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5th Circuit panel strikes down Mississippi’s lifetime felony voting ban
By Bobby Harrison On August 4, 2023 A three-judge panel of the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down Mississippi’s lifetime ban on voting for people convicted of certain felonies, saying it is unconstitutional because it inflicts cruel and unusual punishment. In a 2-1 ruling released Friday, the panel sent the case back…
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North Carolina lawmakers override veto on bill limiting LGBTQ instruction in early grades
By Hannah Schoenbaum August 18, 2023 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Senate and House voted minutes apart Wednesday to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill limiting LGBTQ+ instruction in the early grades, immediately making it law. The law, which is expected to face a legal challenge, requires public school teachers in most circumstances to…
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Transgender and nonbinary patients have no regrets about top surgery, small study finds
By Jen Christensen On August 9, 2023 Some arguments in favor of laws that restrict gender-affirming care claim that patients may some day regret any irreversible or semi-irreversible part of their transition, but a small new study found that satisfaction with one such surgery is significant, even over the long term. The study, published Wednesday in the…
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Weight Loss Drug Cuts Risk of Heart Problems, Maker Says
By Benjamin Mueller On August 8, 2023 A clinical trial was the first to demonstrate that a new obesity drug could also improve patients’ heart health. A new obesity drug, Wegovy, slashed the risk of serious heart problems by 20 percent in a large trial, the drug’s maker said on Tuesday, a finding that could…
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China: UN experts demand information on nine imprisoned human rights defenders
On August 10, 2023 The experts sounded the alarm on the lack of information provided by Chinese authorities – deeming it a deliberate attempt to “make the world forget” about the individuals who are spending year after year in isolation. Between 2010 and 2019, nine environmental human rights defenders were arrested and imprisoned after they protested against allegedly illegal…
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Experts: Taliban treatment of women may be “gender apartheid”
On July 11, 2023 The Taliban in Afghanistan have systematically restricted the human rights of women and girls and suffocated all aspects of their lives, UN experts said, adding such treatment could amount to “gender apartheid.” In a joint report to UN Human Rights Council, Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in…
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Bangladesh: Excessive Force Against Political Protesters
On August 2, 2023 Mass Arrests of Opposition Activists Undermine Conditions for Free and Fair Election (New York) – Bangladesh police indiscriminately fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons, and beat opposition party supporters with batons during protests in late July 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. In the days leading up to a major demonstration…
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Number of hungry in Sudan rises above 20 million
On August 2, 2023 CAIRO, Aug 3 (Reuters) – The estimated number of people facing acute food insecurity in Sudan has risen faster than expected to 20.3 million, or 42% of the population, as a conflict between rival military factions deepens a humanitarian crisis, a food security body said. The worst hit areas include the…
Read MoreMuslim mobs attack churches in eastern Pakistan after accusing Christians of desecrating the Quran
By Asim Tanveer and Munir Ahmed On August 17, 2023 MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Muslims in eastern Pakistan went on a rampage Wednesday over allegations that a Christian man had desecrated the Quran, demolishing the man’s house, burning churches and damaging several other homes, police and local Christians said. There were no immediate reports of…
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