Violence

Irbil, Iraq -- 28 May 2008 -- An Amnesty International report on worldwide human rights says violence against women is widespread in northern Iraq.

In its report, Amnesty International says women and girls throughout the world suffer disproportionately from violence - in times of both peace and conflict - at the hands of their governments, their communities and their families.

Iraqi woman, Kurdistan: Photo by James Gordon (CC)

The report highlights the issue of violence against women as a major problem in northern Iraq. That is an assessment that the Kurdistan regional government's human-rights minister, Yousif Aziz, has already reached.    » read more »

May 22, 2008 -- In a speech to the Economic Club of Detroit in May 1999, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., committed to speak often on the issue of gun crimes. To date, he has made 274 Senate speeches on gun crimes since 1999; his remarks follow:

Children with gun: Photo by j.r.trauben (CC)    » read more »

21 May 2008 -- Iraqi police say at least 11 people have been killed by gunfire after a roadside bombing near Sadr City, a Shi'ite militia stronghold in Baghdad.

Local officials say the gunfire erupted Wednesday after roadside bombs exploded near a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol in the Obeidi neighborhood. The U.S. military, however, says none of its troops were involved.

Sadr City, Baghdad: Photo by James Gordon (CC)

Sadr City itself remained calm, a day after some 10,000 Iraqi troops began an operation aimed at bringing government control over the Shi'ite stronghold.    » read more »

16 May 2008 -- Since the beginning of 2008, the nation's capital has seen a sharp rise in gun violence.

Republican Party Presidential candidate John McCain is set to speak to members of The National Rifle Association on Friday, May 16. The powerful pro-gun lobbying group is holding its annual convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

Its members are watching to see whether the United States Supreme Court will overturn a 32-year-old handgun ban in Washington, D.C. next month.

The high court's review of the case comes as gun violence is on the rise in Washington. Police and community groups are desperately looking for ways to curb the crime wave.    » read more »

16 January 2008 -- The stage is again set for more post-election violence in Kenya Wednesday as the opposition Orange Democratic Movement of Raila Odinga has void to hold the first of a three-day nationwide rally. The ODM has called on the police to provide protection for the demonstrators as they express their constitutional right.

But the police have said that the rallies are illegal and would not be permitted. The police have also reportedly sealed off Uhuru Park in Nairobi, one of the key staging points of the nation-wide rallies.    » read more »

20 December 2007 -- The deadly rampage in April on the campus of Virginia Tech left 32 people, and the gunman, dead. Among the victims was freshman Austin Cloyd, who was an active volunteer with the poor. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, this fall, Austin's parents have involved other Virginia Tech students in the volunteer program to carry on their daughter's legacy.    » read more »

Pilot Program Part of Governor’s Anti-crime Strategy For Safe Streets and Neighborhoods; Three Counties to Swiftly Move Serious Gun Cases Through the Courts

December 6, 2007 -- Trenton, NJ – New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and Attorney General Anne Milgram today announced a pilot gun strategy that will streamline the process for handling serious gun cases in three major counties to move them as quickly as possible through the court system. The pilot program, designed with the cooperation of Essex County Prosecutor Paula T.    » read more »

CHICAGO (November 27, 2007) -- Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is extending his condolences to the family of Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins football family and the National Football League.

“The loss of life from a senseless act of gun violence is a tragedy,” says Rev. Jackson. “Sean Taylor was a father, brother, teammate, friend to many and a loving son. He will be greatly missed.”

Mr. Taylor died early this morning at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami after being shot on Monday during an apparent home invasion.    » read more »

13 November 2007 -- The former foreign minister of Somalia who is now minister of education says the violence in Mogadishu does not reflect the reality in the rest of the country. Ismael Mohamoud Hurreh says the rest of Somalia is moving away from statelessness and chaos toward stability.

From Baidoa, the seat of the transitional federal parliament, Hurreh told VOA transitional government forces have been conducting mopping up operations in Mogadishu in recent days.    » read more »

08 November 2007 -- Iraqi officials say they have found seven more decomposing bodies in the Lake Thar Thar area north of Baghdad, days after the discovery of a mass grave in the area.

Authorities say the bodies found Wednesday were handcuffed. On Saturday, Iraqi forces found 22 bodies in the area, which is about 100 kilometers north of Baghdad.

In other developments, the U.S. military released some 500 detainees
Thursday. The military says Iraqi and U.S. authorities worked together to allow the release in an effort to "foster goodwill and reconciliation."    » read more »

08 November 2007 -- Rising violence in and around Somalia’s capital Mogadishu has forced thousands to flee the city for makeshift accommodations and camps along roads and towns outside the capital. Somali-born professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, Abdi Samatar, says the disruption and displacement of thousands of people can be attributed to a complex mixture of forces.    » read more »

Groundbreaking Legislation Integrates U.S. Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence on a Global Scale

November 1, 2007 -- Washington, DC –Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the International Violence Against Women Act, groundbreaking legislation which will, for the first time, integrate the United States’ efforts to end gender-based violence into U.S. foreign assistance programs.    » read more »

Sunshine State targets largest increase in gang activities nationwide

October 25, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL - Surrounded by state and local leaders, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced a collaborative effort initiated by his agency to develop a Statewide Gang Reduction Strategy. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, Florida experienced more growth in gang activity over a twenty-five year period than any other state in the nation. These statistics underscore the importance for the cooperative strategy.    » read more »

Abbott expands national recommendations for improved school safety

October 16, 2007 -- SHERMAN – As the state’s chief law enforcement official, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today called for new safety measures designed to protect students from school violence.    » read more »

October 11, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressing his concerns about the growing number of systematic sexual assaults against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since armed conflicts erupted again there six weeks ago. Obama asked Secretary Rice to answer a series of questions about the situation in the DRC and what the United States government is doing to help curb this violence against women.    » read more »