North Korea Invites Obama to Inspect Facility Allegedly Making Anthrax
As the world turns its attention to nuclear proliferation in Iran, North Korea is denying threats that it, too, is developing weapons of mass destruction.
Tag: human rights
China: Human Rights Lawyers are ‘Rabblerousers’ Bent on ‘Mob Rule’
BEIJING (AP) — China’s state media on Tuesday accused more than two dozen human rights lawyers rounded up in recent days of being troublemakers intent on illegal activism, as foreign governments and rights groups expressed growing concern over the crackdown.
Tibetan Monk Issued Life Sentence Dies in Chinese Prison
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, 65, a Tibetan monk and prominent political prisoner, died in Chinese captivity on Sunday. In 2002, he was arrested and imprisoned on a bombing charge his supporters claim was wrongful. The United States, European Union, and international human rights organizations all pushed for his release.
Moroccan Women Face ‘Gross Indecency’ Charges for Wearing Dresses
Moroccan officials arrested two women, ages 23 and 29, last month because they wore skirts. The arrests occurred after a market trader caused a ruckus over the outfits.
Iran Flogs, Arrests 500 for Not Fasting During Ramadan
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) reported the regime arrested or flogged at least 900 people for not fasting during Ramadan.
Cubans Lament Obama’s Concessions: ‘This Doesn’t Help Us at All’
In a speech announcing the reestablishment of an American embassy in Havana, President Obama implored those in Congress who opposed his unilateral concessions to the communist Castro regime to “listen to the Cuban people” before taking a stance. Multiple reports citing Cuban nationals in Havana and throughout the island find that many are extremely apprehensive about the legitimacy a new embassy will give the Castro regime and are disappointed to see the United States support communist oppression.
Cuba Demands Return of Guantanamo, End of US TV Broadcasts in Return for Diplomacy
President Obama has announced the reopening of the American Embassy in Havana this morning, following rumors that the United States had agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations with the communist dictatorship this month as part of the White House’s “normalization” program to reintegrate the Cuban regime into polite international society.
State Dept: No Change in Iran, Cuba Human Rights, Despite Obama Overtures
The annual State Department report on global human rights found 2014 to be a particularly dire year for individual rights, largely due to terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and Boko Haram. Atop the list of offenders, however, were also rogue states that President Obama has made the cornerstone of his diplomatic efforts: Iran and Cuba.
UNICEF: 129 Children Killed in May, Boys Castrated, Girls Raped in South Sudan
According to Anthony Lake, the executive director of The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), children in South Sudan face brutal violence in their everyday lives as the world’s newest country continues to fight a civil war.
New Turkey Refugee Laws Keep Syrian Refugees in Limbo
New refugee laws in Turkey appear to give Syrians more rights, but they stop short of granting them full refugee status. Despite approval from the UN, Syrian refugees fleeing Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) still cannot find work or receive full residency in the NATO country.
EU ‘Collaborator’ Charity Accused of Money Laundering
Human rights advocacy NGO the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) and its Palestinian-born president have been accused of handling stolen goods and money laundering. The organisation, which boasts over 100 staff, its own flag, and even “high commissions” in Africa, Asia,
Pakistan Catches Up On Executions After Moratorium Lift
The Pakistani government lifted its moratorium on the death penalty permanently in March, which led to more than 150 executions in the last six months. Pakistan now executes more people than Saudi Arabia, but it is important to note why.
Dissidents, Vatican: Venezuelan President Stood Up Pope to Avoid Human Rights Criticism
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, facing a tidal wave of international criticism over human rights violations and hunger strikes by his nation’s most famous prisoners of conscience, canceled a visit to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. Both dissidents and Vatican sources have told multiple Spanish newspapers that the cancelation, ostensibly due to a “cold,” actually occurred out of fear of being embarrassed on a public stage.
Human Rights Activist ‘Punks’ Saudi Arabia over Treatment of Gays
The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) held its annual celebration and job fair last month just outside Washington, D.C. The four-day event begun on May 22 was “designed to reward the graduates on the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) with the chance to both celebrate their success with their colleagues as well as search for jobs and meet top executives from leading companies and universities in Saudi Arabia.”
UN Official: Rise in Saudi Arabian Executions ‘Disturbing’
Christof Heyns, the United Nations Special Raporteur of Extrajudicial Summary and Arbitrary Executions, recently spoke out against the rise in executions in Saudi Arabia. “It is certainly very disturbing that there is such a fast pace of executions at the moment,” Heyns told AFP. “If it continues at this pace we will have double the number of executions, or more than double the number of executions, that we had last year.”
Bolivarian Isolationism: Venezuela in Freefall While a Continent Stands Idly by
Venezuela is collapsing rapidly before the eyes of Latin America, with most of the region standing idly by. This exposes isolationism by countries throughout the Western Hemisphere, and exemplifies how the lack of engagement within the region is now confronted with a regional bloc that will not let it engage even if it wants to.
ACLU in El Paso Helping ‘International Commuters’ Know Their Rights
On May 13, dozens of members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on the U.S. side of the Santa Fe Street border bridge in El Paso, Texas were handing out pamphlets to people they refer to as “international commuters” from Mexico, listing their rights under American law.
Video: Iran, North Korea, Cuba Slam U.S. at UN Human Rights Council
Following the Obama administration’s craven presentation of America’s–largely imaginary–human rights shortcomings to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Monday, the member states took their turns to add to the criticism. In many cases, the countries piling on were dictatorships that murder and persecute their own citizens with absolute impunity.
Obama Complains to UN About America’s ‘Human Rights’ Violations
The Obama administration has, once again, complained to the United Nations about alleged American human rights violations–and boasted about liberal policies like Obamacare as the solution. The State Department report, released Monday as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council, reads less like an accounting of human rights issues and more like the platform of the Democratic Party–and invites the world to judge America harshly.
Sabeen Mahmud, Pakistani Human Rights Activist, Murdered in Cold Blood
Gunmen shot Sabeen Mahmud, a leading Pakistani human rights activist, to death outside of the headquarters of The Second Floor, known as T2F, an arts venue she founded.
Iran Chief Justice: Saudis Are Now Worse than the ‘Zionists’
Saudi Arabia has now committed acts worse than those promulgated by the “Zionist regime” (Israel), Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, who is Chief Justice of the Iranian regime’s Judiciary body, announced Wednesday, according to a report by Iran’s state-controlled Mehr News Agency.
Case Closed: Two Examples Demonstrate the Absurdities of Our Immigration System
Big government always makes absurd decisions, as mandarins are forced to shoehorn real life into their regulations. But two immigration rulings made within the last few days exemplify everything that is wrong with the immigration system in this country today. Both
Iran Hangs 65 Prisoners in One Week, On Track to Break Records
The National Council of Resistance in Iran, an opposition group, reported this week that the Islamic republic has executed 65 people in one week, putting them on pace to set a new record in 2015.
‘Endangered Species’: Christianity at the Brink of Extinction in Turkey
The Christian population of Turkey is evaporating rapidly. The nation, a NATO member since 1952, has experienced a reduction in its Christian population from 20% 100 years ago to only 0.2% today. The latest blow in the community occurred at the Hagia Sophia during Easter holy week.
Veteran Chinese Journalist Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for ‘Leaking State Secrets’
It apparently took the Chinese Communist government a while to decide how to handle Gao Yu, a 71-year-old journalist prosecuted on what her supporters describe as trumped-up charges for “leaking state secrets.” After five months of deliberation, a court sentenced her to seven years in prison on Friday.
