Polish leader admits country bought powerful Israeli spyware

Poland’s most powerful politician has acknowledged that the country bought advanced spyware from the Israeli surveillance software maker NSO Group, but denied that it was being used to target his political opponents. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative party, Law and Justice, said in an interview that the secret services in many countries

Let’s talk about Texas, schoolbooks, and the Attorney General’s race – Beau of the Fifth Column

Israeli spyware company NSO Group placed on US blacklist

Decision against company at heart of Pegasus project reflects deep concern about impact of spyware on US national security interests NSO Group has been placed on a US blacklist by the Biden administration after it determined the Israeli spyware maker has acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US”. The finding by

Lawyer Who Sued Chevron over “Amazon Chernobyl” Ordered to Prison After 800+ Days of House Arrest – Democracy Now!

The environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger joins us just before he is ordered to report to jail today, after a years-long legal battle with the oil company Chevron and 813 days of house arrest. In 2011, Donziger won an $18 billion settlement against Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Indigenous people in Ecuador for

Israel outlaws Palestinian rights groups, alleging terrorism

Israel has effectively outlawed six prominent Palestinian human rights groups by declaring them terrorist organizations Israel on Friday effectively outlawed six prominent Palestinian human rights groups by declaring them terrorist organizations, a major escalation of its decades-long crackdown on political activism in the occupied territories. The declaration appeared to pave the way for Israel to

University of Hong Kong orders removal of Tiananmen Massacre statue after 24 years, artist ‘shocked’

“It is really difficult to remove it. It is really not fair to remove it in a week while it’s been there for 24 years,” artist Jens Galschiøt told HKFP, saying he may take legal action if it is destroyed. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has requested the now-disbanded organiser of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen

Same-sex marriage referendum approved by wide margin in Switzerland

Switzerland has become one of the last Western European countries to make same-sex marriage legal, Reuters reported. A nearly two-thirds majority, or 64 percent of the country, approved the measure in a referendum, which was conducted under the nation’s direct democracy, Reuters reported. The new legislation would legalize same-sex marriage and gives same-sex couples the right

Amnesty: Rape survivors describe slavery, mutilations in Tigray

Severity and scale’ of sexual crimes committed by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops amount to war crimes, the rights group says. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops have raped hundreds of women and girls during the Tigray war, subjecting some to sexual slavery and mutilation, human rights group Amnesty International has said in a 36-page report. Drawing from

Belarus regime steps up ‘purge’ of activists and media

Alexander Lukashenko leading ‘vicious operation to eviscerate critical voices’ and civil society, rights groups warn Aleysa Ivanova wakes up each morning wondering when the knock on her door will come. “You understand you can be next. Every day I wake up, I think ‘maybe it’ll be tomorrow, maybe today. Maybe they’ll come for me this

Sweden prosecutes former Iranian official for 1988 mass executions

Swedish public prosecutors said on Tuesday they have charged an Iranian citizen with participating in mass executions and war crimes during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The Swedish Prosecution Authority said the suspect worked in July-August 1988 as an assistant to the deputy prosecutor in the Gohardasht prison outside the