Abuses include arbitrary mass detention of an estimated 1 million to 1.8 million people, and a program to ‘cleanse’ ethnic groups of their ‘extremist’ thoughts through re-education and forced labour. This involves multiple forms of involuntary labour at workplaces across the region and even in other parts of China,...
Lawyer Amir Raesian said he received a notification from the Tehran General and Revolutionary Court that his client Mohammad Ghobadlou’s death sentence will be carried out on January 23, 2024....
The head of the UN World Health Organization on Thursday spoke out forcefully against “misinformation on social media and in the mainstream media” which has falsely alleged that a new global pandemic accord being negotiated, would allow the WHO to override national sovereignty relating to a future outbreak.
"We have seen evidenced once more that women and children are the first victims of conflict and that our duty to seek peace is a duty to them. We are failing them,” UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said in a statement issued alongside the report....
Chronic aid access problems have meant that Caesarean sections have been performed without anaesthetic while other women have been unable to deliver their stillborn babies because medical staff are overwhelmed, the UN agency said....
The excessive and disproportionate restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic have compounded the effects of decades of the North Korean government’s violations of the rights to food, health, and to an adequate standard of living; and to freedom of expression and movement, according to Human Rights Watch....
In recent years, China’s LGBTQ+ community has been swept up in the Chinese Communist party’s broader crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. In May 2023, a well known LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Beijing announced it was closing due to “unavoidable” circumstances. Last February, two university students filed a...
The 15-year-old Beijing LGBT Center, one of the pioneers of the “different sexual orientation movement” in China, announced this week that it had terminated its operations without explanation.
Analysts said the closure of the well-known rights center was seen as inevitable and a reflection of the increasingly repressive political environment in China under Xi Jinping.
[…] In 2019, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed the Special Act on Same-Sex Marriage, becoming the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage, but the regulations stipulated that married same-sex couples could adopt only children biologically related to one of the partners […] Taiwan is now leading Asia in same-sex marriage legislation.
The evidence suggests LGBTQ+ activists in China have had a particularly tough time since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013. The effects of targeting have spiralled in the past few years, reflected in the abrupt closure of the Shanghai Pride in 2020, and the 2021 shutdown of LGBT Rights Advocacy China – an organisation that held law-based campaigns.
Arctic Ice harvests ice from the fjords of Greenland, and then ships them to the United Arab Emirates to sell to exclusive bars. Using glacial ice in drinks is a common practice in Greenland, and, over the years, several entrepreneurs have unsuccessfully attempted to export it....
The harsh winter, lack of adequate medical care, shortage of water and poor sanitation have exposed newborns and children in Gaza to infections in refugee camps....
The claims were made by South African lawyers as it presented its case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, a lawyer for the High Court of South Africa, told the ICJ Israel’s “genocidal intent” was evident “from the way in which this military attack is being...
The girls – who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets – were accused of “spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab” and wearing makeup....
On February 1, the EU will again discuss a €50 billion financial lifeline for Ukraine — currently blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — while another similar aid package remains frozen in Washington. Kuleba believes the funds will come. “We do not have a plan B,” he insists.
The 21-year-old New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, her country’s youngest MP since 1853, honoured the Indigenous people of New Zealand by performing a traditional haka, or war cry, as part of her maiden speech in December. In the resurfaced video, the chant reverberates around the parliamentary chamber as other Māori...
As Taiwan gears up for the presidential and legislative election on 13 January, the Chinese government is also ramping up its efforts to interfere. From sponsored trips to China for local leaders, economic coercion, fake opinion polls, and disinformation campaigns, some analysts say the wide-ranging tactics that Beijing has...
China is perpetrating human rights abuses on a massive and intensive scale in the Uyghur Region, researcher says (globallabourcolumn.org)
Abuses include arbitrary mass detention of an estimated 1 million to 1.8 million people, and a program to ‘cleanse’ ethnic groups of their ‘extremist’ thoughts through re-education and forced labour. This involves multiple forms of involuntary labour at workplaces across the region and even in other parts of China,...
Putin winning in Ukraine would send China wrong message, UK official says (www.newsweek.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/11328562...
Iran to execute protester with mental health condition on Tuesday, says lawyer (edition.cnn.com)
Lawyer Amir Raesian said he received a notification from the Tehran General and Revolutionary Court that his client Mohammad Ghobadlou’s death sentence will be carried out on January 23, 2024....
WHO chief warns against misinformation over global pandemic accord (news.un.org)
The head of the UN World Health Organization on Thursday spoke out forcefully against “misinformation on social media and in the mainstream media” which has falsely alleged that a new global pandemic accord being negotiated, would allow the WHO to override national sovereignty relating to a future outbreak.
Two mothers killed each hour in Gaza conflict, UN says (news.un.org)
"We have seen evidenced once more that women and children are the first victims of conflict and that our duty to seek peace is a duty to them. We are failing them,” UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said in a statement issued alongside the report....
Gaza crisis: Babies being born ‘into hell’ amid desperate aid shortages, UN says (news.un.org)
Chronic aid access problems have meant that Caesarean sections have been performed without anaesthetic while other women have been unable to deliver their stillborn babies because medical staff are overwhelmed, the UN agency said....
North Korean government in 2023 continued to use the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to maintain “shoot on sight” orders on its northern border, rights group says (www.hrw.org)
The excessive and disproportionate restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic have compounded the effects of decades of the North Korean government’s violations of the rights to food, health, and to an adequate standard of living; and to freedom of expression and movement, according to Human Rights Watch....
China's ageing population threatens switch to new economic growth model, state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035 (www.reuters.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/11191188...
‘It’s difficult to survive’: China’s LGBTQ+ advocates face jail and forced confession (www.theguardian.com)
In recent years, China’s LGBTQ+ community has been swept up in the Chinese Communist party’s broader crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. In May 2023, a well known LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Beijing announced it was closing due to “unavoidable” circumstances. Last February, two university students filed a...
China, new series of forced televised confessions highlights CCP’s increased crackdown over vast swathes of society under the guise of “anti-corruption” work, rights group says (safeguarddefenders.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/11137234...
China's population drops for second year, with record low birth rate (www.reuters.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/11127623...
Some wealthier Chinese say they can't afford marriage as economy slows (www.reuters.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/11100201...
Taiwan’s vote is a crack in the new axis of autocracy - (Opinion) (www.afr.com)
Unpaywalled link: web.archive.org/…/taiwan-s-vote-is-a-crack-in-the…...
Greenland startup begins shipping glacier ice to cocktail bars in the UAE (www.theguardian.com)
Arctic Ice harvests ice from the fjords of Greenland, and then ships them to the United Arab Emirates to sell to exclusive bars. Using glacial ice in drinks is a common practice in Greenland, and, over the years, several entrepreneurs have unsuccessfully attempted to export it....
‘She cries all the time’: Gaza children grapple with a mental health crisis (scroll.in)
The harsh winter, lack of adequate medical care, shortage of water and poor sanitation have exposed newborns and children in Gaza to infections in refugee camps....
Taiwan election, China urges US, UK and Japan not to interfere in ‘China’s internal affairs’ after they congratulate Lai Ching-te for election win as Beijing hoped to see Taiwan’s ruling party ousted (www.theguardian.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/11038232...
China and forced labor, UN report on Xinjiang abuses leaves no room for plausible deniability (businessdailymedia.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/10731283
Israel's plan to "destroy" Gaza comes from "the highest level of state", the UN's top court has heard (www.bbc.co.uk)
The claims were made by South African lawyers as it presented its case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, a lawyer for the High Court of South Africa, told the ICJ Israel’s “genocidal intent” was evident “from the way in which this military attack is being...
Afghan girls as young as 16 arrested in shops, classes and markets in Kabul by the Taliban, who labelled them ‘infidels’ for wearing ‘bad hijab’ (www.theguardian.com)
The girls – who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets – were accused of “spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab” and wearing makeup....
Escaping Xi’s China by paddleboard: ‘I rushed into the water and thought if they catch me, they catch me’ (www.theguardian.com)
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba: ‘Putin does not want a frozen conflict, or peace’ (english.elpais.com)
On February 1, the EU will again discuss a €50 billion financial lifeline for Ukraine — currently blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — while another similar aid package remains frozen in Washington. Kuleba believes the funds will come. “We do not have a plan B,” he insists.
Meet New Zealand's youngest MP whose parliamentary war cry went viral (www.sbs.com.au)
The 21-year-old New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, her country’s youngest MP since 1853, honoured the Indigenous people of New Zealand by performing a traditional haka, or war cry, as part of her maiden speech in December. In the resurfaced video, the chant reverberates around the parliamentary chamber as other Māori...
China feels the country isn’t patriotic enough. A new law aims to change that. (edition.cnn.com)
Cross-posted from: beehaw.org/post/10848936...
Chinese election interference tests Taiwan’s capability to defend freedom of speech (www.indexoncensorship.org)
As Taiwan gears up for the presidential and legislative election on 13 January, the Chinese government is also ramping up its efforts to interfere. From sponsored trips to China for local leaders, economic coercion, fake opinion polls, and disinformation campaigns, some analysts say the wide-ranging tactics that Beijing has...