Human Rights

TeleSur | – – “We call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need,” said a U.N. spokesperson. An international aid convoy reached Daraya—a Syrian town under siege by government forces—in the middle of the night, delivering food supplies for the first time since 2012, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday. Trucks […]

Climate Change

Crisis and Climate Change Driving Unprecedented Migration

contributors

By Manipadma Jena | (Inter Press Service) | – – Manipadma Jena interviews the director general of the International Organization for Migration, Wiliam Lacy Swing. Owing to demographic drivers, countries are going to become more multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious, says William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organisation for Migration. NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 6 […]

Bashar al-Assad

Stymied by Syrian regime Sieges, UN planning Food Airdrops to 600K Civilians

contributors

By Lyndal Rowlands | (Inter Press Service) | – – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The UN has begun plans to deliver aid to besieged Syrian towns by air but says there are a number of obstacles in the way and that delivery by land remains its preferred choice. The UN had promised to plan the […]

BDS Occupied Territories

Israel-First McCarthyism: Cuomo’s vow to spy on, punish BDS Activists in long Tradition

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – After New York governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order directing the state to monitor and sanction activists in the Boycott, Sanctions and Divest Movement (BDS) against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, critics complained that the order is McCarthyism. They objected that […]

Human Rights

UN Rebukes Saudi Arabia: Yemen’s Children Victims of Shocking Violations

contributors

By Kristine Beckerle, Finberg Fellow | ( Human Rights Watch) | – – Every year, the United Nations secretary-general releases a “list of shame” of government forces and armed groups that have committed grave violations against children during armed conflict. This year, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen was listed for the first time, identified […]

National Security State

Trumping Terrorism with Torture?

contributors

By Rebecca Gordon | (Informed Comment) | – – Why do Republican candidates for the presidency keep promising to commit war crimes? GOP standard-bearer Donald Trump guarantees he’ll torture terrorists and “take out their families.” When he was still in the race, Ted Cruz offered to carpet bomb ISIS (and anyone else in their vicinity) […]

censorship

Does billionaire-funded lawsuit against Gawker create playbook for punishing press?

contributors

By Clay Calvert | (The Conversation) | – – Word last week that Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel bankrolled wrestler Hulk Hogan’s invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against Gawker added a wrinkle to a case already featuring colorful characters and a US$140 million jury verdict. At a sensational and personal level, the story highlights the animus between PayPal […]

Displaced and Refugees

UN Overwhelmed: Climate & Conflict have created 60 mn Refugees, Half of them Children

contributors

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – ROME, May 20 2016 (IPS) – “We cannot keep jumping from crisis to crisis. We have to invest in long-term development that helps people cope with shocks so that they can continue to grow enough food for their communities and not require emergency aid.” With […]

Bill of Rights

Snowden on Torture Report: “When the CIA destroys s.th., it’s never a Mistake”

contributors

TeleSur | — After the CIA inspector general admitted it destroyed a 6,700 page report on torture, the famed whistleblower said the CIA does not destroy by “accident.” Edward Snowden commented this week on the CIA inspector general office’s “mistaken” destruction of its only copy of a top secret torture report: ““When the CIA destroys […]