By Nacha Cattan – Mexico City – Mexico staged a handful of protests today against the new immigration law in Arizona, where up to 530,000 undocumented workers live and 88.6 percent of the Hispanic population is Mexican. The country was joined by Black Eyed Peas star Taboo, who debuted a protest video online this week against the law. “I believe there’s been an injustice in the state of Arizona,” Taboo, a Mexican-American, says in the video (below). “I oppose Bill 1070.” Protests against the law have crossed international borders – with a rallies also held Thursday in the United States... Continue Reading
KARTHUM, Global human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, has called on the Chadian authorities to arrest wanted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and surrender him to the International Criminal Court, after it was reported that he arrived in Chad this week to attend a meeting of regional leaders. “Chad should not shield President al-Bashir from international justice”, said Christopher Hall, Amnesty International’s senior legal advisor. “His visit to Chad is an opportunity to enforce the arrest warrant and send a message that justice will prevail.” An arrest warrant for President Omar al Bashir was issued by the ICC on charges of genocide,... Continue Reading
IRIN : VIENNA, 23 July 2010 (PlusNews) – There is a tug-of-war going on with governments trying to criminalize the transmission of HIV on one side, and activists who say such laws are not only ineffective as a deterrent but are also harming the fight against AIDS, on the other. “There is no evidence of criminal law application serving HIV prevention goals, instead [it] has a negative impact on access to HIV services,” Pavel Aksenov, of the Russian Harm Reduction Network (RHRN), said in a debate on criminalizing HIV at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. A 2008 article... Continue Reading
With reports of increased violence against foreign nationals from the African continent, making the rounds again, and those who are able to flee packing their belongings and trying to get back to their countries of origin, the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and hildren’s Shelter has again received requests to house women and children should the attacks be of such a nature that there is a need. During the 2008 spate of xenophobic violence the Centre housed approximately 60 women and children , for varying periods of time, until they could be re-united with other family members and members of... Continue Reading
By Novell Zwangendaba – LUSAKA – Twenty-three IPI World Press Freedom Heroes have in a letter sent to Zambian President Rupiah Banda on Thursday, urged the Zambian authorities to reverse, on appeal, Mr M’membe’s 4 June conviction on contempt of court charges which led to a four-month prison sentence with hard labour. Mr M’membe, who is also an IPI World Press Freedom Hero, is currently free on bail pending the outcome of the appeal. The conviction of Mr M’membe stemmed from a sequence of events that began a year ago when The Post news editor Chansa Kabwela sent pictures of... Continue Reading
