The UN released a report on Ukraine Monday that stated that armed groups in Eastern Ukraine have caused a “total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror.” The report found that the armed groups “continue to abduct, detain, torture and execute people kept as hostages in order to intimidate and … Read more
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated Monday that foreign fighters and others currently active in East Ukraine would be brought to justice for any war crimes committed in East Ukraine. Pillay made the statement while issuing a new report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, and calling for … Read more
According to surveys conducted in Siberia, 25-30 percent of Siberians want immediate, complete separation from Russia and 60-70 percent want equal autonomy, while only 10 percent are satisfied with the current status of Siberia within the Russian Federation. The polls, taken regularly by social and political organizations such as Regionalist Alternative for Siberia (CCA), New Roads … Read more
The largest non-polar desert, the Sahara, which continues to expand south under the influence of global warming, will be halted by a 20-nation project to build the world’s largest horticultural feature, the Great Green Wall of Africa. The project will be supported by the World Bank, the African Union, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization … Read more
A French lawyer filed a complaint Friday against Israel for what the lawyer said were “war crimes committed by the Israeli army in June and July 2014 in Palestine,” referring primarily to Israel’s Protective Edge military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which began July 8. Over 1000 people have already been killed and over 6,000 injured in … Read more
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, stated Saturday that pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine were obliged to abide by international law and protect civilians. If separatists break international law, Pillay said, the international community can bring them to justice. “These groups are obliged to respect international law, and they need to protect civilians. If they do … Read more
Posing as hundreds of models, celebrities, and professionally-photographed schoolgirls, and displaying profile descriptions taken from journalists, choreographers and other professionals, China has been caught using Twitter for a mass propaganda campaign aimed at spreading the Chinese government’s messages about Tibet, while Tibetans are denied free speech rights by the Chinese government. The propaganda campaign was … Read more
Two reports of the downing of a plane suspected to be Malaysian Air MH17 have been published by Russian news network LifeNews. The two television reports were aired before and after the identity of the Malaysian passenger plane was known, and reported conflicting testimonies by pro-Russian separatists active in Donetsk about responsibility for a plane crash … Read more
According to a document made public by the UN recently, China was issued a “joint urgent appeal” earlier this year. China has responded to the appeal, confirming that at least six of the 10 Tibetan musicians were jailed on charges of separatism for singing songs supporting Tibetan culture and about the plight of Tibet under Chinese rule. … Read more
The UN will move toward a legal treaty that penalizes transnational corporations which violate human rights, after a vote at the 26th UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session last week. Key language included in the resolution includes a decision to “establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other … Read more
A Pew Research study has found that 42 percent of Muslims in 15 locations think that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets is at least occasionally justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies. The study was concluded in Spring 2014 and the results were published Tuesday by Pew Research as part … Read more
The speed, the scale and the scope of what has unfolded in South Sudan during the last six months could not have been predicted, said Hilde Johnson, the UN head in the world’s youngest nation, who spoke at a press conference in New York Monday about her upcoming withdrawal from the leadership of the UN Mission … Read more