Opinion

From Christchurch to Emanuel AME, we must recognize the patterns of white supremacy

Recent reports suggest the attacks on houses of worship are not rare and the perpetrators are seldom acting alone.   

In this June 20, 2015, file photo, Allen Sanders, right, kneels next to his wife, Georgette, both of McClellanville, South Carolina, as they pray at a sidewalk memorial in memory of the shooting victims in front of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

March 20, 2023

By 

Danielle N. Boaz

(RNS) — Four years ago, on March 15, 2019, a white supremacist opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, leaving 51 dead and 40 others injured. While this was shocking in terms of the number of deaths and injuries, such attacks have become alarmingly common.

In the past 10 years alone, North America has seen white supremacists carry out mass shootings at multiple religious sites, including: the Overland Park Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom Retirement Center in Kansas (April 2014); the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina (June 2015); the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, Canada (January 2017); the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (October 2018); and the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California (April 2019). 

Reporters and government officials often refer to these shooters as “lone wolves” and their crimes as “one offs.” They study the background of these individuals to attempt to determine what led them to carry out such horrific and supposedly unusual crimes. However, a recent report published by the International Commission to Combat Religious Racism (ICCRR) suggests these attacks are not rare, and the perpetrators are seldom acting alone.   

The ICCRR report examines racially motivated attacks on places of worship and religious community centers in the United States and Canada. In total, the report includes attacks on 58 places, which, in addition to the previously mentioned shootings, include acts of vandalism, arson, stabbings and bombings as well as plots or attempts to carry out these same kinds of attacks. Nearly all the perpetrators of these attacks were white males, and many of them openly declared their intent to protect the white race or to “defend” their country against non-white, non-Christian “invaders.” Many were also self-proclaimed Neo-Nazis and/or they used Nazi symbolism (i.e. swastikas, images of Adolf Hitler and coded phrases meaning “Heil Hitler”) in their attacks.  

Perhaps the most concerning finding in this study is the data on how many perpetrators were part of a larger conspiracy. The ICCRR reports that nearly 1 in 5 cases involved multiple perpetrators.

In nearly half of cases, the “perpetrators were part of, encouraged by, or trying to gain admission to a larger group of extremists who believe in racial supremacy. In many cases, these were well-known groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or the Aryan Brotherhood. In a few instances, the perpetrators organized their own groups for the purpose of training, obtaining weapons, and carrying out attacks.”

Additionally, in more than half of the cases, the perpetrators attacked or planned to attack more than one site. In total, nearly two-thirds of the cases involved a series of attacks, multiple perpetrators and/or affiliation with an extremist group. 

Students from the Yeshiva School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh pay their respects as the funeral procession for Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz passes their school en route to Homewood Cemetery following a funeral service at the Jewish Community Center, Tuesday Oct. 30, 2018. Rabinowitz was one of 11 people killed while worshipping at the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The findings of a survey conducted jointly by the PRRI and the Brookings Institution, released on Feb. 8, 2023, adds another dimension to our understanding of the ICCRR report. The survey explores support for “Christian nationalism” in the United States. PRRI President and founder Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., defines “Christian nationalism” as belief in “the idea that America is destined to be a promised land for European Christians.” 

According to this definition, it found that 10% of Americans could be classified as adherents of Christian nationalism and that nearly 20% are sympathizers. Of white evangelical Protestants, it found that almost two-thirds are either adherents (29%) or sympathizers (35%). These Christian nationalists overwhelmingly agreed with arguments that are fueling racially motivated attacks on places of worship. For instance, more than 70% believe immigrants are “invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background,” and more than two-thirds believe people from some majority-Muslim countries should be prevented from entering the United States.

The survey found that the majority of adherents of Christian nationalism disagree that white supremacy is a major problem in the United States. Perhaps most concerningly, approximately 17% of all respondents agreed with the statement, “the United States is a white Christian nation, and I am willing to fight to keep it that way.”  

Read together, the ICCRR report and the PRRI and Brookings Institution survey suggest there is a very serious but overlooked threat terrorizing religious communities in North America. Self-proclaimed Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are carrying out violent attacks against religious communities.

Both these attacks and their perpetrators are more organized than official responses would lead us to believe. Nevertheless, not only do large segments of the population refuse to believe white supremacy is an issue in the United States today, many of them appear to share the beliefs of the perpetrators of these attacks.

Danielle N. Boaz. Courtesy photo

These reports should leave us all wondering, and worrying, about the future of our racially and religiously diverse nation. 

(Danielle N. Boaz is associate professor of Africana studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she teaches courses on human rights, social justice and the law. She is also a PRRI Public Fellow. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

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Court rehears case to protect Oak Flat, an Apache sacred site in Arizona

‘A win for Apache Stronghold will be a win for people of all faiths,’ said Luke Goodrich.

This file photo taken June 15, 2015, shows the Resolution Copper Mining area Shaft #9, right, and Shaft #10, left, that await the expansion go-ahead in Superior, Arizona. The mountainous land near Superior is known as Oak Flat or Chi’chil Biłdagoteel. It’s where Apaches have harvested medicinal plants, held coming-of-age ceremonies and gathered acorns for generations. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

March 21, 2023

By 

Emily McFarlan Miller

(RNS) — The fight to save Oak Flat, a 6.7-square-mile stretch of land east of Phoenix considered sacred by the Apache and other Native Americans, is back in court this week.

In a move the Arizona Republic has called unusual, a full panel of 11 judges reheard oral arguments in the case of Apache Stronghold v. United States on Tuesday (March 21) in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California.

The case previously had been heard by a three-judge panel, which held in a 2-1 ruling last summer that the government could proceed with the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. The company, owned by British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, plans to turn the site into an underground copper mine.

Apache Stronghold — a coalition of Apache and other tribal nations, diverse faith leaders, prominent environmental groups, the National Congress of American Indians and others — has argued this would violate the religious rights of many Apache and other Native Americans who have held ceremonies on the site since time immemorial.

In this July 22, 2015, file photo, tribal councilman Wendsler Nosie Sr., right, speaks with Apache activists in a rally to save Oak Flat, land near Superior, Arizona, sacred to Western Apache tribes, in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)

“Oak Flat is where my people have come to connect with our Creator for millennia, and we have the right to continue that sacred tradition,” Apache Stronghold founder Wendsler Nosie Sr. said in a written statement after the hearing.

“Today we stood up in court for that right, determined to stop those who think that our place of worship can be treated differently simply because it lacks four walls and a steeple. We are hopeful that this time around, the Ninth Circuit will save Oak Flat.”

RELATED: Why Oak Flat in Arizona is a sacred space for the Apache and other Native Americans

Repairers of the Breach, a nonprofit headed by Bishop William J. Barber II and the Rev. A. Kazimir Brown, hosted a “spiritual gathering” online before the hearing.

It’s one of several religious groups supporting Apache Stronghold, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventists, the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team of the Religious Freedom Institute, the Christian Legal Society, the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Sikh Coalition.

“A win for Apache Stronghold will be a win for people of all faiths,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law, formerly the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the nonprofit legal institution representing Apache Stronghold.

On Tuesday, Goodrich reiterated Apache Stronghold’s position to a new panel of judges: The destruction of Oak Flat, known in Apache as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, would “irreparably harm the religious expression and practices of the region’s first inhabitants.”

A number of Apache ceremonies can take place only at Oak Flat, a “blessed place” where the Apache believe Ga’an — guardians or messengers between the people and Usen, the creator — dwell, according to court filings.

Richard H. Chambers United States Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia/Creative Commons

“The government’s position in this case is that it can obliterate a place of worship for any reason or none at all, and not face consequences under federal religious liberty law. We asked the court today to recognize the obvious — that when the government destroys a sacred site, religious liberty law has something to say about it,” Goodrich said in a written statement afterward.

The site also encompasses the third largest copper ore deposit in the world, according to Joan Pepin, an attorney for the U.S. Forest Service.

Congress approved the transfer of the land to Resolution Copper in 2014 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in exchange for 6,000 acres elsewhere. Pepin noted in court that the company has preserved another site, called Apache Leap, for religious and cultural uses.

The federal appeals court previously had ruled that Apache Stronghold failed to show a substantial burden on its religious exercise. Judges continued to press attorneys — who also included Stephanie Barclay, director of Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative — to define “substantial burden” and what that looks like under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

A decision in the case was not immediately expected.

RELATED: Apaches get rehearing in fight to preserve Oak Flat, a sacred site in Arizona

Bethany Mandel’s ‘woke’ stumble exposes the right’s gaslighting

Why the conservative commentator stumbled in trying to define the term.

Briahna Joy Gray, left, interviews Bethany Mandel on The Hill’s online program “Rising.” Video screen grab

March 21, 2023

By 

Andre Henry

(RNS) — As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, conservative author Bethany Mandel was visibly overcome with the terrifying realization that she was about to become a viral sensation and a target of scathing anti-racist critique.

When asked by political commentator Briahna Joy Gray, on The Hill’s online program “Rising,” how she defines “woke” in a new book, Mandel answered as smoothly as skipping vinyl:

So, I mean, woke is–w–sort of–the idea that–um. I mean, woke is something that’s very hard to define, and we’ve spent an entire chapter defining it. It is sort of the understanding that we need to totally reimagine and reduce society in order to create hierarchies of oppression. Um, sorry, I — it’s hard to explain in a 15-second sound bite.

Mandel is either incorrect or insincere, because “woke” isn’t hard to define. It’s just advantageous for conservatives to continue to occupy the term like stolen land if they keep the definition as broad as possible.

I say woke isn’t hard to define because the term has been clear to Black Americans since its first utterance in Lead Belly’s 1938 blues protest song “Scottsboro Boys.”

The song tells the story of nine teenagers who were accused in Alabama of sexually assaulting two white women. The racist stereotype that Black men were inherently rapacious, and therefore a threat to white women, was often used in post-slavery America to justify various forms of anti-Black violence. Lead Belly wrote “Scottsboro Boys” to remind Black Americans about the dangers of navigating a world structured by the violence such stereotypes justify.

“I made this little song about down there,” Lead Belly is recorded saying about the song. “So I advise everybody, be a little careful when they go along through there — best stay woke, keep their eyes open.” 

Up until the heyday of the Black Lives Matter movement, when national outrage about the killing of Michael Brown leaked our code word into popular discourse, the meaning of “woke” had remained safe within the confines of Black barbershops, pulpits, patio tables where wrinkled brown fingers slam down dominos, and other safe places where Black people congregate and talk about life in this anti-Black world. It was virtually uncontested as shorthand for political and social awareness, and landed on our ears, I imagine, something like the Mosaic refrain “Remember and do not forget” must’ve fallen on the ears of those listening to Torah being sung in ancient Israelite temples.

Remember and do not forget: We live in a world built on anti-Black hostility. Remember and do not forget: The cops are not here to protect you. Remember and do not forget: They put Jesus’ name — that same one you be prayin’ to — on the side of one of the first slave ships. Be alert. Be wise. Stay woke.

“Woke” is not “hard” to define if we take America’s history of imperial violence and its attempts to sanitize that history seriously. It’s also not hard to define if we just accept it on its own terms, by which I mean its historic usage in the Black community. 

If the meaning of “woke” isn’t difficult to understand, accepting it is another matter. The term doesn’t serve white interests, which are aimed not at truth but power. If white conservatives were interested in understanding Black America’s perspective and in genuinely transformative communication, it would be necessary to clarify or agree on our terms. But conversation in good faith is not what white conservatives are after. As Yale philosopher Jason Stanley points out in his 2018 book “How Fascism Works,” fascists aren’t served by the truth, as they draw power from maintaining a state of unreality. Fascists construct powerful myths to move the populace toward their ends.

Part of the white supremacist myth is revealed in what Mandel did manage to say in her bumbling definition: that marginalized people allegedly aim to “create hierarchies of oppression” through “woke ideology” (as conservatives love to call it).

That myth is meant to maintain white anxiety about racial takeover, so they’ll keep supporting anti-democratic policies and voting for anti-democratic politicians such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. At the 1922 Fascist Congress, Benito Mussolini said: “We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, a passion. It is not necessary for it to be a reality.” That rings true today for white America and its distortions of history and how we talk about it.

To preserve their power, the champions of white racism don’t need to define woke, only to create an experience around it. It should feel like a shark in the water only news pundits and politicians can see, leaving Americans vulnerable to manipulation.

Mandel says she stumbled over her words because she was thrown off balance just before the cameras started rolling. Fox News reports: Briahna Joy Gray “made a disparaging remark about parents on a hot mic before the interview began, effectively throwing [Mandel] off her game.”

That’s plausible. Presenting one’s ideas in front of a global audience can be nerve-wracking. However, a look at the entire interview with Mandel makes me doubt her defense. She’d been verbally cruising before being asked to define “woke,” explaining that “only 7% of Americans consider themselves to be very liberal and probably fewer of them consider themselves to be woke.” She also mentioned that she and her co-author, Karol Markowicz, wrote an entire chapter on the term.

From a viewer’s perspective, it seems more likely that Mandel was simply unprepared for that question. She was put on the spot to soundbite a definition. She didn’t know how to condense it into a clean, 15-second definition, but she knew she had to be careful not to say the wrong thing. 

And though I believe, were she given the opportunity, Mandel could probably give us an elevator speech version of a definition for woke today (she’s probably been practicing it in her head for her next interview), the fact that she didn’t think she needed a clear and tight definition of the word to begin with seems emblematic of what has made “woke” such a versatile weapon for white conservatives. In their mouths it can mean whatever they need it to mean in the moment. To them it means nothing in particular. It’s merely a lullaby meant to keep more Americans from waking up.

HALT THE RACING ADDRESS THE PROBLEM

Jockey injured, horse euthanized after 3rd recent Aussie track crash


Jockey Teo Nugent (L) was injured and racehorse Fluorescent Star had to be euthanized after crashing during a race in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday. File Photo by George Salpigtidis/EPA-EFE

March 18 (UPI) -- A racehorse was euthanized and his jockey was hospitalized Saturday after the latest in a series of recent racetrack accidents in Melbourne, Australia.

Jockey Teo Nugent was riding Fluorescent Star at the Moonee Valley racecourse when the thoroughbred appeared to clip another horse, falling to the ground during the sixth race at the Abell Stakes, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Nugent was partially trampled on the track in the melee. Medics rushed to his aid while veterinarians attended to the 5-year-old mare, which fell over a barrier.

The 24-year-old jockey was seemingly unconscious for a few minutes, but was eventually awake and alert before being taken off the course in a stretcher and transported to the hospital.

In a tweet, the Victorian Jockeys Association later said Nugent had a fracture to his C1 vertebrae, a ring-shaped bone beginning at the base of the skull.

"Teo Nugent will be transported to hospital for further examination," a spokesperson for the association told news.com.au. "Teo's conscious and chatting to medical staff. He has movement in his limbs."

Veterinarians were forced to euthanize Fluorescent Star on the track, shortly after the crash.

"We are devastated. We love you Flo," the horse's owners tweeted after the race.

The crash was the third in three weeks in Melbourne.

Jockeys Ethan Brown and Mark Zahra were both thrown from their horses in the same fall earlier this month. Brown required multiple surgeries after sustaining abdominal injuries.

Fellow jockeys Jamie Kah and Craig Williams were both in races at the city's Flemington Racecourse last weekend. Williams suffered multiple broken bones but has been discharged from the hospital. Kah is still recovering from a serious concussion.

Partygate: Panel releases former PM Boris Johnson's defense dossier


Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is due to submit himself to Parliament's Privileges Committee on Wednesday for questioning over lockdown parties, was forced to resign in July after a scandal-plagued two-and-half-years in office.

 File Photo via Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/UPI | License Photo


March 21 (UPI) -- A dossier of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's defense of parties in Downing Street when the country was in COVID-19 lockdowns, was published Tuesday by the parliamentary panel investigating him.

The dossier's release comes one day before he is due to appear for questioning before the Privileges Committee which is looking into so-called "Partygate" -- whether Johnson misled MPs by telling them there had been no parties during lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

In the 52-page submission to the committee which is also weighing how quickly Johnson corrected any misleading statements, he says he did not mislead parliament "intentionally or recklessly."

Johnson argues that because he was relying on guidance from trusted advisors and experts, he was acting in good faith when he told parliament there had been no parties in Downing Street.

RELATED 'Hasta la vista, baby!': British PM Boris Johnson touts record in farewell address

He also states that he corrected the record at the first chance he had in May, a month after the conclusion of investigations by a senior civil servant and London's Metropolitan Police.

However, if the inquiry concludes that any misleading statement made by Johnson was intentional or reckless, he faces being suspended or expelled from Parliament for being contempt of the House of Commons.

Expulsion would force a by-election in Johnson's Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency, a seat he has held since 2015. The House has the final say over whether any sanction is enforced.

RELATED British PM Boris Johnson to resign amid scandal, wave of resignations

April's damning report found Johnson and other government officials had violated COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 by holding social gatherings.

The 60-page report compiled by civil servant Sue Gray condemned Johnson and the others for throwing the parties while the restrictions barred the rest of the country from such social gatherings.

In April, Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined by police for attending or organizing a party in the Cabinet Room of Downing Street to celebrate the prime minister's birthday in June 2020.

RELATED Partygate: Gray report slams British PM Boris Johnson, others for breaking COVID-19 rules

That followed the Metropolitan Police's own "partygate" investigation of COVID-19 lockdown violations by government officials which said no additional fines would be issued to Johnson or his wife.

However, police did recommend 126 fines for 83 people for parties held at No. 10 Downing Street and Whitehall that violated the country's COVID-19 lockdown rules in 2020.

Los Angeles schools close as support workers launch 3-day strike


Los Angeles Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho interacts with students in a classroom at Marlton School in Los Angeles on August 15. File Photo by Etienne Laurent/EPA-EFE

March 21 (UPI) -- The country's second-largest school district, based in Los Angeles, closed Tuesday as support workers with the Service Employees International Union launched a three-day strike over pay.

The SEIU, which represents some 30,000 support workers, from teacher's aides and cafeteria workers to bus drivers, said many of its members live in poverty because of pay of about $25,000 per year in Los Angeles.

The union is asking for a 30% raise. The Los Angeles Unified School District said it has responded by offering what it called a "historic" 23% recurring raise and a 3% cash bonus.

The local teacher's union is also seeking a 20% raise over two years, and its teachers are striking in solidarity with the support workers, essentially forcing schools in the district, which serves some 600,000 students in 1,000 schools, to close.

Negotiations have dragged on for about a year with more than 95% of union members voting to authorize a strike last month if talks didn't progress.

Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said his team is available for negotiations and suggested the union has refused to come to the table.

"I made myself available alongside my team for hours [Monday], hoping that we would, in fact, be able to have a conversation for a whole host of reasons, some of which I do not understand," Carvalho said at a press conference. "We were never in the same room, or even in the same building.

SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias on Monday accused the district of violating the "confidential mediation process" by discussing differences with the media before them.

"This is yet another example of the school district's continued disrespect of school workers," Arias said in a statement. "We are ready to strike. We want to be clear that we are not in negotiations with LAUSD. We continue to be engaged in the impasse process with the state

Yemen's warring sides agree to prisoner exchange of nearly 900 detainees


United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross officials on Monday in Switzerland announced that Yemen's warring sides have agreed to a massive prison swap. 

Photo by Franziska Seethaler/Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen

March 21 (UPI) -- The warring sides in Yemen's nearly decade-old conflict have agreed to a prisoner swap involving nearly 900 detainees, officials said, as hopes rise that the ongoing truce may eventually lead to an end of the war.

The prisoner exchange was announced Monday in Switzerland by the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grunberg and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The swap involves 887 conflict-related detainees, though officials citing the sensitive nature of the situation would not state how many were being released by either the Iran-backed Houthi rebels or the internationally recognized government of Yemen.

"Today, hundreds of Yemeni families can look forward to reuniting with their loved ones," Grunberg said during a press conference.

The announcement comes as the grim nine-year anniversary since the war began in September 2014 when Shiite Houthi rebels seized control of Yemen's capital city of Sanaa nears.

Since the start of the conflict, Yemen has been devastated. The United Nations has long described the country as the world's worst humanitarian conflict as more than 20 million of its some 33 million people are in need of assistance. Millions have been internally displaced and more than 16 million suffer from hunger, including 5 million facing famine.

However, the prison swap occurred amid a nearly yearlong that truce that was first agreed to in April of last year and as hopes climb that further agreements, such as the one inked Monday, could bring about an official end to the war.

The prisoner swap on Monday was announced at the completion of a 10-day meeting of the supervisory committee on the implementation of the detainee's exchange agreement of the Stockholm Agreement.

Signed in December of 2018, the Stockholm Agreement consists of three components the warring sides committed to working on, including the creation of a prisoner exchange mechanism.

Monday's announcement ended the prison swap committee's seventh meeting with plans for the officials to reconvene in May to discuss more releases, the United Nations said

Grunberg added that the two sides also committed to joint visits of each other's detention facilities.

"For the one's knowing conflict, for the one's knowing Yemen, they know how important it is for the families and for the people of Yemen," Fabrizio Carboni, the regional director for the international Committee of the Red Cross, told reporters during a press conference on the significance of Monday's announcement

"It's an expression of hope, it's an expression of humanity and it indicates the way ahead for all parties to the conflict."

The release of the prisoners has not yet occurred, and Carboni said his organization stands ready to work as an intermediary to ensure the detainees are aware of what is occurring and that they are able to return to their homes.

"Obviously to do this work, the ICRC teams will need free and unfettered access to the detainees, especially in the coming days and weeks so that we can conduct interviews in private," he said. "This allows us to gather the informed consent to be transferred and identify any special needs that they have."

There is more work to do and further negotiations are need to secure the release of more detainees, he said.

The White House on Monday said it welcomes the announcement of the prisoner swap.

"This important step builds on the positive environment created by a truce in Yemen that has effectively stopped the fighting for the past 11 months," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. "Over the past year and thanks to active and persistent U.S. diplomacy, Yemen has seen the lowest level of violence since the war began over a decade ago.

"We remain committed to building on this work to advance a durable resolution to the conflict."

The two sides have exchanged prisoners before with 1,056 exchanged in 2020 and 117 in May.

U.N. officials did not say how many detainees remain jailed by the warring sides.

U$A NOT INCLUDED
U.S. lists human rights abuses around the world in new report

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has released the 47th annual report on Human Rights Practices for nearly 200 countries, showing an erosion of human rights last year in Iran, Afghanistan, Burma, China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Ethiopia.

 Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo

March 21 (UPI) -- The United States has released its 47th annual report on Human Rights Practices for nearly 200 countries, showing an erosion of human rights last year in Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Cuba, Nicaragua and Ethiopia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken released the report Monday "to safeguard and uphold human dignity when it's under threat in so many ways," calling the information important for U.S. diplomacy.

"Human rights are universal. They aren't defined by any one country, philosophy or region. They apply to everyone, everywhere," Blinken said.

"The report makes clear that, in 2022, in countries across every region, we continued to see a backsliding of human rights conditions -- the closing of civic space, disrespect for fundamental human dignity," Blinken said as he turned his focus to specific countries, including Iran.

"The report details the appalling and ongoing abuses committed by the regime in Iran against its own people," Blinken said. "In the wake of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, authorities have killed hundreds of peaceful protestors, including dozens of children, and have arbitrarily detained thousands."

Blinken also called out the ongoing decline of human rights in the People's Republic of China.

"The PRC continues its abuses, including genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs, repression of Tibetans, crackdown on basic rights in Hong Kong and targeting of individuals on the mainland for exercising fundamental freedoms."

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Blinken also pointed to ongoing human rights violations in Afghanistan, where the Taliban represses women's and girls' rights to education and work, and in Myanmar, where thousands of activists have been killed by the military regime. He also denounced offenses in Cuba and Nicaragua, where the "authoritarian government continues to detain political prisoners and hold them in appalling prison conditions."

While human rights degraded last year in Ethiopia, Blinken said November's Cessation of Hostilities Agreement is helping to renew humanitarian assistance, restore justice and stop the fighting.

"I have determined that members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, Tigray People's Liberation Front forces and Amhara forces committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia," Blinken said.

"The conflict in northern Ethiopia was devastating. Men, women and children were killed. Women and girls were subject to horrific forms of sexual violence. Thousands were forcibly displaced from their homes. Entire communities were specifically targeted based on their ethnicity," Blinken added, saying the parties to the agreement have since acknowledged the atrocities.

"The government of Ethiopia is taking the first steps by publicly releasing a detailed green paper of transitional justice options based upon best practices and building upon the experiences of other states emerging from periods of mass violence."

While Blinken focused on other countries, he said the report applies to all allies and partners, including the United States, which "faces its own set of challenges on human rights."

"Our willingness to confront our challenges openly, to acknowledge our own shortcomings -- not to sweep them under the rug or pretend they don't exist -- that is what distinguishes us and other democracies."

Blinken credited journalists, officials and citizens for documenting human rights abuses at "great personal risk of retaliation, harassment, detention, torture, even death," as he celebrated the ten Global Human Rights Defender awardees and his colleagues at the State Department.

Biden honors Iranian women at Nowruz reception

U.S. President Joe Biden (C), along with First Lady Jill Biden (R), greets Iranian musicians Sahba Motallebi (L) and Rana Mansour (C-L) during a reception to celebrate Nowruz on Monday in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. 

Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo | License Photo

March 20 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden marked the Persian New Year on Monday with a White House reception in honor of Nowruz and Iranian women.

The president and first lady introduced astronaut Lieutenant Colonel Jasmin Moghbeli, who will command the next U.S. mission to the International Space Station, and paid tribute to Iranian women and girls, saying Nowruz comes at "a difficult time for many families, when hope is needed more than ever -- including for the women of Iran who are fighting for their human rights and fundamental freedoms."

American astronaut of Iranian descent Lieutenant Colonel Jasmin Moghbeli, who will command the next U.S. mission to the International Space Station, attends a reception to celebrate Nowruz on Monday in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo | License Photo

Nowruz is a two-week celebration, marking the New Year in Iran's official Solar Hijri calendar on the spring equinox. The nearly 4,000-year-old tradition is celebrated by various ethnicities around the world.

"Nowruz means 'new day.'" Moghbeli said. "It is the celebration of the arrival of spring and all the hope that comes with it. It is a holiday full of symbolism, with each element of the Haft-Sin -- or seven S's -- being representative."

"It's a celebration that's been a millennium in the making, observed by millions of people around the world this very day, and the roots in ancient Persia," Biden told visitors at Monday's reception.

"It's the start of a new year that reminds us of hope and what lies ahead from these darkest times so many have been through," Biden said.

"Hope for families in Turkey and Syria, who are grieving for the loss of far too many loved ones from the devastating earthquake. Hope for people in Afghanistan who continue to struggle with a grave humanitarian crisis. Hope for women of Iran who are fighting for their human rights," Biden added.

Biden vowed to keep the pressure on Tehran, as thousands of Iranian citizens have taken to the streets to protest last year's death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, while in police custody for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code.

"The United States stands with those brave women and all the citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their conviction," Biden said. "We're going to continue to hold Iranian officials accountable for their attacks against their people."

Hyundai Mobis tests all-directional electric vehicles

By Kim Yoon-kyoung & Kim Tae-gyu, 

UPI News Korea

Hyundai Mobis road-tests an electric vehicle in South Korea for in-wheel motor drive and a 90-degree rotating wheel. Photo courtesy of Hyundai Mobis

SEOUL, March 20 (UPI) -- South Korea's automotive parts maker Hyundai Mobis announced it has begun testing an all-directional drive system specifically for electric vehicles.

The Seoul-based company said Sunday the new system, embedded into four-wheel independent-drive electric cars, features in-wheel motors.

The result is that the four wheels move independently, enabling crab-like shifts for parallel parking and pivot steering for turning around in very narrow spaces.

Additionally, the in-wheel motor will contribute to increasing the range of electric cars by around 20%, thanks to the more efficient use of the wheels, compared to conventional cars, the auto maker said.

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The company, which has been researching in-wheel motor drive since 2010, is conducting these tests in conjunction with its parent company, Hyundai Motor.

It was late last year that Hyundai Mobis first announced the development of a 90-degree rotating wheel, which allows for lateral parking and sideways movement. Now the technology has been applied to EVs.

"We plan to complete the development of the in-wheel drive system by the end of this year in order to get ready for mass production," Hyundai Mobis Senior Vice President Oh Heung-seop said in a statement.

Industry experts say in-wheel motor drives and 90-degree rotating wheels have been considered the final pieces to the making of electrified vehicles.

"There are two big missions for EVs. One is the advanced maneuverability, like lateral drivability, and the other is improved range," Daelim University automotive Professor Kim Pil-soo told UPI News Korea.

"Hyundai Mobis appears to be testing both concepts at the same time with its in-wheel motor drive and 90-degree rotating wheels. EV companies have been targeting the two features for a while now, however, a full commercialization date is yet uncertain," he said.

The share price of Hyundai Mobis was down 2.3% Monday on the South Korean stock exchange.