Trump Slams Judge; Dictator Visits Brussels: HRW Daily Brief

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns next month in London, and will feature 16 award-winning international documentary feature films that grapple with the challenges of defending human rights around the world today. Among the topics explored are race in America, independent journalism, and the plight of Syrian refugees. The festival will take place from March 6-17, and tickets go on sale this week. Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit a record high in 2016. The figures come from a new United Nations report and follow the trend from previous years, as Afghan civilians continue to be subjected to indiscriminate bombings and unexploded weapons left behind after fighting. The report is another stark reminder of just how terrible the situation in Afghanistan has become. February 6 is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. This year’s theme has a focus on Africa specifically, but FGM is practiced in multiple countries around the world. FGM is usually done to women and girls as a mark of cultural or religious honor, but it constitutes an experience of pain and anguish and is a form of violence. This generation of young girls should not have to fear it any longer. From earlier today: United States President Donald Trump made headlines again this weekend with an attack on the federal judge who temporarily blocked the travel ban against people from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Trump wrote in a tweet that the courts should be blamed "if something happens"...