Human Rights Glance
srael on Sunday began tearing down a section of its contentious West Bank separation barrier near a village that has come to symbolize Palestinian opposition to the enclosure, the military said.
The rerouting marked a major victory for the residents of Bilin and the international groups that have backed their struggle. But they said it fell short of their demands to remove the structure from the village altogether and vowed to continue with their weekly protests.
Israel begins removing part of West Bank barrier
White House: Gaza flotilla activists may be breaking U.S. law
The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on activists planning to challenge Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, warning that they will face action from Israeli authorities and that American participants may also be violating U.S. law.
The U.S. State Department said Friday that attempts to break the blockade are "irresponsible and provocative" and that Israel has well-established means of delivering assistance to the Palestinian residents of Gaza. It noted that the territory is run by the militant Hamas group, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, and that Americans providing support to it are subject to fines and jail.
Rwanda: Ex-women's minister guilty of genocide, rape
A former Rwandan women's minister has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in the genocide and the rape of Tutsi women and girls. Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, 65, is the first woman to be convicted of genocide by an international court.
She was found guilty, along with her son and four other former officials, after a 10-year trial.
Some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during the 1994 massacres.
UN group backs gay rights for first time
The United Nations has endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people for the first time ever. The U.N. Human Rights Council passed the cautiously worded resolution by a narrow margin. It espresses "grave concern" about abuses suffered by people because of their sexual orientation and commissions a global report on discrimination against gays.
The U.S. and other backers, including the European Union and Brazil, are hailing the document put forward by South Africa as "historic." One gay rights advocate says the resolution "breaks the silence that has been maintained for far too long."
Rainbow Flags Aflutter, Orthodox Groups Enter a Float in Israeli Gay Pride Parade
Amid a sea of rainbow flags and equal-rights banners at Tel Aviv’s 18th annual Gay Pride parade, an unexpected soundtrack filled the air: Hasidic music. Despite the suspicions of some marchers, it wasn’t an act of protest by Orthodox groups. Rather, the music was coming from a float designed by a group of Orthodox gay and lesbian Israelis.
The first-of-its-kind float, which made its debut at the June 10 parade, boasted the corporate sponsorship of Google, and carried members of the Bat Kol alliance of Orthodox lesbians; Havruta, an organization of Orthodox gay men, and Pride Minyan, a prayer group for Tel Aviv’s Orthodox gay and lesbian community.
Afghanistan worst place in the world for women, but India in top five
Targeted violence against female public officials, dismal healthcare and desperate poverty make Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country in which to be born a woman, according to a global survey released on Wednesday.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pakistan, India and Somalia feature in descending order after Afghanistan in the list of the five worst states, the poll among gender experts shows.
No Justice in Kafka’s America: the Persecution of Muslim Americans
The draconian legal mechanisms that condemn Muslim Americans who speak out publicly about the outrages we commit in the Middle East have left many, including Syed Fahad Hashmi, wasting away in supermax prisons.
These citizens posed no security threat. But they dared to speak a truth about the sordid conduct of our nation that the state found unpalatable. And in the bipartisan war on terror, waged by Republicans and Democrats, this ugly truth in America is branded seditious.
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