HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 28, 2019 Congress probing taxpayer-funded wildlife group over atrocities in Africa Lawmakers on the House Committee on Natural Resources are investigating reports that rangers supported by a federally funded environmental and animal rights group committed gruesome crimes inside a national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Crime July 22, 2019 North Korea, Iran, Russia among least active in combating human trafficking, report says North Korea, Russia and Iran are among the nations cited in a new report as being among the least active in trying to curb the scourge of human trafficking, the form of "modern slavery" that's ensnared an estimated 40 million victims worldwide.
IMMIGRATION July 10, 2019 House lawmakers hear emotional testimony from migrant mother whose daughter died after ICE detention House lawmakers on Wednesday heard emotional testimony from a Guatemalan woman seeking asylum in the United States whose two-year-old daughter contracted a lung infection while at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Texas and died shortly after their release.
Iran June 12, 2019 Openly gay reporter presses Iran's top diplomat on death penalty for homosexuals "Why are homosexuals executed in Iran because of their sexual orientation?" asked Paul Ronzheimer, the Berlin-based chief correspondent for the tabloid Bild.
Africa June 11, 2019 Botswana decriminalizes homosexuality in landmark ruling Botswana on Tuesday decriminalized homosexuality in a landmark decision by the nation's High Court on Tuesday.
isis June 7, 2019 Iraq handing out thousands of death sentences in hasty trials for ISIS fighters As the dust from the years of ISIS occupation settles in a still damaged and bleeding Iraq, Baghdad has sentenced thousands of convicted Iraqi nationals and foreign fighters accused of membership to the brutal terrorist group to the gallows. But swift trials and shadowy evidence has many international watchdogs concerned that the quest for swift justice is not only in violation of human rights law and due process, but will serve as a precursor to further violence among factions in the near future.
World May 6, 2019 Inside the secret lives of transgender refugee sex workers in Pakistan It’s a dark underworld rarely brought to light in discussions of human rights and refugees. But there is a growing pool of refugees in Pakistan – those who have fled oppression in neighboring Afghanistan and Bangladesh – who identify as transgender, and have nowhere to go but hide by day and take up sex work by night.
Iran May 1, 2019 Iran flogged and executed two teenagers guilty of rape without notifying family, Amnesty reports Under the cloak of secrecy seemingly to avoid international outrage, Iranian authorities have flogged and executed two teenage boys without notifying their family or lawyers – a flagrant violation of international human rights.
Iran April 19, 2019 Iranian girls being forced into child marriage at record rate: report An unprecedented number of Iranian girls were forced into marriage in Iran over the past year, according to a Radio Farda report.
World April 4, 2019 Jailed Iranian musician rebuffs regime's ban by releasing album about war and oppression Mehdi Rajabian, 29, is on temporary bail from the brutality that lurks behind the walls of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison – but he wants the world to know the oppression and fear he and many more face at every moment under the iron thumb of the regime. His crime? A childhood love of music.
Islam April 2, 2019 Brunei's crackdown on homosexuality: Why Kingdom is implementing draconian Sharia law In an age when global awareness in decriminalizing homosexuality is gaining momentum, the excessively wealthy, Muslim-majority nation of Brunei is going in the opposite direction. On Wednesday, it will officially apply the final stages of its harsh interpretation of the Islamic Penal Code known as Sharia Law.