DOJ: More police departments declining to report hate crimes

A rising number of law enforcement agencies are opting not to share statistics about hate crimes with the FBI — just as hate crimes are skyrocketing, according to U.S. Justice Department numbers. The big picture: The decline in reporting hurts efforts to accurately document violence against Asian Americans, Black Americans, and LGBTQ+ people, advocates and DOJ

Nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ bills filed in 2022 so far, with most targeting trans people

The annual number of anti-LGBTQ bills filed has skyrocketed over the past several years, from 41 bills in 2018 to 238 bills in less than three months of 2022. State lawmakers have proposed a record 238 bills that would limit the rights of LGBTQ Americans this year — or more than three per day —

Texas Republican quits U.S. House race, admits affair with former ISIS war bride

Two-term U.S. Representative Van Taylor on Wednesday withdrew from a Republican primary run-off race, ending his reelection bid after admitting he had an extra-marital affair with the widow of an American who joined the Islamic State, according to media reports. Taylor, who represents a northeast Texas district, last year voted for the creation of a

Russia plotting to kill LGBT+ Ukrainians after invasion, US whistleblower claims

A US official has warned that Russia may target prominent political opponents, anti-corruption activists, and “vulnerable populations” like LGBT+ people in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. The official, who spoke to Foreign Policy anonymously, explained that Russia is “likely” to target anyone who opposes the country’s actions. He said: “As we’ve seen in the past,

Fears of new conflict as Bosnia-Herzegovina faces growing Serb nationalism – BBC News

The peace agreement that holds together Bosnia-Herzegovina is under threat from a rise in Serb nationalism. More than three years of war in the 1990s devastated Bosnia after the fall of Yugoslavia. Tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes by ethnic cleansing. The war ended in

New report details the influence of Christian nationalism on the insurrection

Christian nationalism was used to ‘bolster, justify and intensify the January 6 attack on the Capitol,’ said Amanda Tyler, head of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. A team of scholars, faith leaders and advocates unveiled an exhaustive new report Wednesday (Feb. 9) that documents in painstaking detail the role Christian nationalism played in

Syria: Deadly fighting rages on between ISIL, Kurdish forces

Fighting raged for a third day on Saturday between ISIL (ISIS) and Kurdish forces in Syria after attackers stormed a prison housing members of the armed group in violence that has killed more than 70 people so far.

‘IS’ launches biggest attack in Syria in two years – DW News

The so-called Islamic State has launched the largest-scale attack in Syria since it was defeated there in 2019. Their target was a prison holding jihadists in the northeast. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces say they repelled the attackers and recaptured all or most of the inmates who’d escaped in the chaos.

Israel Evicts Palestinians in Flashpoint Area of East Jerusalem

Israelis evicted an extended family and destroyed their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where attempted evictions last year helped spark a war with Gaza. Israeli police evicted two Palestinian families from their homes on Wednesday to make way for a new school in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem where previous attempts to

Israeli Shot Along Gaza Border, Three Palestinians Wounded in Strikes on Hamas Posts

Civilian doing maintenance work on Israel’s border fence sustains light wounds A man was lightly wounded on Wednesday after shots fired along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military struck Hamas positions in response, wounding at least three Palestinians.  The Israeli military confirmed the shooting near the northern Strip, adding that it was