Human rights

Sign up to get our new weekly column as a newsletter. We're looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. (CNN) Tom Stoppard's play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," begins with the two minor characters from "Hamlet" betting on the toss of a coin. It comes up heads ... and heads ... and heads -- 92 times in a row -- and Guildenstern has to keep handing over his money. "I'm afraid it isn't your day," says Rosencrantz. "Life is a gamble, at terrible odds," says another character near the end of the 1966 play , "if it was a bet you wouldn't take it." This week President Joe Biden continued taking some hard bets, hoping the coins will land his way. He set the pattern in January, days before he took office, by outlining a huge Covid relief package amounting to $1.9 trillion and then topped it last month with a proposal for a $2 trillion infrastructure bill. On Wednesday he made another … [Read more...] about Joe Biden’s audacious gambles

A World Health Organization (WHO) panel last week came out against any requirements that travelers show proof of their COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter certain countries, highlighting its concern that such measures would aggravate inequities. WHO’s Emergency Committee released a statement on Monday detailing its members’ advice to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, including to avoid any mandate for people to prove they took the vaccine before traveling into countries. The panel specifically cited concerns about inequity as the vaccine remains less available in certain areas and nations, especially countries that could not afford to collect a large stockpile of vaccine doses. Others, such as the U.S., invested heavily in vaccinations and built a supply that President Biden Joe Biden Graham: 'I could not disagree more' with Trump support of Afghanistan troop withdrawal Obama, Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley team up to urge communities of … [Read more...] about WHO panel comes out against requiring vaccination proof for travel

Grooming gangs in the Black Country of the English West Midlands have been revealed to have targetted a nine-year-old girl. One of Britain’s youngest victims of child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs was listed in the latest statistics released by the Sandwell Council, which said that 36 people, aged between nine and 22, were at risk of abuse by the vicious gangs in 2020. Two-thirds of the victims were listed as being “white British or white other”, compared to nine of mixed race, and one from Pakistani heritage, the BirminghamLive reported . This falls in line with a 2017 report from the counter-extremism think tank Quilliam which stated that grooming gangs specifically target young white girls as they are seen as “easy targets” compared to girls from their own communities, whom they felt should be “protected”. The report found that overall 84 per cent of grooming crimes were committed by Muslim men of South Asian backgrounds. A police report from 2012 found that … [Read more...] about 9-Year-Old Girl Targeted by ‘Grooming’ Child Rape Gangs in England’s Black Country

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The federal judge, who last week ordered homeless encampments adjacent to Los Angeles freeways be immediately cleared , extended the order Friday, giving county and city officials until Sept. 1 to agree on a plan for relocation. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter cited health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic in his May 15 order that demanded the removal and relocation of up to 7,000 people living in camps beneath and around the city’s freeway system by the following Friday. READ MORE: Walter Mondale, Former Vice President, Has Died At Age 93 But after city and county attorneys urged Carter to drop or delay the order, the judge indicated he would oversee the clearance in stages, starting with a June 12 status report. “At minimum, this report shall detail a plan for establishing shelter and clearing overpasses, underpasses and ramps in each council district or supervisorial district no later than Sept. 1,” Carter wrote. “The … [Read more...] about Judge Extends Order To Relocate Homeless People Living Near LA Freeways

close Video COVID-19 vaccinations might become mandatory at colleges and universities Proof of COVID-19 vaccinations might become mandatory for enrollment at colleges and universities starting this fall. PHOENIX, ARIZ.-- – As college campuses target the fall semester for a return to "normal" learning, a new item will likely be added to the back-to-school checklist. Proof of COVID-19 vaccinations might become mandatory for enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities come fall with more and more states opening up the vaccine pool to those 16 and above. FILE: A University of Vermont student walks toward a tent leading to a COVID-testing site on campus in Burlington, Vt. "I definitely do want to get the vaccine myself," Arizona State University (ASU), undergrad Alexis Rodriguez told Fox News, "just because my current work requires me to be around people and organize the community…as well as for my parents" COVID-19 VACCINES … [Read more...] about COVID-19 vaccinations might become mandatory at colleges and universities