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News (223)
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Brazil: Land Defender Zezico Guajajara Murdered |
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By :BBC World |
| 01 April 2020 |
Zezico Guajajara, an Amazon Guardian has been shot dead on 31 March 2020
A member of a protected tribe in the Amazon has been killed by gunmen, authorities in the Brazilian state of Maranhão say.
The body of Zezico Guajajara, of the Guajajara tribe, was found near his village on Tuesday. He
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Palestine: Land Day (joint statement) |
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By :NGOs |
| 30 March 2020 |
On Land Day, Civil Society Urges Accountability and the End to Israel’s Illegal Closure of Gaza
For the past two years,[1] Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip have gathered on a near-weekly basis to participate in the Great Return March demonstrations at the Gaza perimeter fence, calling for an end to
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South Africa: Evictions Despite Moratorium |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo |
| 29 March 2020 |
Evictions continue in Durban despite the national moratorium
The national government made a clear promise that there would be no evictions during the national shutdown implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus. However, today, at around 12:30, Calvin Security returned to the Ekuphumeleleni settlement in Mariannhill, which falls under
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India: Landlords Evicting Doctors |
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By :News18.com |
| 26 March 2020 |
AIIMS Resident Doctor’s Association says many doctors forcibly evicted by landlords fearing coronavirus, stranded on roads. AIIMS has asked the government to issue an order prohibiting landlords and home-owners from evicting medical professionals working tirelessly amid the outbreak.
NEW DELHI—Several doctors and nurses at AIIMS have been forcibly evicted from their
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Kenya: Women Resist Custom for a Fair Share |
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By :David Muchui, The Nation |
| 25 March 2020 |
Widows fight customs, biased laws denying them share of family wealth
In Summary
In Meru County and elsewhere, thousands of widows are at the mercy of ruthless in-laws and corrupt government officers.
Human Rights Watch cites discriminatory laws and customs as some of the factors that continue to fuel the violation of women’s
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South Africa: Call for Solidarity amid Crisis |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo |
| 22 March 2020 |
Coronavirus: A Call for Solidarity in a Time of Crisis
Abahlali baseMjondolo has held small meetings with elected leaders in all the provinces where we have members to discuss the coronavirus crisis. The best available scientific information has been shared with our members. We have decided to suspend our entire programme
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ZA/Palestine: Apartheid 60 Yrs after Sharpeville |
| 21 March 2020 |
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Time to Recognise and End Israeli Apartheid over the Palestinian People
21 March 2020
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also marks the 60th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre under apartheid in South Africa, on 21 March 1960. At Sharpeville, police opened
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Bangladesh: Church Evicts Indigenous Families |
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By :Rajshahi, UCA News reporter |
| 18 March 2020 |
Five families of ethnic indigenous Catholics are in a frustrating and helpless situation over an attempted eviction by a church’s officials in northern Bangladesh.
Officials of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Musroil village of Rajshahi District have been pressuring the families to leave the land and property they have been living
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“Slumlord Millionaire” Jared Kushner (review) |
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By :Jude Dry, IndieWire |
| 12 March 2020 |
The Most Shocking Discoveries about ‘Slumlord’ Jared Kushner in Netflix’s “Dirty Money.” The president`s son-in-law is the subject of Alex Gibney`s docuseries, in an episode titled "Slumlord Millionaire."
Throughout his filmmaking career, documentarian Alex Gibney has made it his business to expose egregious abuse of power at the hands of the moneyed; from
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Missouri Farmer Wins $265m Claim from Monsanto/BASF |
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By :Carey Gillam, Sierra |
| 25 February 2020 |
Missouri Farmer Wins $265 Million Verdict against Monsanto. Jury finds that, because of dicamba, a peach farmer is going out of business
A Missouri peach farmer notched a rare courtroom victory this month, defeating the former Monsanto Co. and chemical giant BASF in the first of what is expected to be
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USA: New SWATs Pursue Sanctuary City Migrants |
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By :Caitlin Dickerson and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, The New York Times |
| 14 February 2020 |
Border patrol will deploy elite tactical agents to sanctuary cities.Agents from a special tactical team that normally confronts smugglers on the border are being sent to sanctuary cities across the country.
The Trump administration is deploying law enforcement tactical units from the southern border as part of a supercharged arrest operation
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Watch: The Heart of Nuba |
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By :Storyville Global, BBC World |
| 12 February 2020 |
For thirty years, Omar al-Bashir, the former president of Sudan, waged a brutal and bloody war on his own people. This program filmed before al-Bashir was ousted, features Dr. Tom Catena a U.S. doctor and missionary who has been working in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan (South Kordofan) for over
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Bolsonaro`s Ambiguous Amazon Plan |
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By :Luciana Coelho and Gustavo Uribe, Folha de São Paulo |
| 10 February 2020 |
Bolsonaro`s Proposed Amazon Plan Is Vague and Uncertain. Officials improvised the proposed project on eve of Davos event to appease critics.
SÃO PAULO and BRASÍLIA—Bolsonaro`s finalized his plan for the Amazon right before the World Economic Forum in Davis, Switzerland. The government wanted to alleviate investor doubts about the government`s inaction in forest
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‘Parasite’: Homes Play Characters in Oscar Winner |
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By :Karen Idelson, Variety |
| 03 February 2020 |
Haunted houses are always full of hidden passageways, secret rooms and a story or two about someone who used to live there who disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances. The Park house in “Parasite” is no exception to that rule.
It was first imagined by director Bong Joon Ho as a
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Navajo Pres. Sides with Kit Carson on Palestine |
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By :The Red Nation |
| 02 February 2020 |
Navajo Nation President Nez Sides with Kit Carson on Palestine
The [president of the] Navajo Nation’s partnership with Zionist organizations raises historical questions.
Black men fighting for their freedom once drenched the earth with the blood of white men. We know this history. At the same time, our grandfathers carried guns against
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U.S. Revives Military Land Mine Use |
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By :Robert Burns, Associated Press |
| 31 January 2020 |
United States President Donald Trump authorizes a shift to wider U.S. military use of land mines, after much of the world has banned their use.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Friday canceled an Obama-era prohibition on the use of anti-personnel land mines outside of the Korean peninsula. With potential future conflict with
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U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Hit an Eight-year High |
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By :P.J. Huffstutter, Reuters |
| 30 January 2020 |
CHICAGO—U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued, in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data.
According to data released this week by the United States Courts, family farmers filed 595 Chapter
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South Africa: Women’s Landmark Property Rights Ruling |
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By :Kim Harrisberg, Thomson Reuters Foundation |
| 29 January 2020 |
For black women married before 1988, the husband owned all matrimonial assets and could sell them without consulting his wife - until a landmark win this month overturned the law
JOHANNESBURG—Facing destitution when her marriage broke down, 72-year-old Agnes Sithole went to court to challenge a sexist law - and won
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Malawi: Men Still Grab Women`s Land, Despite Law |
| 24 January 2020 |
Malawi men continue to grab land from women - official
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development director of administration Duncan Chione has said the new land law, which came into effect in 2018, is still facing resistance because men continue to grab land from women.
The official made the remarks in
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Trump Removes More Environmental Safeguards |
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By :Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press |
| 23 January 2020 |
Trump Administration set to remove protections against water pollution
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration appears ready to move ahead with its plan to remove protections for some of the nation’s millions of miles, streams and arroyos, completing one of its most far-reaching environmental rollbacks.
The changes, promised by President Donald Trump in his first
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Outrage over Siemens Backing Adani Coal |
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By :Deutsche Welle |
| 13 January 2020 |
Climate Activists Outraged as Siemens Backs Adani Coal Mining Project in Australia
Siemens has announced it will remain involved in a controversial coal mining project in Australia, despite massive environmental criticism as the country continues to be ravaged by bushfires.
The German engineering conglomerate has a contract worth roughly €18 million ($20 million) which requires
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Tribute to Ghanimat Azhdari |
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By :Jimmy Thomson, The Narwhal |
| 10 January 2020 |
‘She was absolutely adored’: Iranian scientist spent her life fighting for indigenous voices in conservation.
Ghanimat Azhdari was born into a nomadic tribe in Iran and was a PhD student at Canada’s University of Guelph, where she was working with indigenous communities in the boreal forest to map cultural sites. This
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USA: ½ Million Homeless at Christmas |
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By :Alan Macleod, Mint Press News |
| 23 December 2019 |
This Christmas, over half a million persons in the United States will struggle with homelessness. The U.S. government estimates ending homelessness would cost around $20 billion, less than the amount spent on Christmas decorations that people in the U.S., who appears to have little appetite to address the growing social
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Netherlands: The Right to Climate Protection! |
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By :Lukas Schulze, Buzzfeed News |
| 20 December 2019 |
People have a fundamental right to be protected from climate change, a landmark court ruling says. The Dutch Supreme Court`s decision could have huge repercussions for how other countries tackle rising emissions.
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled Friday that the government must take urgent action on climate change to
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Brazil: New Decree to Support Land Grabs |
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By :Sputnik News |
| 12 December 2019 |
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signs a decree giving title to smallholder farmers, but may encourage land grabbing.
President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree on Tuesday that will allow tens of thousands of small farmers finally to earn title to the land they cultivate, fulfilling a campaign promise to the agricultural sector
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Brazil: 2 Indigenous Guajajaras Murdered |
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By :Rosa Gauditano, Survival International |
| 09 December 2019 |
Last Saturday, December 7, two indigenous Guajajara men were shot to death and two others injured. The shots were fired by occupants of a vehicle on the side of a road through Cana Brava Indigenous Land. This attack comes just over a month after the murder of Paulo Paulino Guajajara,
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Kashmir: A Land without Internet |
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By :Peerzada Ashiq, The Hindu |
| 08 December 2019 |
In a land without Internet, the communication blackout is forcing young entrepreneurs out of Kashmir Valley. With the Internet blackout stretching for more than 120 days in Jammu and Kashmir, start-ups that began with much fanfare are closing down. Peerzada Ashiq reports on young Kashmiri entrepreneurs who are leaving behind
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South Korea: Neighborhoods Rallying before Death |
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By :Isaiah Winters, Gwangju News |
| 06 December 2019 |
Lost in Gwangju
Every year in Korea, autumn foliage treats us to one last gasp of life before the bleak onset of winter. I can’t help but liken this to cases of terminal lucidity, when patients on their deathbeds regain a fleeting clarity of expression before suddenly passing away. In much
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‘Amazon Completely Lawless’: Bolsonaro’s 1st Year |
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By :Matt Sandy. The New York Times |
| 05 December 2019 |
Deforestation in the world’s largest rainforest, an important buffer against climate change, has soared under President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.
RIO DE JANEIRO—When the smoke cleared, the Amazon could breathe easy again.
For months, black clouds had hung over the rainforest as work crews burned and chain-sawed through it. Now the rainy
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EU Fisheries in Western Sahara "Unlawful" |
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By :WSRW |
| 20 November 2019 |
Former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Hans Corell (Sweden), has again criticized EU`s approach to fisheries practices in Western Sahara. The statements came in a speech delivered at the annual conference of The Belgian Society of international Law, in Brussels, 14–15
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India: Gov’t. Rethinks Vicious Forest Act |
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By :Ishan Kukreti, Down to Earth |
| 18 November 2019 |
Government withdraws proposed changes to Indian Forest Act. Minister Prakash Javadekar said draft created misconception among people.
The Union government was withdrawing the officers’ draft of the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927 amendment, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Prakash Javadekar told reporters on November 15, 2019.
Inspector General of Forests (Forest
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Brazil: The Life and Death of the Guajajara |
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By :Carol Marçal, The Guardian |
| 08 November 2019 |
It is not news that the Brazilian government has been failing to protect Indigenous lands and Indigenous rights. But due to ever-increasing invasion of their territories by land grabbers, loggers and even drug traffickers, the Indigenous Peoples from several groups in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil decided to
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Major Victory for Ecuadoran Indigenous Peoples |
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By :DTE Staff |
| 07 November 2019 |
Chinese company pulls out of contract to drill for oil in remote rainforest after protests by indigenous groups
Indigenous leaders from Ecuador’s Amazon declared victory on November 6, 2019, after revealing that the country’s government had granted a force majeure request by Andes Petroleum Ltd Ecuador to stop drilling in a rainforest concession
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Brazil: Loggers Murder Amazon Forest Defender |
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By :Aljazeera |
| 03 November 2019 |
An indigenous forest defender has been killed and another wounded after they were ambushed by illegal loggers in Brazil`s Amazon forest, according to authorities.
Paulo Paulino Guajajara, a leader of an indigenous group seeking to protect the Arariboia indigenous reserve in Maranhao state from incursions, was shot in the face while on a
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Adani Coal Takes Native Land as Oz Burns |
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By :Ben Doherty, The Guardian |
| 31 August 2019 |
While Queensland extinguishes native title over Indigenous land to make way for Adani coalmine
Palaszczuk government did not announce decision Wangan and Jagalingou people say makes them trespassers on their own land
The Queensland government has extinguished native title over 1,385 hectares of Wangan and Jagalingou country for the proposed Adani coalmine in
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Brazil: Amazon on Fire |
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By :CBS News |
| 21 August 2019 |
On Monday afternoon, the City of São Paulo, Brazil, went dark — but it wasn`t some strange cosmic event. Powerful winds carried the smoke from forest fires burning nearly 1,700 miles away, reported the BBC. Almost 73,000 fires have been detected by Brazil`s space research center INPE, according to Reuters. It`s a
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Nagaland Raises National Flag |
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By :The Hindu |
| 14 August 2019 |
‘Naga national flag’ hoisted across Naga-inhabited areas on ‘Independence Day’
GUWAHATI, Assam—The influential Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) on Wednesday hoisted the ‘Naga national flag’ to celebrate the 73rd ‘Naga Independence Day’ across the Naga-inhabited areas, including Myanmar.
On 14 August 1947, leaders belonging to various Naga tribes came together to unfurl their
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USA: New Rule to Make Residents Homeless |
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By :Carey L. Biron, City |
| 13 August 2019 |
`We will become homeless`: U.S. residents fear housing rule change could force them out of homes. The rule change could make an entire household ineligible for social housing if a single member is undocumented, say experts.
WASHINGTON - Fears are mounting across the United States over a proposal by President Donald
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EU Now Funds Israel’s Destruction of Palestine |
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By :David Cronin, Rights and Accountability |
| 02 August 2019 |
The European Union is financing Israeli bodies that oversee home demolitions and other crimes against the Palestinian people.
Two years ago, Benjamin Netanyahu was heard complaining that the European Union was “crazy” for attaching “political conditions” to its relations with Israel. By the prime minister’s yardstick, matters have become less “crazy” since then:
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German Firm’s Crimes against Palestinians |
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By :Adri Nieuwhof Rights and Accountability |
| 10 June 2019 |
German firm escalates its war crimes against Palestinians
German construction giant HeidelbergCement is expanding its plunder of Palestinian resources, a war crime punishable under German and international law.
HeidelbergCement operates a stone quarry in the occupied West Bank without permission of the Palestinians.
After exhausting the Nahal Raba quarry, the Israeli army has
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Zimbabwe Farmers Hawking to Survive |
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By :Jeffrey Moyo, IPS |
| 28 May 2019 |
Zimbabwe’s Resettled Farmers Hawking Cigarettes to Survive
MARONDERA, Zimbabwe—Subsistence farmer Rogers Hove proudly brandishes a worn-out letter for his five-hectare piece of land he obtained from government following the chaotic land seizures from white commercial farmers over two decades ago. What matters most to him, he says, “is to see my
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USA: HUD Discriminates against Transgender Homeless |
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By :Katy O`Donnell, Politico |
| 22 May 2019 |
HUD moves to allow discrimination against homeless transgender people. The proposal, included in the department’s spring rule list out Wednesday, contradicts a pledge that HUD Secretary Ben Carson made to lawmakers just yesterday.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is moving to roll back protections for homeless transgender people by
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Kenya: Ex-president Fined €9 million for Land Grab |
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By :Brian Wasuna and Richard Munguti, Daily Nation |
| 18 May 2019 |
Ex-president Moi ordered to pay widow Sh1bn [€8,853,030] for grabbed land
On 21 September 1983, former President Daniel arap Moi forcibly took over a 53-acre piece of land owned by ex-chief Noah Kipngeny Chelugui through a scheme that involved ordering lands officials to make the necessary transfers to register the property,
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Ecuador: Waorani Block Big Oil Destruction |
| 16 May 2019 |
Amazon tribe wins lawsuit against big oil, saving millions of acres of rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest is well known across the world for being the largest and most dense area of woodland in the world. Spanning across nine countries, the Amazon is home to millions of different animal and plant species,
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USA: Inviting More Oil-spill Disaster |
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By :Associated Press |
| 03 May 2019 |
Trump easing offshore drilling safety rules imposed after Deepwater Horizon explosion
The new safety changes were sought by the industry but fiercely challenged by environmentalists.
PORT FOURCHON LA—The Trump administration moved Thursday to give oil and gas companies more flexibility in meeting safety requirements imposed after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon explosion,
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Al-Haq International Law Summer School 2019! |
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By :Al-Haq |
| 30 April 2019 |
24 June–8 July 2019
Al-Haq Center for Applied International Law is pleased to announce its Fifth International Law Summer School for post-graduate law students, legal researchers and professionals in the fields of international law and human rights. The training will take place over two weeks in Ramallah, occupied Palestinian territory
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Tibet: China Imprisons Local Land Defenders |
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By :Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) |
| 28 April 2019 |
Nine Tibetans sentenced up to 7 years in prison under China’s “organised crime” crackdown
A notice issued in February 2018 by the Tibet Autonomous Region Public Security Department had criminalised various human rights activities such as local activists espousing causes like economic freedom, right to livelihood, environmental protection, cultural freedom (Article
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DRC: Failed Agro-Industrial Park Model |
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By :Oakland Institute and HLRN |
| 25 April 2019 |
The Bukanga Lonzo Debacle: The Failure of Agro-Industrial Parks in DRC is a new report of the Oakland Institute that exposes the numerous land rights violations and human rights abuses, pollution and health hazards, misspent funds, charges of embezzlement and corruption, and legal action since the establishment and collapse of
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USA: Seattle, Insurgent Sanctuary |
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By :Samantha Michaels, Mother Jones |
| 15 April 2019 |
Seattle’s Mayor Had the Perfect Response to Trump’s Threat to Send Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities: “The president’s threats won’t intimidate me.”
On Friday, President Donald Trump said his administration was seriously considering sending undocumented immigrants caught along the border to sanctuary cities around the country as a way to punish Democrats
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Women’s Land and Home--Uganda |
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By :HIC-HLRN and SSA:UHSNET |
| 15 April 2019 |
How—and how much—housing and land rights violations affect women
Dispossession, forced eviction and other land and housing rights violations can have a more-significant and differentiated impact on women, given that women are often more social and economically vulnerable than men. This is particularly true, as women often start out from a
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Waorani People Sue for Survival against Big Oil |
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By :Reynard Loki, Independent Media Institute |
| 11 April 2019 |
Indigenous peoples go to court to save the Amazon from oil company greed
On 27 February, hundreds of Indigenous Waorani elders, youth and leaders arrived in the city of Puyo, Ecuador. They left their homes deep in the Amazon rainforest to march peacefully through the streets, hold banners, sing songs and,
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Adjudicating HRAH in India |
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By :HLRN-India |
| 09 April 2019 |
On the eve of India’s General Elections, Housing and Land Rights Network India (HLRN) held a press conference in New Delhi today to release a new publication: Adjudicating the Human Right to Adequate Housing: Analysis of Important Judgments from Indian High Courts.
As documented by HLRN, India’s courts often have ordered
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Human Right to Adequate Housing v. Blackstone L.P. |
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By :HLRN |
| 26 March 2019 |
Today, UN Special Rapporteur on to Adequate Housing Leilani Farha held a press conference in Copenhagen to speak about letters that she and Surya Deva, Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises jointly released to governments and corporations
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Australia: Ngaliwurru & Nungali Native Title Ruling |
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By :RT |
| 15 March 2019 |
Australian Aboriginals to get billions in compensation for land & spiritual loss in landmark case
Aboriginals in Australia have won a ground-breaking case that paves the way for billions of dollars in compensation claims for colonial land loss, as well as loss of spiritual connection.
The High Court of Australia ruled
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USA: Household Net Worth Plummets |
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By :Christopher Ingraham, Associate Press |
| 10 March 2019 |
Household net worth falls by largest amount since the Great Recession, new Fed data shows
In this Tuesday, 6 March 2018, photo homes stack up in a neighborhood in San Jose, Calif. NerdWallet calculated affordability for 173 metropolitan areas by comparing the median annual household income and the monthly principal-and-interest
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Sahel: Displacement Crisis |
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By :UN News |
| 05 March 2019 |
Drastic deterioration in security across Burkina Faso as 70,000 flee their homes in past two months, UN warns
The landlocked West African country of Burkina Faso is facing “unprecedented” displacement, triggered by armed groups and intercommunal clashes, and exacerbated by long-term food insecurity, UN aid officials said on Tuesday.
According to the
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ICJ Chagos Island Opinion: from Brexit to Chexit? |
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By :Marko Milanovic, European Journal of International Law blog |
| 28 February 2019 |
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its Chagos Islands Advisory Opinion, and UK loses badly
The ICJ has ruled that Britain acted illegally when it imposed territorial controls on the Chagos Islands without the consent of Mauritius. The ruling may hinder US operations in Diego Garcia, where it holds an
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USA: Court Rules IFC Not Immune |
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By :Diane Desierto, European Journal of International Law blog |
| 28 February 2019 |
SCOTUS decision in Jam et al v. International Finance Corporation (IFC) denies absolute immunity to IFC…with caveats
When it rains, it somehow pours.
February 2019 ended up being such a landmark month for international law adjudication. A day after the International Court of Justice released its landmark Chagos Advisory Opinion (finely discussed by
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Brazil: Tucano Land Defender Assassinated |
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By :Emtempo |
| 27 February 2019 |
MANAUS—The 53-year-old Tucano chief, Francisco de Souza Pereira, was shot four days ago in the "Urucaia" indigenous community in the Nova Cidade neighborhood of Manaus.
The crime occurred around 01:00 AM. Francisco was sleeping with his wife and a daughter when three hooded men invaded the house on Bahia Street.
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Indian Court Orders Eviction of 1 Million Tribals |
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By :Rahul Bedi, The Telegraph |
| 22 February 2019 |
Indian Supreme Court orders eviction of 1 million tribal forest dwellers
NEW DELHI—India’s Supreme Court has ordered the eviction of over 1.1 million tribal and other traditional forest dwellers, after it recently rejected their ancient ownership claims on jungle land.
Experts estimate that the 20 February legal fiat could result in
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USA: Providing Homes Cheaper than Homelessness |
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By :Matthew Iglesias, Vox |
| 20 February 2019 |
The most cost-effective way to help the homeless is to give them homes. Addressing housing directly is cheaper than relying on cops and emergency rooms.
Even as the national economy continues its slow-but-steady pace of improvement, data released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in December revealed a small
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Fighting Displaces 100K in Burkina Faso |
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By :Reuters |
| 19 February 2019 |
UN: Fighting, Instability Have Displaced 100,000 in Burkina Faso
GENEVA—More than 100,000 people have been displaced by factional fighting and lawlessness in Burkina Faso, most within the past two months, according to a U.N. report published Tuesday.
"Burkina Faso is, for the first time in its history, facing massive internal displacement,"
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Ireland: Gas Terminal Project Goes to EU Court |
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By :Ann O`Loughlin, Irish Examiner |
| 15 February 2019 |
Shannon Estuary gas terminal project referred to European Court of Justice by the Irish High Court as it triggers the EU Habitats Directive.
The High Court has referred to Europe a number of questions relating to a five-year extension of planning permission for a liquid gas terminal on the Shannon Estuary.
Mr
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Japan to Recognize Indigenous Ainu People |
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By :Japan Times/AFP-JIJI |
| 15 February 2019 |
Japan’s Cabinet considers legislation recognizing the indigenous Ainu people for first time.
The government approved a bill Friday to recognize the country’s ethnic Ainu minority as an “indigenous” people for the first time, after decades of discrimination against the group.
The Ainu people, many of whom live in northern Hokkaido, have long
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Palestine/Israel: Fake Justices |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 13 February 2019 |
In early September 2018, after years of legal proceedings, the justices of Israel’s High Court determined there was no legal obstacle to demolishing the structures in the community of al-Khan al-Ahmar, located about two kilometers south of the Jerusalem-choking Kfar Adumim settler colony. The Court delivered that conclusion as the
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Zim: CSOs Pose Resolving Govt Displacements |
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By :Tatenda Chitagu, newsday |
| 13 February 2019 |
The Zimbabwe People’s Land Rights Movement (ZPLRM), a member of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), has slammed government over planned displacements of thousands of villagers across the country and urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to walk his talk over the irreversibility of the land reform programme.
HIC is an independent international coalition
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EU-Morocco Fishery Accord Violates Law—Again |
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By :The Greens-European Free Alliance |
| 12 February 2019 |
EU-Morocco fisheries agreement violates international humanitarian law and denies self-determination of Western Sahara people.
Today, Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the planned fisheries agreement between the European Union and Morocco. The vast majority of the catches under this agreement are however to take place to the waters
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South Africa: Militarizing Repression in Durban |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo |
| 03 February 2019 |
Statement of Abahlali baseMjondolo
Last week, the news was full of reports on the arrival of three of the four Casspirs (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles) that have been ordered by the eThekwini Municipality. We first heard about the order of the Casspirs in 2017, when it was reported that the
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Israel/Palestine: Tourism Accommodates War Crime |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 31 January 2019 |
The Israeli colonies in occupied Palestine constitute a war crime and crime against humanity. They form elements of the serious crime of population transfer, as codified in the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, and which previously was prosecuted at the International Military Tribunals at Nuremburg and Tokyo. The
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USA: Most Citizens in 3rd World Conditions |
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By :Yossarian Johnson, The Intellectualist |
| 30 January 2019 |
A study by an MIT economist shows that the United States of America has regressed materially to a third-world nation for most of its citizens.
America divided: This concept increasingly graces political discourse in the U.S., pitting left against right, conservative thought against the liberal agenda. But for decades, [U.S.] Americans
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India: Refugees Get Land Titles |
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By :Rina Chandran,Thomson Reuters Foundation |
| 29 January 2019 |
Refugees in India`s West Bengal get land titles amid citizenship row.
India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which spells out refugee rights and state responsibilities to protect them.
BANGKOK—Authorities in India`s West Bengal state have given land titles to about 30,000 refugees who have lived in settlement
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Brazil: Another Mining Dam Disaster |
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By :Associated Press |
| 28 January 2019 |
Search for Brazil dam survivors renews as death toll hits 58
BRUMADINHO, Brazil—Brazilian rescue crews returned to mud-covered flats Sunday to resume the search for hundreds of people missing in the wake of a dam collapse after the operation was suspended for several hours over fears that a second dam was
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World Bank Schemes to Privatize the Commons |
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By :Oakland Institute |
| 24 January 2019 |
The Highest Bidder Takes It All: The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons details how the Bank’s prescribes reforms, via a new land indicator in the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) project, promotes large-scale land acquisitions and the expansion of agribusinesses in the developing world. This new indicator is
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Vietnam: Church & Gov`t. Clash over Demolitions |
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By :Rina Chandran, TiVi Tuần-san |
| 17 January 2019 |
Land conflicts have risen in Vietnam since the Communist Party launched economic reforms in the 1980s
BANGKOK—The demolition of about 100 homes near Ho Chi Minh City, including one owned by the Catholic Church, has pitted the church against authorities in the latest such dispute over land in the Communist Party-ruled
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USA: Homelessness Rising, Even in Utah |
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By :Gregory Scruggs, Place |
| 10 January 2019 |
Once a national model, Utah struggles with homelessness. Homelessness is on the rise in the United States for the second year in a row, the increase has been particularly noticeable in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY—Once lauded as a leader among U.S. cities struggling to relieve homelessness, the number of people sleeping
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USA: Gov`t. Shutdown Could Evict Millions |
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By :Jeff Andrews, Curbed |
| 07 January 2019 |
Funding for HUD’s rental assistance programs would lapse if shutdown drags on
Entering its third week, and with no end in sight, the partial federal government shutdown is putting millions of low-income tenants who depend on funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at risk.
On January 4, HUD
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Israel Court OKs Evicting 700 Jlem Palestinians |
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By :Middle East Monitor |
| 22 November 2018 |
The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday rejected a petition submitted by 104 Palestinians against claims by a right-wing Israeli organisation paving the way for 700 Palestinians to be forced from their homes, Haaretz reported.
The 700 Palestinians, who make up 70 families, have been going through a legal battle to protect their
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USA: More HUD Tenants Now Living in Squalor |
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By :Suzy Khimm, Laura Strickler, Hannah Rappleye and Stephanie Gosk. NBC News |
| 15 November 2018 |
Under Ben Carson, more families live in HUD housing that fails health and safety inspections
While HUD Secretary Ben Carson pledged to fix low-income housing, the number of properties cited for health and safety violations has been on the rise.
HARTFORD CT—The mold started in the basement. But it soon spread to
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CAR: 10K Displaced in Batangafo |
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By :Medecins sans frontier |
| 02 November 2018 |
NEW YORK—Following clashes on Wednesday between armed groups in Central African Republic (CAR), more than 10,000 people fled their homes and are seeking refuge in the compound of a hospital in Batangafo supported by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Violent clashes between armed groups in
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Lebanon: Evicting Syrian Refugees |
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By :Nora Stel and Anke van der Meijden, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies |
| 24 October 2018 |
This article is based on a forthcoming policy paper examining the causes, characteristics, and consequences of the eviction of Syrian migrants and refugees from Riyak, Lebanon in 2017, in light of recent developments encouraging Syrian refugees to return to their home country.
Lebanon’s Eviction of Syrian Refugees and the Threat of
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Liberia: New Law Affirms Customary Land Tenure |
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By :James Yarsiah, Rights + Resources Initiative |
| 23 October 2018 |
On 19 September, Liberian President George Manneh Weah signed into law the Land Rights Bill (LRB), a landmark piece of legislation that recognizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to their customary lands and gives customary land the same standing as private land in Liberia.
This historic victory sets
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Germany: Refugee Housing Crisis & Black Market |
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By :Morgan Meaker, Place |
| 22 October 2018 |
Germany`s housing crisis fuels black market for refugees. Activists are concerned that a shortage of housing in Germany is hindering refugee integration
MUNICH--Firas swapped civil war in Syria for a chaotic refugee camp in Germany. Now he wants a home.
Since January 2016, the 28-year-old graduate has lived in three different refugee
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Statement of the ICC on Palestine |
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By :ICC |
| 17 October 2018 |
Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, regarding the Situation in Palestine
I have been following with concern the planned eviction of the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, in the West Bank. Evacuation by force now appears imminent, and with it the prospects for further escalation and
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Ethiopia Repossesses Failed Investors’ Land |
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By :Chiamaka Ihekwoaba, TheNerveAfrica |
| 01 October 2018 |
Ethiopia takes land back from investors who promised jobs and failed
Ethiopia has revoked a total of 412.6 hectares of land held by investors, including Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi for failure to create jobs and develop the city, as promised when the lands were awarded to them, head of
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USA: From Sanctuary Cities to “Freedom Cities.” |
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By :Adam Edelman, NBC News |
| 15 September 2018 |
The crackdown on sanctuary cities gives birth to “freedom cities.” Advocates for undocumented immigrants believe they`ve found a new — and legal — way to skirt deportation efforts.
If Attorney General Jeff Sessions is waging war to dismantle sanctuary cities, imagine how he feels about "freedom cities."
Austin, Texas, became the
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USA: Laws Criminalizing Homelessness Over-ruled |
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By :Mihir Zaveri, The New York Times |
| 05 September 2018 |
Prosecuting homeless people for sleeping on the streets when there is no shelter available is a form of cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Constitution, a federal appeals court said this week.
The case stems from two ordinances in Boise, Idaho, that make it a crime to sleep or camp
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India: Questioning “Smart-city” Wisdom |
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By :Rina Chandran, place |
| 03 September 2018 |
As India adds 100 Smart Cities, one tells a cautionary tale
India`s $7.5 bln plan to turn 100 urban centres into Smart Cities by 2020 does not address structural issues and ignores the needs of low-income and marginalised groups, experts say
LAVASA, India—When David Cooper and his wife were looking for somewhere
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Brazil: PT Promises to Resume Housing Scheme |
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By :Rede Brasil Actual |
| 23 August 2018 |
São Paulo—At a press conference in João Pessoa, the vice presidential candidate on the plank of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that, if elected, one of the goals of a possible PT government would be to resume the Minha Casa Minha (My House My Life)
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USA: In Search of Eviction Data |
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By :Daniela Aiello, Lisa Bates, Terra Graziani, Christopher Herring, Manissa Maharawal, Erin McElroy, Pamela Phan, and Gretchen Purser, Shelterforce. |
| 22 August 2018 |
Eviction Lab Misses the Mark: By not working with existing housing justice organizations, the high profile organization undercounts evictions and misses a chance to understand differences between localities and wider policy analyses.
There is perhaps no more influential and popular book on poverty and housing at the moment than Matthew Desmond’s
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Ecuador: Chevron to Pay for Environmental Damage |
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By :Mongabay |
| 14 August 2018 |
Chevron must pay for environmental damage in Ecuador, Constitution Court rules
The Constitutional Court of Ecuador has issued a long-awaited ruling in favor of those affected by the transnational oil company Chevron, which operated through its subsidiary Texaco in Ecuador between 1964 and 1990. The court rejected the protection action that
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Tanzania: Losing the Serengeti |
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By :The Oakland Institute |
| 02 August 2018 |
OAKLAND CA—Today, the Oakland Institute releases Kuipoteza Serengeti, Ardhi Ya Wamasai Iliyopaswa Kudumu Milele, a Kiswahili translation of the report Losing the Serengeti: The Maasai Land that was to Run Forever.
Based on field research, never publicly-seen-before documents, and an in-depth investigation into Tanzania’s land laws, the report reveals how Tanzania’s
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Palestine: Israel’s Demolishing Khan al-Ahmar |
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By :Akram Al-Wa`ra, Mondoweiss |
| 05 July 2018 |
Despite international condemnations, Israel prepares to demolish Khan al-Ahmar
KHAN AL-AHMAR, occupied West Bank, Palestine—Scenes of destruction and despair spread over the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar on Wednesday, as armed Israeli forces arrived at the village’s entrance with bulldozers.
The nightmare that the village’s 200 residents had feared for over
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Puerto Rico: Parasites in Paradise |
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By :Democracy Now |
| 06 June 2018 |
Puerto Rico continues to recover from Hurricane Maria as it commemorates 120 years of US occupation (since 1898). In the ongoing post-disaster phase, the island Is becoming a “playground for the privileged,” where disaster-capitalist investors move in as homes foreclose and schools close.
While healthcare, the public school system and infrastructure
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UN Expert: USA Poor More Destitute under Trump |
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By :Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters |
| 02 June 2018 |
America`s poor becoming more destitute under Trump: U.N. expert
GENEVA—Poverty in the United States is extensive and deepening under the Trump administration whose policies seem aimed at removing the safety net from millions of poor people, while rewarding the rich, a U.N. human rights investigator has found.
Philip Alston, U.N. special rapporteur
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Tibet: New Report “Access Denied” |
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By :International Campaign for Tibet |
| 26 May 2018 |
ICT has published its latest report, "Access Denied." It’s a troubling yet necessary account of the full extent of China`s efforts to prevent news of human rights abuses in Tibet from getting out.
China’s government doesn’t want anyone to know that international journalists are being detained by police, as two New
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CA: World’s 5th Economy, Homeless No. 1 USA |
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By :Sal Rodriguez, Orange County Register |
| 04 May 2018 |
California has the 5th largest economy in the world yet leads the USA in poverty and homelessness.
California’s gross domestic product surpassed $2.7 trillion in 2017, reports the Associated Press, an output with places California’s economy ahead of the United Kingdom’s.
California now has the distinction of having the world’s fifth largest economy,
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Unearthing Truths: Israel, Nakba and JNF |
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By :The Editors of Moving Forward |
| 01 May 2018 |
The monthly Moving Forward is published with support from Jews Say No! That organization engages in community education, street theatre, and organizing to make their members’ voices heard in Jewish communities and as partners in the broader movement for justice in Palestine/Israel. The following article is the editorial to Moving
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30 Cities Join Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day |
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By :Platform No to the Destruction of Sur, Istanbul Sur Solidarity, Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, and Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive |
| 30 April 2018 |
DIYARBAKIR / AMED—As part of the Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day in almost 30 cities, actions have been organized on 28 April 2018. Activists and civil organization raised awareness on the ongoing destruction of the two antique cities Sur and Hasankeyf at the Tigris River in North (Turkish) Kurdistan.
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India: Land Rights for 1947 Partition Displaced |
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By :Rina Chandran, place |
| 27 April 2018 |
The Indian State of Maharashtra grants land ownership rights to refugees who fled Pakistan 70 years ago. Refugees in Maharashtra were housed in about 30 government-owned "camps" or colonies across the state, with limited rights to sell or redevelop their homes
BANGKOK - Refugees in India`s western state of Maharashtra
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USA: Trump Orders Air-quality Rules Degraded |
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By :Ledyard King, USA TODAY |
| 20 April 2018 |
President Trump directs EPA to ease air quality rules he says suffocates industry. EPA director Scott Pruitt confirmed that President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to roll back Obama-era power-plant environmental-protection regulations.
WASHINGTON—President Trump`s latest effort to boost the nation`s manufacturing sector is an industry-friendly rewrite of air quality
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Right to the City in Greater Beirut |
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By :HIC-HLRN and Amel Association |
| 14 April 2018 |
HLRN has just released its new publication Right to the City in Greater Beirut: Context Assessment in Light of the Refugee and Displacement Crisis. This assessment offers critical insight into municipal governance in Greater Beirut, a city largely formed and characterized by human migration through its history, while more recently
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Kashmir: Land Dispute behind Girl’s Rape, Murder |
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By :Aijaz Hussain and Muneeza Naqvi, Associated Press |
| 12 April 2018 |
Rape and murder of Kashmiri – girls in religious policy
SRINAGAR (Indian-occupied Kashmir)—The girl, just 8 years old, grazes the ponies of her family on a cold January day in the forests of the Himalayan foothills when she was kidnapped. Her raped and mutilated body was found in the woods
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USA: Time for Change - Race & Homelessness |
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By :Jeffrey Olivet and Marc Dones, SPARC and National Alliance to End Homelessness |
| 11 April 2018 |
In recent years, an increasingly urgent dialogue has emerged around race and equity in [the United States of] America. But that dialogue has generally overlooked one of the most visible manifestations of racial inequity: homelessness.
Homelessness is not colorblind. People of color are dramatically more likely than their White counterparts to
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China Mining Co. Destroys Mozambique Village |
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By :Ghana News |
| 01 April 2018 |
Mozambique’s coastal village on the brink of extinction from irresponsible Chinese mining company. Mining giant Haiyu denies responsibility for flood that left 290 people homeless, while Mozambican authorities fail to regulate mining industry to ensure people’s safety, denying village residents reparation for their losses.
An irresponsible Chinese mining operation in Mozambique
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Land Day: 17 Fallen in 2018, as the 6 in 1976 |
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By :Al-Arabiya net |
| 30 March 2018 |
In Palestine, "the Return March" is emerging, and Israel is killing the demonstrators. Three thousand occupation soldiers deployed in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip with orders to fire live bullets. Thousands of Palestinians marched Friday near the border between Gaza and Israel in a protest march called
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Zimbabwe: Youths Face Eviction from Chegutu Mine |
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By :Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation |
| 13 March 2018 |
Over 6,000 members of the Danangwe District Youth in Mining Cooperative (DDYMC) in Chegutu East face an uncertain future after mining firm, Breckridge Investments ordered the artisanal miners to stop operations at Giant Mine.
The miners have been carrying out mining activities at Giant Mine, 10km north of Chegutu town since
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Land Haunts Germany`s Namibia Genocides |
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By :Joe Brock, Reuters |
| 07 March 2018 |
Land haunts Germany`s effort to atone for Africa genocide
OKAHANDJA, Namibia—Namibia’s Herero people are heartened that Germany is keen to atone for the genocide of their ancestors, but they expect something Berlin says it is not in a position to give.
“What we want is our land,” said 74-year-old Alex Kaubtauuapela, whose
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DR Congo: Terror in Ituri |
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By :Thijs Van Laer, Congo Research Group |
| 05 March 2018 |
Over sixty people killed, thousands of houses burned down and more than 100,000 displaced people, including 42,000 refugees in neighbouring Uganda. Those are the consequences so far of the violence in the northeastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since December 2017.
The violence marks a counterpoint to
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Peru: Shipibo-Konibo Forced from Forest to Slum |
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By :Jack Guy, Editing by Anastasia Moloney and Ellen Wulfhorst, Thomson Reuters Foundation |
| 20 February 2018 |
Forced from rainforest, Peruvian tribe faces new woes in Lima slum
LIMA—Wedged between the rubbish-choked Rimac River and lanes of traffic belching fumes, the Cantagallo slum in downtown Lima is a far cry from the Amazon rainforest land that the Shipibo-Konibo people were forced to flee two decades ago.
Hundreds of
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Homeless and Hungry in Paris |
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By :Sevenbilliontoday |
| 17 February 2018 |
Of Emmanuel Macron`s many bold promises since sweeping to power last year, his pledge to completely banish homelessness from the streets of France was perhaps the boldest.
The president gave himself until the close of 2017 to end rough-sleeping once and for all - but a midnight stroll through Paris shows
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Zimbabwe: Probe into State Land Sales Begins |
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By :Felex Share, The Herald (Harare) |
| 15 February 2018 |
The Commission of Inquiry into the sale of state land in and around urban areas since 2005 begins work on Monday as government moves to investigate and ascertain actors in allocations, occupation and use of the land.
The Commission, chaired by Justice Tendai Uchena, will conduct the inquiry over the next
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Canada: Trudeau’s New Indigenous Rights Initiative |
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By :John Paul Tasker, CBC News |
| 14 February 2018 |
Trudeau promises new legal framework for Indigenous people “We need to get to a place where Indigenous peoples in Canada are in control of their own destiny,” PM says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising a fundamental rethink of how the federal government recognizes Indigenous rights and title, vowing to work
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USA: Tenants Say Trump Budget "Dead on arrival" |
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By :NAHT |
| 13 February 2018 |
HUD Tenant Leaders Demand Congress Declare Trump’s 2019 Budget “Dead on Arrival”
Elected leaders of the national US tenant union today demanded immediate rejection by Congress of President Donald Trump’s 2019 budget request, released on February 12.
“Trump’s budget will push millions of people from their homes; starve seniors, children and
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South Africa: The Great Land Grab Cover-up |
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By :Michelle Hay, Land and Accountability Research Center |
| 05 February 2018 |
The great land grab cover- up: how the government is helping chiefs and mining companies to steal your land
You’re sitting at home, minding your own business, reading the news on your phone. If you are part of an unfortunate 30% of the population, you could, at any time, get a
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Germany: Coalition Talks Focus on Housing Crisis |
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By :Michelle Martin, Andreas Rinke, Reuters |
| 04 February 2018 |
German coalition talks to continue on Monday and focus on health and labor
More than four months after a national election, Europe’s largest economy and pre-eminent power-broker is in political paralysis, causing concern among investors and partner countries that policymaking on issues such as Britain’s looming departure from the European Union
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USA: Trump`s Utah Land Grab Begins |
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By :Fred Hamble, act.tv |
| 02 February 2018 |
Trump`s ”Gold Rush” style land grab in Utah begins today
The Trump regime`s decision to withdraw federal protections from millions of acres of public land in Utah last year will kick off a Wild West-era land claim process starting on Friday.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, on Friday
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India: Landless Farmers to Access Land |
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By :Prabhudatta Mishra, Financial Express |
| 24 January 2018 |
Landless cultivators to be farmers too! Change of definition to extend assorted benefits to 14 cr currently excluded
Change of definition to extend assorted benefits to 14 crore currently excluded.
Over 14 crore (140 million) households who cultivate on land owned by others under a formal lease agreement or even under a
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Canada to Monitor Its TNC Conduct Abroad |
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By :Nicole Mordant, Reuters |
| 18 January 2018 |
Canada said on Wednesday it is creating an independent watchdog to monitor and investigate claims of human rights abuses by its companies operating abroad, describing it as the first initiative of its kind in the world.
The body, which will initially target the mining, oil and gas, and garment sectors, will
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Belgium Supports UNRWA as USA Defunds |
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By :Haaretz |
| 17 January 2018 |
Belgium has stepped in to help out the UN Agency assisting Palestinian refugees with an immediate disbursement of $23 million Wednesday a day after the Trump administration suspended $65 million in aid for the international organization.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Wednesday that "for a lot of
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South Africa: Another Abahlali Comrade Fallen |
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By :Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA |
| 12 January 2018 |
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
Another Comrade Has Fallen in the Struggle for Land
Our movement has been facing a lot of brutality in the last three months. On 19 November our chairperson in the Sisonke Village land occupation in Lamontville, Sibonelo Mpeku, was kidnapped and murdered. On 17 December 2017 Soyiso Nkqayini
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USA: Water Security v. Energy Independence |
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By :Jennifer Veilleux, Center for Humans and Nature |
| 04 January 2018 |
In late 2016, I attended government-to-government meetings in Rapid City, South Dakota, between several Plains Tribal Government representatives and US Federal Government officials. I listened to a tribal elder testify that her young grandson was hospitalized with an E. coli infection caused by hydraulic fracturing water contamination in her community
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Extreme Poverty Growing in USA |
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By :Premilla Nadasen, The Washington Post Perspective |
| 21 December 2017 |
The U.N. finds growing numbers of Americans are living in the most impoverished circumstances. How did we get here?
“Finish all your food,” my mother used to tell me. “There’s a child in Africa who would love to have that food on your plate.” It was an effective disciplinary approach, especially
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South Africa: Constitution-based Land Restitution? |
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By :Alet Janse van Rensburg, news24 |
| 20 December 2017 |
ANC`s land expropriation decision an admission of its own failures
The ANC’s decision at its national conference to go ahead with the expropriation of land without compensation is an admission of its own failure to pursue real land distribution, experts say.
The ruling party announced on Wednesday evening that its committee on
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Canada: New 10-year $40B Housing Strategy |
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By :Peter Zimonjic, CBC News |
| 22 November 2017 |
Liberals detail $40B for 10-year national housing strategy, introduce Canada Housing Benefit. New strategy aims to build 100,000 new units, repair 300,000 and cut homelessness by 50%.
The federal government has announced the details of its ten-year national housing strategy, which includes the introduction of a housing benefit for families that
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Myanmar: At Least 800K Rohingya Flee |
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By :Reuters |
| 17 November 2017 |
The following article series follows the Rohingya flight as it has grown since August 2017. According to UN OCHA, As of 4 October 2017, Bangladesh hosts more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees, and this number continues to increase daily. Before this crisis began, the country was already hosting a verified population
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Tribute to Patterson Kuria Gathuru |
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By :HLRN |
| 15 November 2017 |
Our colleague and friend, Patterson Kuria Gathuru, left us on 15 November 2017. He is known to us as the Habitat International Coalition’s co-member on the IPC, advocating the issues and human rights of the urban food-insecure constituency. Many of you also know him as an IPC colleague in this
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Germany: Merkel`s Housing Crisis |
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By :Rebecca Pinnington, Express (London) |
| 14 November 2017 |
Germany is facing a shocking housing crisis with 1.2 million people expected to be living in homeless shelters by 2018.
The Federal Homeless Association estimates the current number of homeless people in the country totals around 860,000.
That figure is expected to rise another 40 per cent to 1.2 million by the
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Kenya: AG Enjoined in Samburu Eviction Case |
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By :Joseph Wangui, The Nation |
| 01 November 2017 |
Githu Muigai enjoined in Samburu eviction case
Attorney-General Githu Muigai has been enjoined in a case in which retired President Daniel Moi was sued by the Samburu community for transferring 17,105 acres (69,217,493.44 square meters) of their land in Laikipia North to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
The Environment and Land Court
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USA: GOP Enables Arctic Drilling |
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By :Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News |
| 18 October 2017 |
GOP lawmakers open door to arctic drilling
WASHINGTON—Tucked into the budget bill the Senate is likely to pass this week is a provision that could quietly open the door to drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — a controversial issue that has been the subject of fierce debate in
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Turkey: Environmentalists Murdered |
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By :Jonathan Watts. The Guardian |
| 18 October 2017 |
`The threats continue’: murder of retired couple chills fellow activists in Turkey. The killing of two activists who successfully campaigned to shut down a mine has shocked environmentalists in Turkey who fear their deaths will embolden others to kill to protect their profits.
Cedar branches whisper in the Anatolian breeze. Twigs
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New Report: India`s Farm Widows |
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By :HLRN-India and Prakriti Resource Centre for Women and Development |
| 15 October 2017 |
Report on farm widows of Maharashtra highlights human rights violations
recommends urgent state intervention to prevent social and economic exclusion
NEW DELHI—A study released today by Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) India (New Delhi), and Prakriti Resource Centre for Women and Development (Nagpur) reveals the acute vulnerability of farm widows
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Algeria Eliminates Last Antipersonnel Landmines |
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By :Algeria Eliminates Last Antipersonnel Landmines (ICBL) |
| 19 September 2017 |
On 18 September 2017, Algeria celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty by destroying its last antipersonnel landmines. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines congratulates Algeria for fulfilling treaty obligation.
Algeria had reported retaining 5,970 antipersonnel landmines for training purposes, permitted under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty. After
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African Struggles for the Right to the City |
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By :Allan Cain and Agnes Midi |
| 15 September 2017 |
Africa has some of the world’s most unequal cities.1 Informal settlements in African cities, and the struggles that are fought in their defense, are evidence of deep-rooted exclusion.2 They have inherited colonial segregated planning laws that are socio-economically exclusive, resulting in cement cities and slums. In many African former colonial
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India: What Exactly Is a Smart City? |
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By :Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava, Scroll-in |
| 04 September 2017 |
What exactly is a smart city? The Indian government does not want you to know. It thwarted the Bureau of Indian Standards’ plan to fix clear criteria for defining a smart city, and came out with a fuzzy ‘Liveability Index’ instead.
Are the urban centres selected by the Union government
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The Cost of Land Grabbing in Mozambique |
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By :Burag Gurden, Pambazuka News |
| 31 August 2017 |
The cost of land grabbing in Mozambique`s Tete Province
Tete Province is very rich in coal. An estimated 23 billion tons of mostly untapped coal lies beneath Tete. It is expected to become the region’s energy powerhouse built on coal and hydroelectricity. However, local farmer communities have been on the losing
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Houston Drowning—in Its Freedom from Regulations |
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By :Steve Russell, Newsweek |
| 28 August 2017 |
We do value our freedom here in Texas. As I write from soggy Central Texas, the cable news is showing people floating down Buffalo Bayou on their principles, proud residents of the largest city in these United States that did not grow in accordance with zoning ordinances.
The feeling there was
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USA: Seniors Suffer with Reverse Mortgages |
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By :Jenifer McKim, The Washington Post |
| 25 August 2017 |
More seniors are taking loans against their homes—and it’s costing them
As she was getting on in years and her resources dwindled, Virginia Rayford took out a special kind of mortgage in 2008 that she hoped would help her stay in her three-bedroom Washington rowhouse for the rest of her life.
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UN Reports on Rakhine Living Conditions |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 23 August 2017 |
After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State (Myanmar) and in other parts of the country and the region, the UN’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State submitted its final report to national authorities on 23 August.
The Commission, chaired by Kofi Annan, has put forward recommendations to surmount the
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Nicaragua: Future Canal Threatens Mass Eviction |
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By :Amnesty International |
| 03 August 2017 |
Nicaragua: Country’s future for sale as canal threatens thousands with forced eviction
The Nicaraguan government must stop placing business before the future of the country and its people, Amnesty International said in a new report today looking at a secretive deal that will lead to the construction of a canal
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Trump’s Beautiful (Real Estate Money) Launderette |
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By :Michael Zeldin, CNN and various others |
| 19 July 2017 |
Why Russia-probe investigators are looking at anti-money laundering database
It has been reported that the Senate and House Intelligence committees investigating possible ties between Trump campaign officials and the Russians have begun to receive access to financial data from the Treasury Department`s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
FinCEN`s mission is to
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USA: EPA Dumps, Drops Duties |
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By :The Indigenous Americans |
| 15 July 2017 |
EPA Refuses to pay claims after mine spill dumps 3,000,000 gallons of toxic waste into water on Native American land
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has refused to pay more than $1.2 billion in claims filed against it in response to the Gold King Mine spill, reported the Farmington Daily Times.
The EPA says the
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“Spotlight” on UN High-Level Forum, SDGs |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 10 July 2017 |
As the UN High-Level Forum opens in New York, a global civil society report spotlights the role of big business in hindering development and deepening economic and social disparity.
Unbridled privatization, corporate capture and mass-scale tax abuse are blocking progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, argues a new report by a
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UNESCO: Hebron Palestine World Heritage |
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By :UNESCO/Peter Beaumont, The Guardian |
| 07 July 2017 |
The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Krakow, has inscribed Hebron / Al Khalil Old town (Palestine) on 7 July 2017. The Committee simultaneously added the site of Hebron/al-Khalil to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Hebron/al-Khalil Old Town (Palestine)
The use of a local limestone shaped the construction of the old town
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CSOs Denounce Brazil Urban Policy Regression |
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By :GPR2C |
| 27 June 2017 |
Since the 1980s, Brazil has been developing its legal frameworks and structuring policies progressively to reflect the international agreements that protect human rights and address the inequalities of cities, which exclude millions of people from accessing adequate standards of living. All the steps forward, closely related to the organization and
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USA: Rep. Bill to Make Disabled Homeless |
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By :Updated by Dylan Matthews, Vox |
| 22 June 2017 |
These are all the people the Senate health care bill will hurt
The actual policies contained in the Better Care Reconciliation Act, the Senate Republican plan introduced on Thursday to repeal and replace Obamacare, would help some Americans a lot. The biggest winners are households making $250,000 a year or more,
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England: Race, Class and Grenfell Tower Fire |
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By :Skylar Baker-Jordan, HuffPost |
| 15 June 2017 |
The flames hadn’t even been extinguished from Grenfell Tower before people started screaming that no one should “politicise” this tragedy. As I type this, though, at least 12 people are dead, and authorities expect that number to drastically climb. Most of those who perished, or who lost everything in the
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China Evicts More Tibetan Nomads for “Development” |
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By :RFA |
| 15 June 2017 |
Tibetan nomads forced from resettlement towns to make way for development
Tibetan nomads previously forced from traditional grazing lands in a state-directed resettlement scheme in Qinghai are now being told to go back, as authorities begin to target their current homes for development as tourist centers and housing for government employees,
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Breaking Bad: Saskatchewan’s Prairie Loss |
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By :Trevor Herriott |
| 14 June 2017 |
“Grassland being broken in substantial acreages is just not an issue.”
—Hon. Lyle Stewart, Minister of Saskatchewan Agriculture, Western Producer, 26 September 2013
According to Stats Canada (Table 004-0203 - Census of Agriculture, land use, every 5 years), Saskatchewan lost 2,068,246 acres of “natural land for pasture” in the
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USA: BP Oil-spill Lawyer Now @ EPA |
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By :Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch |
| 07 June 2017 |
Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer as Top Environmental Attorney
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday his intention to nominate Jeffrey Bossert Clark—who defended BP in lawsuits surrounding the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and challenged the Obama administration over greenhouse gas rules on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—to
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NUA Reporting in 2018 Crucial |
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By :Gregory Scruggs, Citiscope |
| 11 May 2017 |
2018 reporting period will prove critical for New Urban Agenda, advocates say
Labels
NAIROBI—Although 2017 is not yet halfway over, advocates for the New Urban Agenda on sustainable cities already are looking to next year as critical for embedding the agreement aims among national governments.
That’s because the recent Habitat III conference set
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USA: Carson Calls Slaves “Immigrants” |
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By :USA Today |
| 07 March 2017 |
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson referred to slaves as "immigrants" while speaking Monday to HUD employees.
"That`s what America is about, a land of dreams and opportunity," Carson said. "There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for
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Land Haunts Germany`s Namibia Genocides |
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By :Joe Brock, Reuters |
| 02 March 2017 |
Land haunts Germany`s effort to atone for Africa genocide
OKAHANDJA, Namibia—Namibia’s Herero people are heartened that Germany is keen to atone for the genocide of their ancestors, but they expect something Berlin says it is not in a position to give.
“What we want is our land,” said 74-year-old Alex Kaubtauuapela, whose
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USA: Tenants Mobilize for 2018 People`s Budget |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 20 February 2017 |
In the United States, the 2016 Democratic Party Platform featured stronger-than-ever language that seemed to embrace most of the substantive recommendations that the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT) proposed that year: increased funding for vouchers, public housing repairs, fair housing, although without specific dollar recommendations. In preparing for the
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Brazil: Land Regularization at Risk |
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By :Brazilian civil society |
| 17 February 2017 |
Deconstruction of Land Regularization in Brazil: Presidential Act No.759/2016
This open letter is meant to summon social movements and all those who believe in Urban and
Rural Reform to demand Brazilian Federal Government to withdraw Provisional Presidential Act
No.759/2016 from Congress and stop the voting process. Instead, the government should promote a large-scale
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EU’s Biggest Pension Funds Invest Big in Colonies |
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By :Mikkel Bahl, Hanan Chemlali & Kristoffer Marslev, Danwatch |
| 31 January 2017 |
Europe’s largest pension funds heavily invested in illegal Israeli settler colonies.
Europe’s five largest pension funds have €7.5 billion invested in companies with business activities in and around illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This is at odds with United Nations guidelines, clear warnings from 18 European countries, and undermines
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Colombia: Seeking Justice from Chiquita Banana Wars |
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By :Matt Kennard and Nick MacWilliam, In These Times |
| 27 January 2017 |
Chiquita made a killing from Colombia’s civil war. Will their victims finally see justice? A long-running case against the banana giant is moving forward in U.S. court.
Getting an interview with Anabel (not her real name) is not easy. In Colombia, witnessing paramilitary violence against your family generally means you keep
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“Sanctuary Cities” Defy Trump Threats |
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By :Spencer Buell, Boston Daily |
| 25 January 2017 |
Boston, Somerville mayors defiant after trump’s sanctuary city orders. Marty Walsh and Joe Curtatone say they won’t back down amid threats of federal funding cuts.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Somerville Mayor Joe Curatone took a stand against Donald Trump Wednesday after the president announced a blockbuster executive order to target so-called
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Trump Can’t Force Cities to Deport |
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By :Erwin Chemerinsky, Annie Lai and Seth Davis, The Washington Post |
| 22 January 2017 |
Cities and public universities are exercising their constitutional authority when they declare themselves “sanctuaries” in response to Donald Trump’s vow to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants upon taking office next month. Trump has threatened to force state and local governments to implement his deportation policies, including by taking
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USA: 1st Trump Act Violates Housing Rights |
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By :Tom Cahill, U.S.Uncut |
| 20 January 2017 |
In First Act as President, Trump Raises Mortgage Rates on Struggling Homeowners
After Donald Trump was sworn in as president, he delivered his inaugural address. Then he went to the White House, whereupon he stuck it to homeowners.
One of President Obama’s last acts as head of the executive branch was to
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USA: Trump Calls for More Drilling, Taps Protest |
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By :Annie Knox and Kim Palmer, Reuters |
| 15 January 2017 |
US President-elect Donald Trump taps a well of protest with his calls for more oil and gas drilling in the country`s national parks
President-elect Donald Trump aims to open up federal lands to more energy development, tapping into a long-running and contentious debate over how best to manage America’s remaining wilderness.
The
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USA: Will HUD Benefit Trump? |
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By :Allan Smith, businessinsider |
| 12 January 2017 |
At the Senate hearings vetting US President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointees, Sen. Elizabeth Warren questioned proposed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson over whether he could guarantee that money distributed by HUD will not enrich President-elect Donald Trump. He failed that fundamental ethical test, apparently unable to
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Namibians Sue Germany for Land Grab, Genocide |
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By :Al Jazeera |
| 06 January 2017 |
The Ovaherero and Nama people of Namibia launch lawsuit against Germany for alleged land theft and killing of 100,000 people more than 100 years ago.
Two indigenous groups in Namibia have filed a lawsuit against Germany, accusing it of genocide committed by colonial rulers more than a century ago.
The suit was filed
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Brazil: Eucalyptus War on Quilombo Lands |
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By :Luisa Torre and Patrik Camporez Macao, Al Jazeera |
| 05 January 2017 |
Brazil`s quilombos face eucalyptus giant in land war. "They stole our forests and our water. We took our medicine from the forest. Now, they put police and dogs at our door."
ESPIRITO SANTO, Brazil—In Sape do Norte, in the far north of Espirito Santo, Brazil, 32 communities refer to the 111,000 hectares
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India: Over 33K Homes Demolished in 2015–16 |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 22 December 2016 |
Over 33,000 homes demolished in urban India between 2015 and 2016
New Delhi—Data collected by Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) reveals that public authorities in India, in both the central and state spheres of government, forcibly have evicted at least 33,257 families across urban centers between January 2015 and December
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HIC`s Lamba Earns Human Rights Award |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 20 December 2016 |
On World Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016, civil society organisations across Kenya gathered to honor human rights activists in the annual human rights awards, which were held at the Netherlands Embassy in Nairobi. Hundreds attended the event, including diplomats and generations of human rights activists. The awards were coordinated
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Myanmar: AI Reports “crimes against humanity” |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 19 December 2016 |
A new report by Amnesty International (AI) documents a campaign of violence by the Myanmar security forces against Rohingya since 9 October 2016. Soldiers and police have randomly fired on and killed civilians, raped women and girls, torched whole villages and arbitrarily arrested Rohingya men without any information about their
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Mexico: Ranchers, Indigenous Contest Land |
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By :Tracy Barnett, Thomas Reuters Foundation |
| 19 December 2016 |
Both sides say the government is responsible for the dispute in Mexico`s Sierra Madre mountain range - but the government won`t get involved
LA YESCA, Mexico—Audelina Villagrana has run her ranch in Mexico`s Western Sierra Madre Mountains on her own since the death of her husband 23 years ago, herding livestock,
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Brazil: Social Rights under Siege |
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By :CESR, CONECTAS and INESC |
| 10 December 2016 |
Brazil is on the cusp of adopting a constitutional amendment that will undermine fundamental human rights for generations to come. The Proposed Constitutional Amendment 55 (or PEC 55 in its Portuguese acronym), which is currently being debated in the Senate, will freeze public spending in real terms for the next
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Public Payment for Royal Renovations Opposed |
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By :HIC-HLRN and Metro.uk |
| 19 November 2016 |
Britain is experiencing a national crisis in housing and the National Health Service, while austerity is forcing cuts in many social services. Yesterday, the press announced a decision by the British prime minister and chancellor to pay an additional £369m from the public purse for a major 10-year refurbishment to
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Sanctuary Cities Steadfast Despite Trump Threats |
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By :teleSUR |
| 11 November 2016 |
“We have to see what happens, but we’re not going to change our DNA because of politics,”
—San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
“Undocumented and unafraid!”
These were the defiant chants of protesters outside of San Francisco`s Department of Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS-ICE) office.
“(But) there is fear.
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USA: Homeless Camps Offering Democracy Lesson |
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By :Patrick Strickland, Al Jazeera |
| 04 November 2016 |
Overlooked in the elections, Portland’s homeless are organising their own camps on their own terms, but fear evictions.
PORTLAND, Oregon—When Marge Pettitt`s seven-year-old daughter broke down in tears in a homeless shelter in 2009, she made one of the hardest decisions of her life: Sending the child to live with her
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UN: E. Aleppo `Totally Destroyed` by 2017 |
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By :Julia Zorthian, Time |
| 06 October 2016 |
Staffan de Mistura said Thursday that the thousands of civilians trapped could die
The United Nations envoy to Syria warned Thursday that rebel-held eastern Aleppo could undergo “total” destruction by the end of the year.
Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, told reporters that thousands of lives could be lost,
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England: Record Evictions by Private Landlords |
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By :Patrick Butler, The Guardian |
| 28 September 2016 |
End of an assured shorthold tenancy cited by nearly a third of newly homeless households, figures show
Record numbers of families are becoming homeless after being evicted by private landlords and finding themselves unable to afford a suitable alternative place to live, government figures show.
The end of an assured shorthold tenancy
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Colombia: Land Conflict to Civil War to Peace? |
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By :VoA and others |
| 24 September 2016 |
Land conflicts feared in wake of Colombia peace accord
BOGOTÁ—Conflicts over land in Colombia are likely to increase following a peace deal to end half a century of war as once no-go areas in the Andean country open up for business and development projects, land rights experts said.
The government and rebel
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South African Court Halts Eviction |
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By :Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA) Bulletin |
| 14 September 2016 |
South African Constitutional Court orders “meaningful engagement” in urgent forced eviction
The South African Constitutional Court has extended the Olivia Road case to urgent forced evictions, requiring meaningful engagement between the local authority and tenants—or occupiers in this case—before eviction can be deemed constitutional under the right to housing.
The applicants, amounting
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USA: Protests over GMO Label Law |
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By :Ryan Rifai, Al Jazeera |
| 04 August 2016 |
US food safety campaigners outraged over GMO label law
Campaigners say new law allows producers to obscure GMO content on food packaging
Many believe GMOs and pesticides are harmful to people`s health and the environment [EPA]
Food safety organisations in the US have condemned a new law they say will allow food
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Obama Signs Bill, Exempts GMO Labelling |
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By :Julie Wilson, Natural News |
| 02 August 2016 |
Note: This article explains the controversy over the recently adopted legislation advocated by GMO-food producers and the values at stake. It contrasts starkly with the Associated Press report of 29 July 2016 published in The Washington Post and reprinted below—HLRN.
President Obama signs bill that forever exempts Big Food from
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USA`s Hidden Homeless: Life in the Starlight Motel |
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By :Carolyn Bick, Al Jazeera |
| 30 July 2016 |
Residents of a motel in Massachusetts share their stories to reveal the extent of the U.S. hidden homelessness problem.
Massachusetts, USA—It is the fourth time that Tiffany Drew has lived in the Starlight Motel, and the third time she has been pregnant here.
Today, like every time she is pregnant, she has
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Brazil: Water Privatisation Imposed for Games |
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By :Corporate Europe Observatory |
| 14 July 2016 |
Brazil’s new government imposes Rio water privatisation to pay for Olympic Games
A few weeks after the May coup against Dilma Rousseff by conservative parties backed by the country`s largest corporations, Brazil`s “interim” government, led by Michel Temer, signed an emergency loan to the State of Rio de Janeiro to help
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U.S. Congress Mulls Lifting Protection of Commons |
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By :Matt Lee-Ashley and Jenny Rowland, ThinkProgress |
| 10 July 2016 |
Congressional proposal would create a Texas-sized “Republic of Cliven Bundy”
Cliven Bundy may be in jail, but he still has friends in Congress.
The U.S. House of Representatives next week is expected to vote on a proposal that would exempt 48 counties, primarily in the West, from the law that has been
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India Mine Displaced 400 Adivasi Families |
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By :Elizabeth Puranam, Al Jazeera |
| 07 July 2016 |
The mine that displaced India`s indigenous people. About 400 Adivasi families once lived near the Chaal coal mine, but blasting and water contamination forced them to leave
The earth-shattering sound of dynamite welcomed us to the small village of Lath, which sits on the edge of an open-cast coal mine.
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USA: Fed Killed 3.2 mil Animals in 2015 |
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By :Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity |
| 24 June 2016 |
Ignoring calls for reform, Wildlife Services kills half-million more coyotes, bears, wolves, foxes, other animals than previous year
The highly secretive arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture known as Wildlife Services killed more than 3.2 million animals during fiscal year 2015, according to new data released by the agency. The
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Israel: Water as a Tool to Dominate Palestinians |
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By :Camilla Corradin, Al Jazeera |
| 20 June 2016 |
Israel deliberately denies Palestinians control over their water sources and sets the ground for water domination.
Occupied West Bank—As temperatures rise and summer months approach, yet again this year, thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are being deprived of their most basic need - access to water - as
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Brazil: Fundão Dam Devastation |
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By :Ingrid Fadnes, Al Jazeera |
| 14 June 2016 |
MARIANA, Brazil—On November 5, 2015, the Fundao dam burst in the inland municipality of Mariana in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The Brazilian mining company Samarco, owned by two of the world`s biggest mining corporations, Vale SA and BHP Billiton, operated the dam.
Tcharly do Barmo Batista, a 23-year-old father,
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Choctaw v Climate Change: “The earth is speaking” |
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By :Emily Crane Linn, Al Jazeera |
| 13 June 2016 |
In the United States, members of the indigenous Choctaw nation fight to reclaim their relationship with the land in a world without seasons.
Durant, Oklahoma—It`s nearly June. Every day, the Earth brings Darryl “Grey Eagle” Brown closer to the Sun, to heaven, to the Creator. That means it`s nearly time
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Zimbabwe Diamond-displaced Villagers Seek Help |
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By :Reuters |
| 13 June 2016 |
Zimbabwe Villagers Displaced by Diamond Mining Seek Government Help. More than 1,000 families were moved from their village in 2009.
MUTARE, Zimbabwe—Villagers relocated to a sprawling government-owned farm complex in eastern Zimbabwe to make way for the nation’s biggest diamond field are hoping that President Robert Mugabe’s move to take control
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Brazil: Guarani & Kaiowá Face Forced Eviction |
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By :FIAN International |
| 12 June 2016 |
With no access to their legitimate territory, the members of the Guarani and Kaiowá Apyka`i community will be prevented from exercising their fundamental rights as indigenous peoples, including feeding themselves adequately.
Despite intensive and coordinated international action, the sentence by the 1st Federal Court of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul has followed
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Nigeria: Herdsmen, Land Use and Human Rights |
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By :Spaces 4 Change |
| 01 June 2016 |
Fulani herdsmen, herdsmen, hoodlums, intruders from Chad and neighbouring countries, or whatever appellation ascribed to their murderous activities, these names emit fumes of terror, anguish and fear. The fear they evoke is well founded. What started out as recurrent violent clashes between nomadic herdsmen and their host farming communities in
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Brazil: Goiás Land Struggle, Exercise in Citizenship |
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By :various |
| 01 June 2016 |
On the afternoon of 31May, one of the national leaders of the Landless Workers Movement (MST), operating in Goias, Jose Valdir Misnerovicz, was arrested in Rio Grande do Sul, in a joint operation of the Civil Police of the states of Goiás and Rio Grande do Sul. Two vehicles of
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Brazil: CSOs Speak out on Habitat III |
| 31 May 2016 |
Brazilian civil society organizations, gathered in São Paulo on 31 May 2016, came out the present statement to express themselves about the content of what UN-Habitat leadership and the Habitat III Secretariat are calling the “New Urban Agenda” (NUA), to be adopted at the first scheduled UN Conference on Housing
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UN Housing Expert Urges India to Apply Rights |
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By :OHCHR |
| 22 April 2016 |
UN expert on adequate housing says: "Right to housing vision needed to achieve equality for the poor in India."
NEW DELHI/GENEVA—The contrast between the vast numbers of pavement-dwellers and the rapid development of luxury real estate was brought into stark focus by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to
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Israeli Plunder of Palestinian Homes “Concerns” U.S. |
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By :David Alexander, Reuters |
| 02 April 2016 |
Crackdown on what Israel claims is illegal construction has already pitied Jerusalem against the EU, who funds some of the structures.
JERUSALEM—The United States is "concerned" about Israel`s demolition of Arab buildings in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, a State Department spokeswoman said on Friday, adding that it raised questions
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USA: The Eviction Economy |
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By :Matthew Desmond, The New York Times |
| 05 March 2016 |
I first met Larraine when we both lived in a trailer park on the far South Side of Milwaukee. Fifty-four, with silvering brown hair, Larraine loved mystery novels, “So You Think You Can Dance” and doting on her grandson. Even though she lived in a mobile home park with so
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Paris: Voice of the Suburbs |
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By :Widad, Al Jazeera English |
| 01 March 2016 |
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African New Habitat Agenda Priorities |
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By :Ahmed Mansour Ismail and Dr. Daniel W. Ambaye |
| 23 February 2016 |
HABITAT III Africa Regional Meeting
“African Priorities for the New Urban Agenda”
Land and African Sustainable Urbanization, side event organized by GLTN
Abuja, Nigeria, 23 February 2016
Summary prepared by Ahmed Mansour Ismail (HIC-HLRN) and Dr. Daniel W. Ambaye (Institute of Land Administration)
Mr Ernest Aubee, ECOWAS (as moderator) introduced the panelists and further emphasized
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Kochs Funding Bundy Land-seizure Agenda |
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By :Jenny Rowland and Matt Lee-Ashley, ThinkProgress |
| 13 February 2016 |
The ultra-conservative billionaire Koch brothers are now funding the Bundy land-seizure agenda
The political network of the conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch signalled last week that it is expanding its financial and organizational support for a coalition of anti-government activists and militants who are working to seize and sell America’s
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Greek Farmers Resist Austerity, Impoverishment |
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By :Associated Press |
| 12 February 2016 |
Farmers descend on Greek capital for protest against planned tax rises and pension reforms
Athens—Farmers wielding shepherds’ staffs have clashed with riot police in central Athens as thousands headed to the Greek capital for a two-day protest against the government’s plans to impose tax rises and pension system reforms.
About 800 farmers
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HLRN-India Launches Habitat III Status Report |
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By :HLRN-India |
| 05 February 2016 |
New Delhi—On Friday, Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) launched its first Habitat III country report titled, Housing and Land Rights in India: Status Report for Habitat III. The United Nations (UN) Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III)—the third bidecennial international conference on habitat issues—will be held
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Oregon Land Stand-off Ends in Arrests, 1 Dead |
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By :Evan Perez and Holly Yan, CNN |
| 27 January 2016 |
Oregon occupation has fatal consequences. Long-time settler family member Ammon Bundy, other protesters arrested in Oregon; LaVoy Finicum killed.
BURNS OR—The weeks-long armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge headquarters in Oregon suffered two major blows when protest leader Ammon Bundy was arrested and another key figure was killed.
Bundy and
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USA: Obama OKs Atlantic & Arctic Drilling |
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By :Oceana |
| 27 January 2016 |
The Obama Administration Announces Plans to Open Atlantic & Arctic to Offshore Drilling
Washington DC—Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its draft five-year program for oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf. The plan, which covers all potential leasing from 2017 to 2022, includes parts of the
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USA: Oregon Land, “Rightful Owners” |
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By :Burns Paiute Tribe, et al |
| 15 January 2016 |
Please find below US press coverage of the ongoing, multidimensional land dispute in Oregon, USA. Follow the links below for a review of competing views.
Crackpots in Cowboy Hats, and in Congress
Whose Land Is It Anyway?
"We were here first.”
Eastern Oregon once had a Malheur Indian Reservation. Guess what happened.
Native American Tribe Says Oregon Armed
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Ethiopia`s Development Crackdown on Dissent |
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By :Charles Stratford, Al Jazeera |
| 10 January 2016 |
Rights groups say 140 people killed in recent weeks as government moves forward with controversial development plans.
Wolonkomi, Ethiopia—Security forces have killed at least 140 people during a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Ethiopia in recent weeks, activists and rights groups say.
The protests by members of the country`s largest ethnic group,
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Nigeria: UNSR Urges Halt to Eviction Trend |
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By :OHCHR |
| 23 November 2015 |
GENEVA—The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, today urged the Nigerian Government to put an immediate end to the ongoing trend of evictions in the country. The human rights expert raised concerns with the government about the large-scale demolitions and evictions carried out
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Philippines: 2 Yrs. after Haiyan, Still Waiting |
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By :Astrid Zweynert, Thomson Reuters Foundation |
| 08 November 2015 |
Nearly 2 Years After Typhoon Haiyan, Many Still Waiting for Rehousing in Safer Areas. Experts are calling for a closer monitoring system of how aid funds are being spent.
TACLOBAN, Philippines—Arsenjo Francisco has lived near the sea all his life, but the retired Filipino fisherman lost his love of the ocean
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The World`s Most-segregated Cities |
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By :Peter Geoghegan, The Guardian |
| 28 October 2015 |
“Reclaim your community,” declared the posters. “Hipsters beware.” Pinned around London’s East End last month, they announced Fuck Parade, an anti-gentrification demonstration that culminated in an attack on a café selling bowls of cereal. Long the first port of call for cash-strapped new arrivals in the city—Irish, Jews, Bangladeshis and
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Syria War Prompts 1st Doomsday Seed Vault Draw |
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By :Laura Wagner and EarthSky |
| 23 September 2015 |
The Syrian Civil War prompts the first withdrawal from the "Doomsday Seed Vault" in the Arctic
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was opened on 26 February 2008. Carved into the Arctic permafrost and filled with samples of the world`s most important seeds, it`s a Noah`s Ark of food crops to be used
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CESCR: Spain Violated Debtor’s Housing Rights |
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By :ESCR-Net |
| 17 September 2015 |
New York—Today, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) published its first recommendations in response to an individual complaint, regarding a violation of the right to housing, under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR).
With its entry into force in
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Right to the City and Yerevan’s Construction “Doom” |
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By :Garin Boghossian, Armenia Weekly |
| 16 September 2015 |
The growth path of urbanization under capitalism is devouring the city of Yerevan. Luxurious high-rise hotels and residential towers, serving tourists and seasonal dwellers, are replacing Soviet social housing blocks that once lodged the ordinary Yerevantsis. The house where the president of the First Republic, Aram Manougian, lived and died—now
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Developing Nations Outdo Big Powers in Climate Pledges |
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By :Renee Lewis, Al Jazeera |
| 10 September 2015 |
Scientists find poorer nations more ambitious in plans to reduce global warming emissions ahead of UN summit
Developed countries “ought to be embarrassed” by less-wealthy nations’ pledges to fight global warming by changing agriculture, forestry and other land use practices, as the developing countries’ promises go much further and are more
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German CSO Forum Addresses Habitat III |
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By :Forum on Environment & Development |
| 31 July 2015 |
The German Forum on Environment & Development was founded in 1992 after the UN conference in Rio on environment and development. Its purpose is to coordinate German NGOs in international political processes on sustainable development. It was strongly involved in the preparation and the civil society processes of the Habitat
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Myanmar: New Land Confiscation Report |
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By :Karen Human Rights Group |
| 30 June 2015 |
Villagers in Karen areas of southeast Myanmar continue to face widespread land confiscation at the hands of a multiplicity of actors. Much of this can be attributed to the rapid expansion of domestic and international commercial interest and investment in southeast Myanmar since the January 2012 preliminary ceasefire between the
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USA: Supreme Court Opposes Housing Bias |
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By :Aljazeera America, the Associated Press |
| 25 June 2015 |
The Supreme Court handed a major victory to the Obama administration and civil rights groups on Thursday when it upheld a key tool used for more than four decades to fight housing discrimination.
The justices ruled 5-4 that federal housing laws prohibit seemingly neutral practices that harm minorities, even without proof of
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Brazil: Easing Land Purchases for Foreigners |
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By :Anna Edgerton and Raymond Colitt, Bloomberg |
| 03 June 2015 |
Brazil`s government favors easing land-ownership restrictions for foreigners to help offset flagging commodities demand, Attorney General Luis Inacio Adams said. "I`m in favor of more flexibility on land ownership," Adams said in an interview. "The law needs to be modernized." Adams, appointed by President Dilma Rousseff, is the
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Cambodia: CSOs Charge Boeung Kak Abuses |
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By :ESCR-Net |
| 01 June 2015 |
New York—The International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia to express serious concern over the conditions faced by thousands of families who live, or lived prior to their eviction, near Boeung Kak Lake.
“The forcible evictions that
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Turkey: Plundering Istanbul’s “Lungs” |
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By :Northern Forest Defense |
| 25 May 2015 |
The Istanbul-based Northern Forests Defense (NFD) movement has published two new reports in English to expose the hazards of current plans for the construction of the Turkish city’s new airport complex. The NFD is a public-interest initiative that advocates the protection of the ecologically interconnected and diverse area north of
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Libya: NATO Targeted Water Infrastructure |
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By :Nafeez Ahmed, Ecologist |
| 14 May 2015 |
The military targeting of civilian infrastructure, especially of water supplies, is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions, writes Nafeez Ahmed. Yet this is precisely what NATO did in Libya, while blaming the damage on Gaddafi himself. Since then, the country`s water infrastructure - and the suffering of its people
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Saudi Arabia Bulldozes Its Heritage |
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By :Carla Power, Time |
| 14 November 2014 |
For centuries, the Kaaba, the black cube in the center of Mecca, Saudi Arabia that is Islam`s holiest point, has been encircled by arched porticos erected some three centuries ago by the Ottomans, above dozens of carved marble columns dating back to the 8th Century. But earlier this month, any
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The Right to the City: Jerusalem |
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By :Joseph Schechla |
| 26 October 2014 |
HIC-HLRN has produced a new report from an ongoing study on the prospects of realizing the principles of the “right to the city” for specific cities in several regions.
This report finds that applying the "right to the city" in Jerusalem challenges the current governance grounded in discrimination against, and dispossession of
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Twiga Farm: Story of a Kenyan Land Grab |
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By :Leila van Rinsum, Pambazuka News |
| 08 October 2014 |
Landless citizens of a location just outside Nairobi have been fighting for their rights to land since Kenya’s independence 50 years ago. Successive governments – including those of two presidents, Jomo Kenyatta and his son Uhuru, who come from the area – have failed to give these people justice.
On Tuesday,
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Islamic State Evicts Iraq farmers |
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By :Sophie Cousins, AlJazeera |
| 29 July 2014 |
The group`s takeover of farms in Qaraqosh, 30km from Mosul, has caused fear among residents, and a jump in food prices.
Qaraqosh—In the dark of night, on a farm about 30km southeast of Iraq`s second largest city, Mosul, Sabah Zura Sukkariyya woke to the sound of a truckload of gunmen arriving
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Cuba: World’s Oddest Property Market |
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By :John Arlidge, Financial Times |
| 18 June 2013 |
Cuba, home of the world’s oddest property market, is finally allowing its people to buy and sell homes but property lawyers and agents are still illegal
Havana—It’s only 9am but it’s already 33C on the Malecón, Havana’s corniche, and my brain feels like a conch fritter. I’ve come to meet a
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Predatory Lender Wells Fargo Bank Forced to Pay |
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By :The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times |
| 15 June 2012 |
Wells Fargo Bank: A Predatory Lender Pays up
The Baltimore Sun
15 July 2012
Baltimore`s effort to recover millions of dollars in lost revenue stemming from the wave of home foreclosures that followed the collapse of the housing market in 2007 was vindicated Thursday when Wells Fargo Bank, the nation`s largest mortgage lender,
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Pakistan: Slum Dwellers Demand Evictions End |
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By :Dawn |
| 26 January 2004 |
ISLAMABAD—The All-Pakistan Alliance of Kutchi Abadis at a convention here on Sunday demanded of the government to implement the National Kutchi Abadi Policy 2001 and either regularize their settlements or resettle all the slum dwellers in the country.
A large number of kutchi abadi dwellers from the twin cities of Rawalpindi
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