(2025-12-13). Russia: Buddhist's Retrial, Protestant Pastor's Appeal Fails Analysis. eurasiareview.com By Victoria Arnold | A Moscow Buddhist is due to stand trial a second time on charges of distributing "false information" about the Russian Armed Forces, after an appeal court overturned his conviction and 8-year prison sentence. At his original trial, Ilya Vasilyev had asked for a public defender. The judge's refusal to allow this constituted a violation of his right to a defence, Moscow City Court found on 22 October. | Prosecutors accused Vasilyev, director of the Moscow Zen Centre, of "Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for reason…
(2025-12-12). Bridging Blocks Beyond Borders: Challenges and Opportunities of Human Migration. whyy.org Is there a universal solution? What are the opportunities and challenges that come with immigration?
(2025-12-12). Trump Gold/Platinum Card: Amid Immigrant Crackdown, U.S. Sells Visas for Up to $5 Million. democracynow.org 
As the Trump administration expands its immigration crackdown nationwide, President Trump is simultaneously creating new pathways for wealthy noncitizens to obtain U.S. visas. Earlier this week, Trump officially launched a program allowing affluent visitors to fast-track permission to live and work in the United States. For a $1 million payment, applicants can receive a so-called Trump Gold Card, which promises to speed up U.S. residency applications "in record time." The administration says it will also soon offer a $5 million "Trump Platinum Card" that would allow participants to avoid p…
(2025-12-12). Judge Bars Trump Admin From Re-Detaining Abrego Garcia After Release. truthout.org A federal judge has issued an order forbidding immigration officials from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who was illegally deported to a super-prison in El Salvador earlier this year. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant and U.S. legal resident, was deported in March, when the Trump administration wrongly alleged, without evidence, that he was associated with the MS-13… |
(2025-12-12). "A Force of Terror" : Rep. Delia Ramirez on ICE Abuses & Her Push to Impeach DHS Chief Kristi Noem. democracynow.org 
Democratic lawmakers repeatedly called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign as they confronted her on Trump's immigration crackdown during a heated House Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday. We speak with Congressmember Delia Ramirez, who reiterated her call during the hearing for Noem to resign and announced that she would begin taking steps for her impeachment. | The Department of Homeland Security is "operating as a criminal organization" under Noem's leadership, Ramirez tells Democracy Now! "She thinks that she is above the law as long as Republicans are…
(2025-12-12). ICE Prisons are Getting Deadlier. counterpunch.org 
At least 25 people have died in ICE custody since President Trump returned to office, making 2025 the deadliest year for people in ICE custody since 2004. Over 65,000 others remain detained, also the highest number in years. Immigrants with no criminal record remain the largest group in immigration detention. According to ProPublica, ICE has also detained over 170 U.S. citizens this year.
(2025-12-12). Venezuelan Authorities Prevent Cardinal Porras From Traveling, Cancel Passport. eurasiareview.com By Andrés Henríquez | On Dec. 10 Venezuelan immigration police confiscated and invalidated the passport of Cardinal Baltazar Porras, the archbishop emeritus of Caracas, as he was preparing to travel to Bogotá, Colombia, from Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía. | According to the Grand Priory of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem in Venezuela, on Wednesday morning the cardinal "was subjected to humiliating treatment" by airport authorities under the government of Nicolas Maduro. | From Bogotá, Porras was scheduled to take a flight to Madrid and then travel to Toledo, wh…
(2025-12-12). UN Human Rights Day for Immigrants is on ICE. indybay.org Human Rights activists observing Human Rights Day rallied at San Francisco City Hall to show support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed in Paris in 1948, stressing the need now more than ever for its application in an era seeing a rise in Fascism.
(2025-12-12). 'Anti-Zionism is Jew-hatred, it is not OK'. themilitant.com NEW YORK — Over 1,000 demonstrators turned out to defend the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan and protest against Jew-hatred Dec. 4. The rally was in response to a provocative threat two weeks earlier when a screaming Jew-hating mob of 200 came right up to the door of the synagogue. | "Resistance you make us proud, take another settler out," was one of their main chants. Hamas considers all Jews in Israel "settlers" who the Nazi-like group has a right to target. Inside the synagogue a group that provides assistance to Jews wanting to emigrate to Israel was holding a meeting. | Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani…
(2025-12-12). New Florida Bill Would Protect Anti-Trans Discrimination in the Workplace. truthout.org As the anti-transgender panic continues to escalate — and as many of the bills seen over the last four years migrate from statehouses to the national level — states that have led the charge have shown no inclination to slow down. Instead of resting on the discrimination they have already enacted, many are pressing forward with new and increasingly punitive ways to target transgender people. |
(2025-12-12). UN-sanctioned migrant smuggler killed in western Libya. newarab.com 
Ahmed Oumar al-Fitouri al-Dabbashi, nicknamed Ammu, was killed in the western city of Sabratha when security forces raided his hideout. The raid came in response to an attack on a security o…
(2025-12-12). Gaza's Displaced Battle Floods Amid Shelter Shortages. devdiscourse.com Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are grappling with serious flooding as torrential rains swamp the region, severely affecting makeshift shelters. The UN International Organization for Migration revealed on Friday that essential materials like sandbags and timber are unable to reach the enclave.
(2025-12-12). Mass protests force Bulgarian PM to resign as government collapses. albawaba.com ALBAWABA- Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov abruptly resigned on Thursday, stepping down just minutes before a scheduled no-confidence vote in parliament, following the massive December 10 protests in which tens of thousands took to the streets of Sofia and other major cities demanding an end to systemic corruption and economic mismanagement.Zhelyazkov said he was responding to the "voice of the people," bringing an early end to his center-right GERB-led coalition, which had been in power for less than a year. His resignation now places responsibility on President Rumen Radev, who publicly backed the demo…
(2025-12-12). Political prisoner's mum asks hunger strikers to eat or Starmer will let them die. thecanary.co 
A large crowd of supporters of the 'Filton 24' anti-genocide protesters held for more than a year without trial as political prisoners by the Starmer regime, and of the eight of them who are on hunger strike in protest, gathered again outside Downing Street on Thursday, 12 December to demand an end to Keir Starmer's […] | By
(2012-12-25). Punjab goods transporters end five-day strike after talks with govt. tribune.com.pk 
Punjab's goods transporters announced the end of their five-day strike on Friday following successful negotiations with the provincial government, agreeing to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. | The strike, which began on December 8, was staged in protest against the Punjab Traffic Ordinance 2025, alleged bribery by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), unjustified challans, legal cases, and vehicle seizures by traffic and motorway police. The shutdown severely disrupted the province's supply chain, affecting the availability of goods in markets. | Transporters' representatives met with Punjab…
(2025-12-12). Nepal Counts $586 Million Economic Blow from 'Gen Z' Anti-Graft Protests. moderndiplomacy.eu Nepal's government says the youth-led anti-corruption protests that erupted in September and ultimately forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign have inflicted more than $586 million in damage on the country's $42 billion economy. The demonstrations, driven largely by Gen Z activists frustrated with political corruption, spiralled into nationwide unrest that left 77 people …
(2025-12-12). Friday 12/12: Protest against the israeli consulate in SF. indybay.org israeli consulate – 456 Montgomery St SF…
(2025-12-12). Activists in New York City denounce Trump's 'no-fly zone'. workers.org 
New York City December 10 — Antiwar activists in the United States held a news conference today to protest the illegal "no-fly zone" U.S. President Donald Trump ordered for Venezuela. The order had prevented many activists from attending a solidarity meeting in Caracas, Venezuela. From the tone of today's protest, . . . |
(2025-12-12). Stop The Hate UK: The Shadowy Israel-Aligned Group Targeting Mintpress. popularresistance.org A prolific writer who has penned 28 pro-Israel articles in the past two months alone, Sawer asked the British Palestinian journalist to respond to pro-Israel pressure group Stop The Hate U.K.'s campaign for him to be prosecuted for "anti-Semitic hate crimes." | Abul-Essad's "crime" was attending an October 2024 demonstration in London protesting an event featuring former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert speaking on the future of Gaza — a case that the Metropolitan Police have already looked into and dismissed. | Sawer has previous connections to Stop The Hate U.K.
(2025-12-12). Eurovision winner Nemo returns trophy in protest over Israel's inclusion. aljazeera.com Singer's statement follows walkout by 5 countries after organisers cleared Israel to participate in next year's contest.
(2025-12-12). 2024 Eurovision Winner Returns Trophy to Protest Israel's Inclusion in Contest. truthout.org Last year's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest says they are returning their trophy to the contest's governing body in protest of Israel's inclusion in the 2026 competition, adding to a mounting pressure campaign to exclude the genocidal state. In posts on Instagram on Thursday, singer and musician Nemo Mettler, known as Nemo, said that although they are "immensely grateful" for the… |
(2025-12-12). Rule of Law Backsliding in France. hrw.org Click to expand Image | Riot police barricade, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, December 8, 2018. | © 2018 Human Rights Watch | On December 9, CIVICUS Monitor, a nongovernmental group assessing civic freedoms globally, downgraded France's civic space from "narrowed" to "obstructed."The downgrade is the result of years of attacks on civic space, marked by "escalating police violence, surveillance practices, and arrests of protesters, targeting of journalists, and persistent restrictions on fundamental rights," according to CIVICUS. The French government is also increasingly using heavy-handed administrative me…