U.S. declares Myanmar military committed genocide against Rohingya

The U.S. previously described the Myanmar military’s campaign against the Rohingya as “ethnic cleansing” and imposed sanctions on top generals. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday formally declared that Myanmar’s military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the country’s Rohingya minority. “Beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times,”

CIA black site detainee served as training prop to teach interrogators torture techniques

Newly declassified documents reveal Ammar al-Baluchi was repeatedly slammed against a wall while naked until all trainees received ‘certification’ A detainee at a secret CIA detention site in Afghanistan was used as a living prop to teach trainee interrogators, who lined up to take turns at knocking his head against a plywood wall, leaving him with brain

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,

World accused of ‘sitting and watching’ as Myanmar slides to war – Al Jazeera

One year since the military coup in Myanmar, calls for international action are growing louder, notably from the National Unity Government (NUG), made up of elected politicians who were thrown out of office by the generals.

EU backs international arms embargo after killings in Myanmar

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell accuses Myanmar’s military rulers of carrying out an ‘appalling act of violence’ in Kayah State. The European Union has called for an international arms embargo on Myanmar’s military government and for toughening its own sanctions following last week’s massacre of more than 35 people. The killings took place on Christmas Eve

Stalin’s Doctor’s Plot: The Paranoid Conspiracy against the Soviet Jews – The Cold War

Our historical documentary series on the history of the Cold War continues with an animated video on the Doctor’s Plot – as the Soviet leader Stalin suddenly decides that there is a plot of Jewish Doctors against him and starts persecuting them.

Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealed

The Myanmar military carried out a series of mass killings of civilians in July that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 men, a BBC investigation has found. Eyewitnesses and survivors said that soldiers, some as young as 17, rounded up villagers before separating the men and killing them. Video footage and images from

U.N. rights forum agrees to investigate abuses in Ethiopia

EU resolution sets up international monitoring Ethiopian envoy rejects ‘politically-motivated’ text U.N. says up to 7,000 detained including nine U.N. staff The U.N. Human Rights Council voted on Friday to establish an independent investigation into abuses in the Ethiopian conflict, after a senior U.N. official said there had been violations on all sides and mass

Saudi women’s rights activist says phone hack by U.S. contractors led to arrest -lawsuit

A Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist accused three former U.S. intelligence contractors of an illegal hack of her phone that was instrumental in her being arrested and later tortured in her home country, according to a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court. Loujain al-Hathloul helped lead a campaign to allow Saudi Arabian women to drive

Belarus’ oldest newspaper is banned as extremist

Belarus’ oldest newspaper was banned on the 115th anniversary of its founding Tuesday, the latest move in the government’s relentless crackdown on independent media in the ex-Soviet nation. The Nasha Niva newspaper was outlawed as extremist by the Central District court in Minsk, which acted upon the request of the Ministry of Information. The ruling