News Jan 9, 2018 Tunisia’s Opposition Urges More Protests (U.S. News & World Report) – Tunisia’s main opposition party on Tuesday called for protests to continue until the government scraps its “unjust” 2018 budget including price and tax hikes, a day after one demonstrator was killed in clashes.
News Jan 9, 2018 Iran protests: 3,700 people were arrested during Iran protests (CNN) – Roughly 3,700 people were arrested during recent anti-government protests in Iran, one of the country’s lawmakers claimed on Tuesday.
News Jan 9, 2018 Beijing Builds Its Influence in the American Media During China’s 19th Party Congress, held in Beijing from Oct. 18 to 24, the country’s state-controlled domestic media dutifully gave the dry, jargon-filled proceedings wall-to-wall front-page coverage.
News Jan 9, 2018 Turkmenistan dictator bans black cars because he likes white ones (Times of Malta) – Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedow, the dictator of the oppressive central Asian nation, has decided to ban black cars from the capital city Ashgabat.
News Jan 8, 2018 Egypt to hold presidential election March 26-28 (The Washington Post) – The chairman of Egypt’s election commission said Monday that the presidential election will be held March 26-28, with a runoff in April.
News Jan 8, 2018 Zimbabwe Releases American Charged With Insulting Mugabe HARARE, Zimbabwe — An American woman who was arrested in Zimbabwe in November over a tweet mocking Robert Mugabe, weeks before he was forced out as president, was set free on Thursday after state prosecutors failed to prepare their case.
News Jan 8, 2018 U.S. Sanctions Four More Venezuela Officials (The New York Times) – The U.S. government imposed sanctions Friday on four Venezuelan officials, accusing them of engaging in political repression and public corruption as part of President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
News Jan 8, 2018 Hungary fines main opposition party over billboards (Reuters) – Hungary’s State Audit Office (ASZ) has fined the main, nationalist opposition party Jobbik 331.66 million forints ($1.29 million) for an anti-government billboard campaign funded by a wealthy adversary of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
News Jan 5, 2018 Friends of arrested Reuters reporter in Myanmar pour out hearts YANGON (Reuters) – Ever since Reuters Myanmar reporter Wa Lone was arrested on Dec. 12 on suspicion of violating the Official Secrets Act, friends and former colleagues have poured out their hearts and expressed hopes for his release on social media.
News Jan 5, 2018 Kyrgyz Opposition Politician Jailed For Corruption (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) – A court in Bishkek has sentenced Kyrgyz opposition politician Kanatbek Isaev to 12 years in prison on corruption charges.
News Jan 5, 2018 UN experts urge Iran to respect rights of protesters (CNN) – UN human rights experts urged Iranian authorities to respect the rights of protesters and voiced concern over Tehran’s restriction of social messaging services in a joint statement issued Friday by the UN agency for human rights.
News Jan 5, 2018 Venezuelan criminals are using food to recruit children into gangs (Miami Herald) – Venezuelan gangs are no longer recruiting youths in some poor areas by offering them easy money to buy clothes or the latest cell phones. Instead, they are offering food baskets.
News Jan 4, 2018 Tibetan activist put on trial in China for inciting separatism A Tibetan language activist who appeared in a New York Times video has been put on trial for separatism in proceedings dismissed as a “sham” by rights groups, a sign of increasingly hardline attitudes towards government critics.
Press Release Jan 4, 2018 UNWGAD Affirms HRF Petition on Detention of 18 Turkmen NEW YORK (January 4, 2018) — Last Friday, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) published a decision calling for the immediate release of 18 Turkmen individuals who were arrested for exercising their freedom of association in the fall of 2016.
News Jan 3, 2018 Ethiopia announces release of political prisoners (The Washington Post) – Ethiopia’s prime minister shocked the country Wednesday by announcing the release of all political prisoners and the closure of a notorious detention center to promote political dialogue.
News Jan 3, 2018 Somalia: UN Concerned Over Destruction of Humanitarian Infrastructure (UN News Centre) – A senior United Nations official in Somalia expressed deep concern over reports of the unannounced destruction of settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well as humanitarian infrastructure in Mogadishu.
News Jan 3, 2018 Deaths and detentions as Cameroon cracks down on anglophone activists (The Guardian) – Felix Agbor Nkongho looked over his shoulder at a secluded Yaoundé cafe. As a leader of Cameroon’s growing anglophone rights movement, he had reason to be on his guard.
Media Jan 3, 2018 World’s awkward silence over Rohingya genocide warnings A stark warning from the UN in mid-December that genocide may be taking place in Myanmar has been met by an awkward silence around the world, indicating a limited appetite…
Events Jan 3, 2018 PutinCon: First 360 View on Vladimir Putin in NYC on Mar. 16 NEW YORK (January 3, 2018) — On March 16, the Human Rights Foundation will host the world’s first Putin Conference (PutinCon) in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City just days before the Russian presidential election.
News Jan 2, 2018 DR Congo has shut down internet amid bloody anti-government protests (Quartz) – At the start of a new year, the Democratic Republic of Congo is being rocked by an old problem: violent protests against president Joseph Kabila who has refused to leave office after his term expired.
