Human Rights

Guatemalan court overturns Rios Montt conviction

2013-05-20 20:59:00

MEXICO CITY -- Guatemala’s highest court late Monday overturned the genocide conviction of former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt, a verdict that had been hailed by human rights organizations but now hangs in limbo. The Constitutional Court...

Syria's military shows unexpected resilience

2013-05-20 18:37:00

BEIRUT — The military onslaught this week against the strategic Syrian town of Qusair has dramatized a surprising combat resilience that has already put rebel forces on the defensive on other key fronts, including near the capital, Damascus. The...

President Obama offers encouragement for reforms in Myanmar

2013-05-20 16:09:00

WASHINGTON -- President Obama welcomed Myanmar President Thein Sein to the White House on Monday with tokens of encouragement as the former military ruler pushes democratic reforms in the once-authoritarian Southeast Asian nation. Obama praised Thein...

Two bombings kill four, injure dozens in Dagestan

2013-05-20 14:05:00

MOSCOW -- Twin explosions rocked the capital of Dagestan on Monday, killing four people and injuring dozens in the Russian region most recently known for its association with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects. A car bomb detonated in the center of...

The Week Ahead: Myanmar mends, Africa ascends, cinema celebrates

2013-05-20 04:00:00

Architect of exiting autocracy invited to the White House Monday, May 20 -- Myanmar President Thein Sein’s visit to Washington symbolically celebrates his nation’s embrace of democracy and the rule of law after half a century of...

Syria's government presses battle in key rebel city of Qusair

2013-05-20 08:11:00

BEIRUT -- Renewed clashes were reported Monday in the strategic Syrian city of Qusair, where government forces pressed an offensive aimed at chasing rebels from the supply and logistics hub. There were conflicting accounts from the government and the...

In a border town, a newspaper forced to be silent

2013-05-18 22:11:00

LAREDO, Texas -- A recent wave of kidnappings in Nuevo Laredo was prominently featured in a recent Sunday edition of El Ma�ana, one of the largest and most long-standing Spanish-language newspapers on the border. But the story carried no byline, and...

Cause for hope -- and fear -- in Pakistan

2013-05-19 00:00:00

There is reason for hope in Nawaz Sharif's victory in the recent Pakistani elections. Sharif, who has twice served as Pakistan's prime minister, has said he wants to build a more robust democracy, revive the country's shattered economy and end the...

Letters: Solitary is too cruel for kids

2013-05-16 00:00:00

Re "Too young for solitary," Editorial, May 12 Your editorial had such a promising beginning. Unfortunately, rather than saying the cruel solitary confinement of juveniles should be banned, the editorial recommend that it "should at the very least be...

Myanmar frees dissidents before leader's U.S. visit

2013-05-17 18:05:00

NEW DELHI — Myanmar President Thein Sein released some 20 political prisoners Friday, days before a historic summit with President Obama in Washington early next week, according to officials and prisoner rights groups. The ex-general's...

Jorge Rafael Videla dies at 87; Argentine dictator

2013-05-17 11:46:00

BUENOS AIRES — Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, who presided over that country's so-called dirty war in which up to 30,000 dissidents were murdered or disappeared, died Friday while serving a 50-year prison sentence. He was 87. He...

Sweat-free labels to change the garment trade [Blowback]

2013-05-15 15:01:00

In a May 7 Op-Ed article, Richard Greenwald and Michael Hirsch exhort consumers to support the workers who make our clothes rather than the global apparel industry that exploits them with low wages and unsafe working conditions. Yet exactly how we...

Westboro Baptist Church members protest at the funeral in Wichita, Kan., for George Tiller, a doctor who provided abortions, after he was killed by an antiabortion activist in 2009.

2013-05-17 17:46:20

Cynthia Brown, who played a key role for Human Rights Watch for almost two decades, has died after a battle with cancer, the global advocacy group said. She was 60 years old.

2013-05-16 20:38:31

The 2013 Stowe Prize Big Tent Jubilee will take place on May 30 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on the lawn of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford.

2013-04-26 00:00:00