Articles Tagged with Hawa Koomson

A Texas court found a former school police officer not guilty on charges stemming from the reportedly delayed police response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Jesse Rizo, uncle of a 9-year-old killed in the shooting, said the verdict “sends a signal that you entrust a school system, a school [...]

A top official with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Thursday that activist Mahmoud Khalil will be taken into custody again and sent to Algeria. President Donald Trump’s administration had previously sought to deport Khalil over his involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations as a Columbia University graduate student in New York City. On [...]

Amnesty International on Thursday called on Kazakhstan to immediately drop criminal charges against 19 activists who are part of the Atajurt human rights movement and face up to 10 years in prison for participating in a peaceful protest near the nation’s border with China. Marie Struthers, Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director at Amnesty International, [...]

UN officials warned on Wednesday that Haiti’s crisis has reached a critical phase as violence escalates, with entrenched criminal networks and extensive humanitarian needs fueling national instability. Haiti is nearing the end of a political transition period, set to expire on February 7, and in December the government adopted an electoral decree. However, the UN [...]

Maine Governor Janet Mills on Wednesday responded to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) launch of “Operation Catch of the Day” in the state. In a public release, Mills assured state residents that her administration would work to uphold the law and protect residents, stating: If the Federal government has warrants, then it should show [...]

A Georgia man pleaded guilty to wire fraud in US federal court on Wednesday after engineering “the largest Ponzi scheme in Georgia history,” defrauding over 2,000 investors of over $380 million. The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia released a statement explaining how Todd Burkhalter was the mastermind behind financial advisory group [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thursday for accountability for the toxic spills that have affected children living near Lega Dembi gold mine in Ethiopia, urging the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to ask the Ethiopian government to suspend mining operations and take measures to safeguard children’s health. HRW reported that [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday urged international organizations and the Congolese government to ensure that civilians in Uvira are protected from abuse by Wazalendo militias, following the withdrawal of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group from the city. “Congolese authorities should act quickly to restore security and ensure the protection of all civilians, including the [...]

Amnesty International released a statement Thursday as a trial begins for activists who organized an annual vigil commemorating the protestors who were killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The rights organization reports that this is an escalation of Hong Kong authorities’ “weaponization” of national security laws to repress dissent. The two activists are Chow Hang-tung [...]

Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday after a Seoul court found him guilty of rebellion for his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law in December 2024. The sentence exceeded the 15 years sought by the special counsel and marked the [...]