HRW Report: Saudi women 'kept in childhood'

The report says that Saudi women are denied the legal right to make even trivial decisions for their children - women cannot open bank accounts for children, enroll them in school, obtain school files or travel with their children without written permission from the child's father.



The full report is here.

Libya Foreign Minister Holds Talks with Rice

So Libya is now on the side of the good guys?

A Human Rights Watch report yesterday charged Libya with serious human rights abuses, including disappearances of three political prisoners over the past 18 months. "We welcome improved relations between Libya and the U.S., but not at the expense of political prisoners, torture victims and other Libyans who suffer abuse," HRW Mideast director Sarah Leah Whitson said in a statement.

Musharraf’s "Restoration of Constitution" a Sham

Being a dictator is okay as long as you're a "friend" of the United States.

Since November 3, Musharraf has repeatedly and arbitrarily amended the constitution to enshrine the legality of various laws and provide himself and the military blanket immunity for all actions taken during emergency rule. The executive order to amend the constitution includes a number of amendments that would normally require a two-thirds majority in parliament to become law.

US Helps Ethiopia Create "Mini-Darfur"

The Bush administration considers Ethiopia its No. 1 ally in combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa.

Human Rights Watch says it has documented dozens of cases of severe abuse by Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden, including gang rapes, burned villages and what it calls “demonstration killings,” like hangings and beheadings, meant to terrorize the population.