Iranian women and Selena Gomez express support for girls arrested in viral dancing video
Five Iranian girls who were arrested for a video of them dancing have publicly apologised, as Iranian women have shared support for the group by posting their own dancing videos. The five teenagers shared a TikTok on 8 March of them dancing to the Selena Gomez and...
Belarus jails senior staff at independent news site in crackdown on Lukashenko critics
Belarus has handed long jail terms to senior staff at the country’s largest independent news site, which was forced to close after historic demonstrations against strongman Alexander Lukashenko over two years ago. The verdicts are the latest in a crackdown on...
NPR: Women across Iran are refusing to wear headscarves, in open defiance of the regime
TEHRAN, Iran – You see it as soon as you land at the airport: posters telling women to keep their headscarves on. They're everywhere in Iran; in malls, restaurants, billboards above main highways, and even rest stops in between cities. The hijab remains the official...
Ales Bialiatski sentenced to 10 years in jail
A court in Belarus has sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of smuggling and financing "actions grossly violating public order", the Viasna human rights group said. Supporters of Mr Bialiatski, 60, say the...
Nobel laureate calls for tribunal to try Putin
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk has called for the swift creation of a special tribunal to try Vladimir Putin and his associates for the crime of aggression, arguing that it could have “a cooling effect” on atrocities committed by the Kremlin’s...
Dmitry Muratov on Corruption and Ukraine
On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has displaced millions of Ukrainians and claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, the Utah Valley University (UVU) Center for Constitutional Studies (CCS) hosted Russian journalist and...
Chevron agrees to sell Myanmar assets and will exit country
HOUSTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Chevron Corp (CVX.N) on Friday said it had agreed to sell its assets in Myanmar to Canadian company MTI, in a deal that allows it to leave the Asian country. The agreement comes one year after Chevron and other oil companies...
Will Russian aid for Myanmar give Moscow an Asian foothold?
As Myanmar this month marks two years since the country's democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup, Russia remains a key supporter of Myanmar's ruling junta, both diplomatically and materially. Myanmar did not join in the...
Freedom in the World 2022
Freedom House was established in 1941 by Democrat Eleanor Roosevelt, Republican Presidential candidate Wendell Willkie, to help evolve a world where democracy and rights were the norm, not the exception. A tall order. And they’re still at it.
Every year the organization issues a report on how we’re doing. Their 2022 report was a warning. A total of 60 countries experienced a decline in freedom in the last year. Only 25 improved.
Eiffel Tower lights up in support of women protesting in Iran
The Eiffel Tower in France has lit up with messages of support for protesting women in Iran. The slogan "Femme, Vie, Liberte" was seen on the landmark in Paris, which translates to "Women, Life, Freedom". Watch: [video_lightbox_youtube video_id="9stJb8VhqyE"...