In Episode 102 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg interviews Joanna Chiu, author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder, on the precipitous rise of the People’s Republic as a world power, and the dilemmas this poses for human rights… Read morePodcast: China Unbound with Joanna Chiu
Indonesian police Dec. 6 arrested eight Papuan university students on charges of treason for raising the banned “Morning Star” flag in a demonstration for the independence of the Papua region. The demonstration took place at a stadium in Jayapura, capital of Papua province…. Read moreIndonesia: ‘treason’ charges over West Papua flag
Ousted Burmese state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, 76, was found guilty Dec. 6 of “incitement” and breaking COVID restrictions—but the first of a series of 11 charges that could see her imprisoned for life, with potential combined terms of up to… Read moreBurma: resistance escalates as Suu Kyi sentenced
The Greek trial of 24 aid volunteers accused of people-smuggling got off to a shambolic false start on Nov. 18. The defendants were members of Emergency Response Center International (ECRI), an NGO that performed rescue activities in the Aegean Sea… Read more‘Absurd’ trial of Lesvos migrant helpers
Agents of El Salvador’s Fiscalía, backed up by police troops, raided seven non-governmental organizations Nov. 22, ostensibly on the grounds of investigating “corruption.” The Salvadoran popular movement describes the raids as the latest in an escalating campaign of political persecution… Read moreFeminist, humanitarian groups raided in El Salvador
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on Nov. 18 extended the country’s state of emergency by a second 30 days. The decree is ostensibly an attempt to combat the insecurity generated by drug-related crime and re-establish public order. It provides for the mobilization of military forces… Read moreEcuador: president extends state of emergency
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Senate has once again extended martial law in two of the country’s eastern provinces, despite increasing criticism of the measure, which has done nothing to stem decades of violence. Since May, civilian officials in North… Read moreMartial law fails to stop killings in DRC
A judicial panel of inquiry has found the Nigerian army killed at least 11 people when soldiers opened fire on unarmed protestors at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos just over a year ago—a politically seismic event that still reverberates. The… Read moreNigerian army accused of #EndSARS ‘massacre’
Sudan’s ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who had been placed under house arrest with last month’s military coup, appeared on TV Nov. 21 to sign a new power-sharing agreement with putsch leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. But the deal officially… Read moreSudan: civil resistance rejects ‘power-sharing’ deal
Supporters of imprisoned Cuban rap artist Maykel Castillo Pérez, better known by his stage name “El Osorbo,” warn that his life is in danger one week into a hunger strike, and that he has been removed to a “punishment cell”… Read moreImprisoned Cuban rapper on hunger strike
The Supreme Court of India ordered the Tripura police Nov. 17 to refrain from taking any coercive measures, including arrest, against two lawyers and one journalist booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA) for their social media… Read moreIndia: press freedom at stake amid communal violence
A criminal complaint was registered Nov. 12 against Indian politician and former union minister Salman Khurshid over statements made in his recent book Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times. The complaint was filed under Sections 153 and 295A of the Indian Penal… Read moreIndian writer sued over Hindutva-jihad comparison
