Tue, 11 December, 2018

Amnesty International Report 2017

Amnesty International Report 2017/2018

Posted on Fri, 23 February, 2018 by Zheluo Cai

The world is reaping the terrifying consequences of hate-filled rhetoric that threatens to normalise massive discrimination against marginalised groups; Amnesty International warned today as it launched its annual assessment of human rights. Nevertheless, the organisation found that a growing movement of both first-time and seasoned activists campaigning for social justice provides real hope of reversing the slide towards oppression. The report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, covers 159 countries and delivers the most comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights in the world today.

Instead of trying to silence people when they speak out, governments should address their concerns, said Amnesty International, and start by loosening restrictions on the media, civil society and other key checks on power. “We are witnessing history in the making as people rise and demand justice in greater numbers. If leaders fail to discern what is driving their people to protest, then this ultimately will be their undoing. People have made it abundantly clear that they want human rights: the onus now is on governments to show that they are listening,” said Salil Shetty, the Secretary-General of Amnesty International.

Read Full Report Here:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/POL10/6700/2018/En/

NGC 7822 in Cepheus.
Credit & Copyright: Neil Fleming. Pillars of gas, dust, and young, hot stars seem to fill the gaping maw of NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus, the glowing star-forming region lies about 3,000 light-years away. The image includes data from both broadband and narrowband filters, mapping emission from atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green, and red hues powered by the energetic radiation from the hot stars, whose powerful winds and radiation also sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse, but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cut off from their reservoir of star stuff. This field spans around 60 light-years.

December 9: The Moon passes 1.1° north of Saturn, 5h UT (12 AM EST).

December 10: The Moon passes 0.7° north of Pluto, 4h UT 11 PM EST).

December 12: The Moon is at apogee (405,177 km from Earth), 12h25m UT (7:25 AM EST).

December 14: Geminid meteor shower peaks.

December 14: The Moon passes 3° south of Neptune 7h20m UT (2:20 AM EST).

December 14: The Moon passes 4° south of Mars, 23h UT (6 PM EST).

December 15: First Quarter Moon occurs at, 11h49m UT (6:49 AM EST).

December 15: Mercury is at greatest western elongation (21°), 12h UT (7 AM EST).

Credit: Astronomy.

The Flag of Niger was inaugurated in 1959, a year prior to its formal independence from France, consisted of the colours of orange, white and green, in equal horizontal bands, with an orange roundel in the centre. The upper orange band represents the northern regions of the Sahara Desert, the white band represents purity, and the green band represents both hope and the fertile regions of southern Niger. The orange circle is said to represent the sun or independence.

Sunflowers (Tournesols) is the name of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, executed a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions. On March 30, 1987, Japanese insurance magnate, Yasuo Goto, paid the equivalent of US $39,921,750 for van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers at auction at Christie's London. The painting currently resides at Seiji Togo Yasuda Memorial Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

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