The US State Department announced Wednesday it would begin reviewing online social media accounts for all student and exchange visitor applicants as part of its visa screening process. All student and exchange visitors applying for visas under the F, M and J non-immigrant classifications will be required to make their social media profiles public under [...]

Mahmut Bozarslan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Amnesty International on Wednesday called upon Turkish authorities to investigate widespread allegations of police violence during largely peaceful protests held across the country recently, and sounded alarm of potential acts of torture as defined under international law. According to Amnesty, law enforcement used tear-gas, pepper spray, water cannons, and kinetic impact projectiles against peaceful protesters, [...]

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Provisional new rules agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council will increase transparency for EU political party funding, cut red tape, and protect against foreign interference, the bloc said Tuesday. The new rules are particularly concerned with safeguarding against foreign interference in EU institutions. To be formally recognized and granted funding, European political parties [...]

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Ehécatl Cabrera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At the 59th session of the Human Rights Council Thursday, the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights stated that the procurement and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) systems by states and businesses must comply with international human rights standards, warning that failure could lead to serious rights violations. UN experts noted a [...]

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Forest Service - Northern Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday extended a temporary freeze preventing the Department of Labor (DOL) from shutting down its Job Corps program. The emergency relief granted during Tuesday’s preliminary injunction hearing prevented the DOL from eliminating the $1.5 billion program that provides approximately 25,000 low-income and foster care youth with vocational training, housing, [...]

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Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A unanimous Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the Democratic state attorney general in a long-running battle over a law passed by Republicans that sought to weaken the attorney general’s power during a lame-duck legislative session in 2018. In a 7-0 ruling, the court found the law unconstitutionally violated the separation of powers doctrine. [...]

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The Second Court of Appeal of St. Petersburg on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Ivan Zabavsky, a Ukrainian who was convicted on a charge of espionage. The court rejected the appeal during a closed-door trial, where journalists and listeners were not allowed to be present. Ivan had been sentenced to 11 years in prison in [...]

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Amnesty International called for the Indian government to stop its unlawful deportation of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, in a statement released on Thursday. This follows reports of the government deporting refugees and forcing them across the Bangladesh border over recent months. Aakar Patel, the chairman of Amnesty International India, stated: “Recent allegations of deportations from [...]

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Civilian deaths in armed conflicts surged by 40 percent globally in 2024, according to new data from the UN Human Rights Office published Wednesday. The figures highlight a deteriorating global human rights landscape marked by widespread violence, deepening discrimination, and the continued targeting of human rights defenders and journalists. At least 48,384 people, most of [...]

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John Samuel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The UN Human Rights Office on Wednesday called for the urgent de-escalation of violence amid ongoing exchange of missile fire between Israel and Iran, warning that continued attacks risk severe civilian harm and violations of international law. In light of the alarming humanitarian crisis in Iran and the grave violations of international humanitarian law, UN [...]

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