Stories of Human Abuse and Human being in wretched plight all around the World

'Napalm Girl Photo' From Vietnam War Turns 40 By MARGIE MASON 05/31/12 South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. A South Vietnamese plane accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on South Vietnamese troops and civilians. The terrified girl had ripped off her burning clothes while fleeing.(AP Photo/Nick Ut)  -------------------------- TRANG BANG, Vietnam — In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing "Too hot! Too hot!" as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village. She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava. She will always be a victim without a name. It only took a second for A...

Italy Earthquake 2012: Death Toll Rises To 17 Source The Telegraph An earthquake killed at least 15 people in northern Italy, damaging buildings and spreading panic among thousands of residents still living in tents after a tremor in the same region destroyed their homes just over a week ago. Picture: EPA/MAURIZIO DEGL'INNOCENTI  ------------------------------------------------------------- Officials said several people were trapped under the rubble of houses and warehouses in the Emilia- Romagna region, where several building sites and workshops had just reopened after the previous quake on May 20. Picture: Pierre Teyssot/AFP/GettyImages  --------------------------------------------------------------- Civil protection officials said 15 people were confirmed dead. Seven people were killed in the May 20 quake that, like Tuesday's, had its epicentre not far from the city of Modena. ------------------------------------------------------------- The 5.8-mag...

9 May 2012 UK plans for secret courts 'dangerous' The Queen unveiled the proposals in a speech to MPs and peers © AFP/Getty Images UK government plans to end centuries of open justice by allowing some court evidence to be heard behind closed doors are "dangerous", Amnesty International said. The proposed legal changes, part of the Justice and Security Bill, could result in information and evidence of human rights violations by UK state representatives, being kept secret. Plans by the government to introduce new legislation were confirmed in the Queen’s speech during Wednesday’s state opening of the UK Parliament. “These proposals are dangerous and should be dropped," said Tara Lyle, Policy Adviser at Amnesty International UK. “They will allow the government to throw a cloak of secrecy over wrongdoing, including matters as serious as the alleged involvement by UK officials in rendition, secret detention, enforced disappearances and...

Annual Report 2011 The state of the world's human rights The year 2010 may well be remembered as a watershed year when activists and journalists used new technology to speak truth to power and, in so doing, pushed for greater respect for human rights. It is also the year when repressive governments faced the real possibility that their days were numbered. source : Amnesty Information is a source of power, and for those challenging the abuse of power by states and other institutions, it is an exciting time. Since Amnesty International’s inception half a century ago, we have seen and shaped similar major shifts in the power struggle between those perpetrating abuses and the courageous and inventive individuals who expose their wrongdoing. As a movement dedicated to focusing global outrage in defence of beleaguered individuals, we are committed to supporting activists who imagine a world in which information is truly free and in which they can exercise their rig...

New Delhi’s Women Problem: What Does It Take to Make a City, and Society, Safe?  By Krista Mahr | May 2, 2012 Source : TIME ( Kaushik Roy / India Today Group / Getty Images Women attend the 'Besharmi Morcha' march or 'Slutwalk' in New Delhi on July 31,2011.) One of the first things I heard when I moved to New Delhi was to be careful at night. I heard it from my real estate agent, my colleagues, from people I met at coffee shops and bars. I knew the incidence of rape in the Indian capital was high, but I largely interpreted the warnings as other people underestimating my ability to take care of myself. Let’s not linger too long on that weird reaction, but I will add that I’ve been living in relatively safe places for the past few years, and I had forgotten what it felt like to live in a place where, as a woman in public, you’re usually pretty aware that you are that: a woman in public. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Here, it can be. In a...

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood MP Seeks to Abolish Female Rights and Enforce Female Genital Mutilation by Raymond Ibrahim, April 26, 2012 According to the Egyptian website Youm 7 , Azza al-Jarf, a female Member of Parliament representing the Muslim Brotherhood's "Freedom and Justice Party," is trying to abolish several laws currently enjoyed by Egyptian women—including preventing them from divorcing or even separating from their husbands, because "the man has the authority and stewardship" (see Koran 4:34); mandating that fathers must circumcise their daughters; and trying to get the Egyptian educational system to ban the teaching of the English language—on the grounds that it is an "infidel" tongue—while separating boys and girls in classrooms and forcing girls to wear the hijab. Ms. Jarf, of course, is not the first Muslim female in Egypt opposed to her own gender; earlier, another female politician declared that "women are deficien...

      Legal analysis  -----------------------<>--------------------------- Asia Pacific: Free expression and law in 2011 In this statement, ARTICLE 19 highlights the major legal developments, in particular laws and regulations, relating to freedom of expression and the right to information throughout Asia in 2011. Trends 2011 saw both positive and negative trends in Asia Pacific.  On the positive side: The Indian government indicated its intention to decriminalise defamation Cambodia and Mongolia adopted Right to Information legislation Malaysia and Vietnam all took steps towards legislation which increased media freedom within their respective countries. However, these laws do not properly reflect international standards on freedom of expression. On the negative side: Public debate and freedom of media continue...