activist

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Russian Activist Imprisoned, Says 'I Don't Regret Anything'

Oleg Orlov, 70, of human rights group Memorial is hit with 2.5 years behind bars in Russia

(Newser) - A veteran human rights campaigner who criticized the war in Ukraine was convicted Tuesday by a Moscow court of "repeatedly discrediting" the Russian military and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Oleg Orlov, 70, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, had rejected the case...

Shaun King: I've Been Booted From Instagram Over Palestine

Meta says activist's 'praise for designated entities' violated its policies, leading to ban

(Newser) - Social justice activist Shaun King says he was banned from Instagram, where he counted millions of followers, for expressing support for Palestinians. A Meta rep said King's account was disabled on Christmas Eve "due to multiple instances of praise for designated entities in violation of our policies,"...

Climate Activists Hit London's National Gallery

'Just Stop Oil' protesters smash glass protecting Diego Velazquez's 'Toilet of Venus' painting

(Newser) - Two climate change protesters smashed a protective glass panel covering a famous Diego Velazquez oil painting at London's National Gallery, the group Just Stop Oil said Monday. The two activists targeted Velazquez's The Toilet of Venus, also known as The Rokeby Venus, with small hammers. Photos showed the...

ExxonMobil Set to Square Off Against Activist Investors

Shareholder meeting at Chevron also promises to be contentious over emissions reduction plans

(Newser) - The fly on the wall at Wednesday's ExxonMobil shareholder meeting is likely to get quite an earful, notably on the topic of climate change. Quartz reports that the oil giant is expecting a battle with some of its more activist-leaning investors, including on multiple proposals regarding carbon emissions that...

'Epitome of a Celebrity Activist': Harry Belafonte Dies at 96

Former President Obama once asked him to cut him 'some slack'

(Newser) - Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian, and conscience of the world, has died. He was 96, reports the AP . Belafonte died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home, his wife, Pamela, by...

Pompeo Slams 'Faux Outrage' Over Khashoggi Murder

Ex-secretary of state says in new book that late 'WaPo' journo is no 'Saudi Arabian Bob Woodward'

(Newser) - In 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed the murder of Jamal Khashoggi , saying it violated "the norms of international law." That doesn't mean he was a fan of the Washington Post columnist, however, as clearly evidenced in his new book due out Tuesday, per the Guardian...

After Paralysis During Game, He's Credited With Naming ADA

Kent Waldrep, strong advocate for people with disabilities, dies at 67

(Newser) - Back in 1974, Kent Waldrep got tackled while running the ball for Texas Christian University and ended up paralyzed from the chest down for life, per AL.com . He died last month at age 67, and his obituaries are focused not so much on what happened during that game against...

She Wouldn't Give Up Her Seat. 65 Years Later, a Clean Record

Claudette Colvin, 82, has arrest wiped for making move as a teen that Rosa Parks did months later

(Newser) - Update: A judge in Montgomery, Ala., has finally granted an elderly great-grandmother her wish to have an arrest from her teen years scrubbed from her record. "I'm no longer a juvenile delinquent at 82," Claudette Colvin said Thursday on CBS Mornings . "My record was expunged."...

Saudi Activist Sues Americans Who Aided UAE Hacking

Loujain al-Hathloul, who led push for women to drive, was imprisoned and tortured

(Newser) - Three former US intelligence and military officers have admitted in a separate case that they helped the United Arab Emirates with hacking operations. Now they're being sued by a Saudi women's rights activist who says the assistance of the three men led to her iPhone being hacked by...

Mandela Daughter Dies: 'She Served South Africa Well'

Zindzi Mandela, daughter of Nelson and Winnie, was 59; cause of death still unknown

(Newser) - Zindzi Mandela, South Africa's current ambassador to Denmark and the youngest daughter of the late Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, is dead at age 59. She died early Monday at a hospital in Johannesburg, per a statement from the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa. The cause of death hasn'...

Activist Confronts School Board Member, Goes Viral

Gary Chambers wasn't having it when Connie Bernard defended school named for Robert E. Lee

(Newser) - An activist who showed up at a Louisiana school board meeting has gone viral after he confronted one board member who defended keeping the name of a school named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and seemed to be shopping online during the Thursday meeting, per ABC News . "I...

8-Year-Old Climate Activist's Twitter Account Suspended

Move came after Licypriya Kangujam complained about being called 'Greta of India'

(Newser) - Licypriya Kangujam may be a young climate activist, but the 8-year-old is not "the Greta Thunberg of India." And after she pointed that out, she says, Twitter suspended her account. As the Daily Dot reports, the problems apparently started after Kangujam posted a series of tweets complaining about...

A TSA Agent Had to Check Her Hair. Then: 'Giddyup!'

Native American woman Tara Houska says she was humiliated at being treated like an animal

(Newser) - A Native American woman who went through security at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport says she was humiliated by a TSA agent who yanked her long braids and treated her like "a horse." CNN reports Tara Houska, an environmental and indigenous rights activist, was flying into Minnesota Monday from...

Greta Thunberg's Dad: I Didn't Love Her Early School Strikes

Svante Thunberg says he and Greta's mom made lifestyle changes 'to save my child'

(Newser) - Greta Thunberg's dad is glad to see she's now "very happy" in her work fighting climate change—but the Swedish dad of two says the activist path wasn't one he initially wanted the teen to follow and that he was "not supportive" of her early...

Russian Opposition Leader: Staffer Abducted, Sent to Arctic

Alexei Navalny says Ruslan Shaveddinov was forcibly 'conscripted' for military service

(Newser) - The Russian military says it's simply making a 23-year-old draft dodger fulfill his one-year conscription—but President Vladimir Putin's main opponent is calling what happened earlier this week a kidnapping. The Guardian reports that Ruslan Shaveddinov, an activist and project manager at opposition leader Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption...

Alyssa Milano Reveals Her 'Anxiety' Before 2 Abortions

The actress opens up in her latest podcast

(Newser) - Alyssa Milano is getting personal about abortion. The actress—who recently called for a sex strike to oppose anti-abortion laws—revealed in her podcast Sunday that she had abortions twice in her 20s. "In 1993, I had two abortions," the 46-year-old said, per USA Today . "I was...

'Vulgar Butcher' Gets 8 Years in Prison for Subversion

Activist Wu Gan was known for irreverent remarks, imagery in mocking Chinese officials

(Newser) - A prominent activist who called himself the "Ultra Vulgar Butcher" was given an eight-year prison sentence Tuesday for subversion, the harshest sentence handed down in a sweeping crackdown on rights campaigners. Per the AP , the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said in an online statement that Wu...

In the '60s, He Raved About Pot. This Week He Was Busted for It

Cops say 70-year-old activist Irvin Dana Beal was toting 22 pounds of it

(Newser) - A marijuana activist whose advocacy dates to the '60s counterculture has been arrested in California toting 22 pounds of illegal pot, prosecutors say. Irvin Dana Beal, 70, of New York, was arrested Saturday in Northern California after prosecutors said his rental car was spotted weaving across the road and...

Activist: Video Shows Kenneka Jenkins Walk Into Freezer Alone

(Newser) - A Chicago activist says he has seen proof that some of the darker theories surrounding the death of teenager Kenneka Jenkins are untrue. Andrew Holmes says he has watched surveillance video that shows the 19-year-old walk into the Crowne Plaza hotel's walk-in freezer by herself, the Chicago Sun-Times reports....

Woman May Go to Prison for Laughing in Sessions' Hearing

Activist Desiree Fairooz is currently on trial for the outburst

(Newser) - Laughter may be the best medicine, but it's a lawyer, not a doctor, that a Code Pink activist now needs for guffawing during Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Senate confirmation hearing. HuffPost reports that 61-year-old Desiree Fairooz is on trial this week after being arrested by US Capitol Police for...

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