The Daily Populous

Wednesday March 13rd, 2019 evening edition

image for Iranian lawyer who defended women’s right to remove hijab gets 38 years, 148 lashes

After two trials described by Amnesty International as “grossly unfair,” Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison and 148 lashes.

Sotoudeh, who has dedicated her life to defending Iranian women prosecuted for removing their hijabs in public, has been in the crosshairs of Iran’s theocratic government for years.

In 2010, she was convicted of conspiring to harm state security and served half of a six-year sentence.

Then, in June of last year, she was rearrested on an array of dubious charges.

The total 38-year sentence was severe even by Iranian standards — a country often accused of human rights abuses, particularly involving women.

In a secret trial, Iran convicts lawyer who defended women who removed their hijabs.

Shots fired as crowd tries to prevent arrest by Iranian morality police of woman in ‘improper’ hijab. »

GOP Senators Want Emergency Powers Capped to Stop President 'Acting Like a King'

Authored by newsweek.com
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More than a dozen Republican senators introduced new legislation seeking to put a cap on presidential emergency powers, days before they were expected to vote on a measure against President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration on immigration.

The new bill, he said, "will go a long way to restoring the balance of powers in our republic.".

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested on Tuesday that he was open to the idea of making changes to presidential national emergency powers. »

School climate strikes go global, with actions planned in 92 countries

Authored by climatechangenews.com
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At time of publication, 1,209 events had been registered across 92 countries with the German movement Fridays for Future.

The school strikes for climate were initially spurred by the solo protests of Swedish 16-year old Greta Thunberg.

In France, a video by climate school strikers called on “high-school students, parents, teachers, citizens” to take part in the action. »

Death metal music inspires joy not violence

Authored by bbc.com
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The lyrics of death metal band Bloodbath's cannibalism-themed track, Eaten, do not leave much to the imagination.

"[Death metal] fans are nice people," said Prof Bill Thompson, from the Australian university, which is based in Sydney.

With a classic psychological experiment that probes people's subconscious responses; and by recruiting death metal fans to take part. »