Seattle’s city council Tuesday voted to ban discrimination on the basis of caste. Seattle is the first city to adds “caste” to other anti-discrimination provisions of its municipal code, following the California state university system’s decision last January to prohibit discrimination on this basis. Caste discrimination has been banned in India since 1948. Discrimination on the [...]

Genaro Garcia Luna, formerly the highest-ranking law enforcement official in Mexico, was convicted Tuesday by a federal jury in New York for assisting the Sinaloa drug cartel. Garcia Luna was formerly Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security from 2006-2012, effectively controlling Mexico’s Federal Police Force. Prior to 2006, Garcia Luna had been the head of Mexico’s [...]

Amnesty International Friday reported that members of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group killed at least 20 men and raped “scores of women” in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report states the M23 rebel group, which the DRC and UN allege is backed by Rwanda, is responsible for “indiscriminate attacks [...]

Foreign ministers around the world Tuesday criticized Israel’s authorization of residential construction in nine communities in the West Bank. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced his opposition to the move on Monday. On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy and the UK foreign secretary joined Blinken in a joint statement condemning [...]

A human rights agency reported Wednesday that some of the world’s largest energy providers continue operating in Myanmar after the military’s attempted coup. The Myanmar military junta staged a coup in February 2021, and has killed thousands of citizens since taking power. The oil and gas industry is the junta’s largest source of foreign currency. [...]

The leader of one of the largest cocaine distributors in the world Wednesday pleaded guilty to running a criminal enterprise and drug trafficking charges. Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, also known as “Otoniel,” pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise under 21 USC §848. While the charge carries a maximum term of life imprisonment, as [...]

The Government of Ukraine has dismissed several Ministers from their positions amid an anti-corruption push. During an address Sunday, President Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) had exposed a minister. The same day, the Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution to dismiss Vasyl Lozynskyy, Deputy Minister of Communications, Territories and Infrastructure Development. The [...]

The US Justice Department (DOJ) announced Tuesday that a grand jury indicted two former Arkansas sheriff’s deputies with federal civil rights offense for using excessive force during an arrest. Former deputies Levi White and Zackary King were captured on camera last August beating Randal Worcester who was already restrained and on the ground. The victim [...]

The European Parliament Thursday resolved to condemn the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for human rights violations in the wake of protests against the state after the death of Mahsa Amini. The nonbinding resolution calls for “the expansion of restrictive measures” against Iran. The resolution describes the “detention, arrest, and abduction” of over 20,000 protestors, [...]

Two UK rail workers unions Tuesday announced strikes after failing to reach a deal with train operators. One of the unions, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) announced two, one-day strikes. The other, the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) announced they will join ASLEF in two, one-day strike [...]