Rohingya refugees mark a year of suffering and hope
With villages in flames in northern Myanmar, Tahara grabbed her four-month old baby and set out under the monsoon downpour in a desperate search for safety in Bangladesh. “We were stuck under the rain,” the Rohingya mother recalls. “We had to hide under a tree in the hills for two nights. All I had was […]
US Senator, War Hero John McCain Has Died
CAPITOL HILL — U.S. Senator John McCain died Saturday at age 81 after a battle with brain cancer that robbed America of a revered statesman, proud patriot, and self-sacrificing warrior. His daughter, Meghan McCain, released a statement. Shortly after McCain’s death was announced, President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences. Best known for having survived as […]
Cambodia Must Free Opposition Leader Kem Sokha
Cambodian authorities should drop all charges and immediately release the opposition leader Kem Sokha, Human Rights Watch said today. On August 22, 2018, Cambodia’s Supreme Court will consider the latest bail request from Sokha, head of the since-dissolved main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). He has been held on fabricated charges for […]
Fears for food security and the future of farming families, as Fall Armyworm spreads to Asia
An “invasive pest” that devours more than 80 different plant species, including many staple crops, could threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers in Asia, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Tuesday. The UN agency is offering its expertise to farmers and Governments in the region to help them […]
US and Mexico child deportations drive extreme violence and trauma: UNICEF
The many life-threatening dangers faced by children from Central America who are being deported from the United States of America and Mexico, are highlighted in a new report from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday, which also draws attention to the traumatic consequences of family separation by migration authorities. In the first 6 months […]
Monsanto $290 million lawsuit ruling a ‘significant recognition’ of victims’ human rights, say UN rights experts
The court decision to award nearly $290 million to a terminally-ill man from the United States who claimed his cancer was caused by a herbicide in a commercial weed killer, has been welcomed by two United Nations human rights experts as a “significant recognition” of the responsibilities that chemical companies have to consumers. A court […]
Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Dead at 76
It was a small moment that would reverberate for decades. On January 24th, 1967, Aretha Franklin was struggling to record “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” her first project for Atlantic after several years recording more conventional material for Columbia. As Franklin would recall, something with the studio musicians wasn’t clicking […]
Beijing-Tianjin railway speed rises to 350 kph
China on Wednesday increased the maximum speed of bullet trains on the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway to 350 km per hour (kph), reducing the inter-city travel time by five minutes. The route now runs a Fuxing (Rejuvenation), the newest bullet train model developed in China. The increase will shorten travel time between Beijing South Railway Station […]
Former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner defiant in ‘corruption notebook’ scandal
Former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner appeared before a judge leading a major probe into corruption under her government on Monday, hitting out at what she described as “judicial persecutions” to rule her out of next year’s elections. More than a dozen businessmen and former government officials were arrested after La Nacion newspaper reported on August […]
Melbourne mayors call for end to ‘African gangs’ talk
Eight Melbourne mayors have called for unity and end to the talk about so-called “African gangs” which has repeatedly made news headlines this year. African-Australian leaders in Victoria have said the “gang” rhetoric is an example of fear-mongering and has vilified their community to the point some now feel unwelcome in the state. Mayors from […]