5: Abortion could soon be banned in Poland, and women are fighting back
Women across Poland went on strike Monday as part of ongoing protests against proposed legislation that would effectively ban abortion. Current law allows terminations only in cases where the mother or the fetus is at high risk, or in cases where the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.
The proposal was originally put forward by the conservative organization Ordo Luris, making use of a feature of Polish government whereby Parliament will consider a petition if it draws at least 100,000 signatures. In this case, the petition got over 450,000 signatures.
The strike is the latest in a series of actions over the tightening of abortion laws in the Eastern European country. For the past two weekends, thousands of women lined the streets outside the Parliament in the capital Warsaw, wearing black and carrying placards with messages such as “Girls just wanna have fundamental human rights.” The crowds included women of all ages, as well as some men.
Vice News
4: Former CIA Detainees Describe Previously Unknown Torture Tactic: A Makeshift Electric Chair
TWO FORMER CIA captives recently described being threatened with a makeshift electric chair — a previously unreported torture method — while being held in the U.S. government’s infamous “Salt Pit” prison in Afghanistan.
In independent interviews with Human Rights Watch in August that were made public on Monday, Ridha al-Najjar, 51, and Lufti al-Arabi al-Gharisi, 52, described a metal device that had wires with clips that would attach to the fingers, and a helmet connected to wires.
“I saw an electric box, … the chair. They said, we will torture you with electricity here,” al-Gharisi said.
The Intercept
3: Syria’s war: US suspends ceasefire talks with Russia
The United States has suspended talks with Russia on trying to end the violence in Syria and accused Moscow of not living up to its commitments under a ceasefire agreement.
Both countries had been working to try to secure a ceasefire in Syria but the latest truce collapsed last month after several days of relative calm.
Following the deadly attacks on Aleppo, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US was “on the verge” of ending talks on Syria with Russia.
The US government released a statement on Monday confirming the suspension of talks.
Aljazeera
2: How ALEC & the Kochs Publicly Back Criminal Justice Reform & Privately Expand Mass Incarceration
Part of Ava DuVernay’s new documentary “13th” looks at how ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, has played a central role in the expansion of the U.S. prison system. ALEC has worked with states to write legislation promoting the privatization of prisons in addition to pushing for harsher, longer sentences. We speak to Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy.
Democracy Now
1: Colombia and Farc scramble to rescue peace deal amid worries of return to war
Colombia has begun grappling with the astonishing rejection by voters of a peace deal to end 52 years of war with Farc guerrillas, after a referendum on Sunday which has thrown the country into a state of confusion and uncertainty.
Reeling from the stunning defeat for the deal that took four years of arduous negotiations to conclude, both the government and the Farc have said they will persist in seeking peace for the country after 50.2% of voters rejected the agreement, to 49.7% who approved it.
“Peace is here to stay,” Rodrigo Londoño, the Farc commander-in-chief known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, said in a video statement from Havana on Monday, adding that the rebel group’s members would not return to hostilities in a war that has cost more than 220,000 lives and displaced more than 6 million from their homes.
His comments echoed a speech after the results were released on Sunday night by Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, who has staked his presidency on the peace deal. “I will not give up.”
The Guardian