Human Rights

By RFE/RL | – – A leading journalism advocacy group says media freedom experienced a sharp decline around the world over the past year, citing increasing government restrictions in places like Turkey, Poland, Tajikistan, and Egypt. In its 2016 World Press Freedom Index released on April 20, Reporters Without Borders said that there had been […]

Displaced and Refugees

Who are the Syrian Refugees, really, and where are they? Hint: Mainly women and children, & not in the West

contributors

By Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – Editor’s note: This article is part of our collaboration with Point Taken, a new program from WGBH that will next air on Tuesday, April 19 on PBS and online at pbs.org. The show features fact-based debate on major issues of the day, without the shouting. […]

censorship

Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan demands Germany prosecute comedian over satirical poem

contributors

RT | (Video News Report) | – – “Turkey has made a formal request to the German government to prosecute a TV comedian over a crude poem about the Turkish President.” RT: “Erdogan demands Germany prosecute comedian over satirical poem”

Children

Lebanon: Over 70% of Syrian Refugee Children Forced into Exploitative Child Labor

contributors

TeleSur | – – A report by an anti-slavery group also details how Syrian refugee girls are being forced into child marriage and sex slavery. Up to 70 percent of Syrian refugee children are being forced into child labor in Lebanon, the anti-slavery Freedom Fund group said in a report Tuesday. The report also pointed […]

Human Rights

Syria won’t have Peace until there is Accountability for War Crimes

contributors

By Neil Sammonds | (Inter Press Service) | – – GENEVA (IPS) – The negotiations on April 11, 2016 in Geneva and the recent reduction of hostilities in Syria may represent important steps towards a peaceful solution to more than five years of turmoil. Few would not welcome the guns falling silent once and for […]

Displaced and Refugees

Dear GOP: Top Myths about Syrian Refugees, refuted by Actual Facts

contributors

By Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – Following the March 2016 bombings in Brussels, Donald Trump stated: We have to be smart … We’re taking in people without real documentation. We don’t know where they are coming from … they could be ISIS-related. Not to be outdone, Sen. Ted Cruz added: We […]

National Security Agency

Is Trump Right on Torture?

contributors

Written by Bridge Initiative Team | ( Bridge) | – – In the wake of the Belgium terrorist attacks, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has double-downed on his position in favor of torture. In a recent telephone interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Trump argued “we have to change our law on the waterboarding thing,” that […]

Displaced and Refugees

Will Western powers Respond to HRW’s demand for arms embargo on Saudi Arabia?

contributors

By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | – – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – As hundreds of civilians continue to be killed in the ongoing conflict in Yemen, one of the leading human rights organization is calling for an arms embargo – specifically against Saudi Arabia which is leading a coalition of eight countries battling […]

Authoritarianism

Your Tax Dollars Enable Police Brutality Abroad: Egypt

contributors

By Chris Toensing | ( Otherwords.org) | – – Washington wants to loosen aid restrictions even as security forces crack down on innocent Egyptians. Ever since the Black Lives Matter movement exploded into the headlines, violence by American police officers has come under fire from activists and ordinary citizens alike. Less discussed, however, is how […]