airport, Al-Araibi was arrested under an Interpoll "Red Notice" (an international arrest warrant) issued by the Bahrain government. | Interpol is not meant to issue red notices for refugees, so this red notice should never have been issued for Al-Araib…
greenleft.org.au/content/savehakeem-%E2%80%93-stop-deportation-bahraini-refugee

US: Don't Return Asylum Seekers to Mexico
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-21
The port of entry to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. © 2017 Human Rights Watch | (Washington, DC) — The US Department of Homeland Security has announced a policy, effective immediately, that will return asylum seekers to Mexico while their claims are processed in the United States. This raises serious concerns about whether asylum-seeking adults and families will be obstructed in their ability to pursue their asylum claims…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/21/us-dont-return-asylum-seekers-mexico

Congress Just Took a Big Step Toward Ending the Shackling of Pregnant Prisoners
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-20
Passing the First Step Act will be a step toward upholding the rights and protecting the health of pregnant prisoners. | Congress on Thursday passed the Senate version of the First Step Act, which is now headed for signature to President Trump. He is expected to sign it on Friday. | The First Step Act would, in addition to enacting other important criminal justice reforms, prohibit the shackling of p…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/women-prison/congress-just-took-big-step-toward-ending-shackling-pregnant

'Domestic Workers Don't Have Protections Against Discrimination and Harassment' – CounterSpin interview with Mariana Viturro on Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2018-12-20
Janine Jackson interviewed Mariana Viturro about the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights for the December 14, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/domestic-workers-dont-have-protections-against-discrimination-and-harassment/

US Deporting Iraqis Without Valid Documents
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-20
Protesters rally outside the federal court just before a hearing to consider a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Iraqi nationals facing deportation, in Detroit, Michigan, US, June 21, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters/Rebecca Cook | (Beirut) — The United States government has deported at least 30 of a planned 1,400 people originally from Iraq back to their country, in some cases threatening long imprisonmen…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/20/us-deporting-iraqis-without-valid-documents

Iran: Imprisoned Dissident Dies
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-20
Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj, Iran. | © 2004 Private | (Beirut) — Iranian authorities should immediately carry out an independent and impartial investigation into the death of an imprisoned activist on a hunger strike, Human Rights Watch said today. Anyone found responsible for wrongdoing in the death of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri should be held accountable. Iranian authorities have systematically failed to conduct transparent investigations into at least prio…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/20/iran-imprisoned-dissident-dies

Déjà vu on the Greek-Turkey Border
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-20
Migrants that crossed the land border between Greece and Turkey are seen at the Pre-Removal Detention Center in the village of Fylakio, Northern Greece, February 24, 2017. | © 2017 Alexandros Avramidis /Reuters | Ten years ago, I documented a systematic pattern of brutal Greek border police pushbacks of migrants and asylum seekers at the Evros River border that divides Greece and Turkey. Last week, as I edited a new Human Rights Watch report, I felt as though I was re-reading my old report. | Here's a paragraph fro…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/20/deja-vu-greek-turkey-border

Nicaragua: Zero Tolerance for Scrutiny
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-20
(Washington, D.C.) — The government of President Daniel Ortega is doubling down in its effort to silence dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. | On December 19, 2018, Foreign Affairs Minister Denis Moncada expelled from Nicaragua the Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI) and the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), two bodies linked to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. On the same day, a police official leveled dangerous allegations against Vilma Nuñez, the most prominent human rights defender in the country…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/20/nicaragua-zero-tolerance-scrutiny

Ten Good News Stories for Kids in 2018
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-20
Girls in India during a hygiene training as part of the Great WASH Yatra. Himanshu Khagta, WASH United, 2012 | A couple of years ago, a friend following me on Twitter said he found my feed really depressing. "Doesn't anything good ever happen for children?" he asked. | Spreading doom and gloom sometimes seems an occupational hazard of human rights work. But I've taken my friend's words to heart and now, as we approach the end of the year, here are 10 good news stories for kids: | A number of armed forces and armed grou…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/20/ten-good-news-stories-kids-2018

ALP National Conference a sham
kathy_f | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-19
Bill Shorten surprised no one with his laughingly tiny reforms at the Australian Labor Party National Conference over December 16–18. | If you expected debate, let alone proposals to stop the Adani coalmine or refugee boat turn-backs or the closure of off-shore detention centres, then you would have been disappointed as these things did not happen. | If you were hoping that there might be a commitment to increase the Newstart Allowance or to back progressive industrial relations reforms that will actually change the rules for workers, you would be doubly disappointed as these things were also rejected. | Cl…
greenleft.org.au/content/alp-national-conference-sham

Britain Should Stand Up for Saudi Women Activists
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-12-19
British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) stands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the steps of number 10 Downing Street on March 7, 2018 in London, England. | © 2018 Leon Neal/Getty Images | Last week, the British Foreign Office celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Human Rights Day by highlighting the courageous work of human rights defenders around the wo…
hrw.org/news/2018/12/19/britain-should-stand-saudi-women-activists