Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency on Thursday to counteract the expiration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on November 1 due to the government shutdown. Over 850,000 people in the state of Virginia utilize SNAP benefits. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins posted to the social media platform X on October 16, [...]

On Tuesday, October 21, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt.  Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, read to the House a letter endorsed by Ghana’s President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. The letter, dated October 7, formally announced President Mahama’s nomination of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie for the position of Chief Justice under Article 144(1) of Ghana’s 1992 [...]

The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) renewed its calls for enhanced coordination and safety along migration pathways on Thursday following a shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia that killed 40 migrants. The organization stated: “IOM reiterates its support for countries along key migration routes through protection-sensitive search and rescue operations, and through efforts to [...]

On Saturday, I joined the No Kings Day (NKD) protest in the US state of Pennsylvania. The mood was markedly different from the last protest I attended, in June. Last time, I felt afraid—using that word several times in my June dispatch. So much has changed since then. This time, I felt the opposite: joy, [...]

The North Carolina Senate voted on Tuesday to create a new congressional map for the state, reallocating voters from the Republican-controlled third district to the Democrat-controlled first district. The state’s House of Representatives will vote on the map on Wednesday. Republicans currently control 10 of 14 congressional seats in North Carolina, and make up 30 [...]

The regional head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned on Tuesday of Israeli settlers’ increasing violence against Palestinian farmers. The statement comes at the start of the critical olive harvest season. According to the OHCHR statement, 757 settler attacks took place in [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday criticized the announcement of the new EU-Uzbekistan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The agreement describes respect for democratic principles and the preservation of fundamental freedoms as “essential,” yet HRW said that it fails to properly address Uzbekistan’s deteriorating rights record. Europe and Central Asia advocacy director at HRW, Iskra [...]

The UN reproductive health agency UNFPA on Tuesday described women and girls across the Democratic Republic of the Congo as “one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises,” facing widespread insecurity, rising sexual violence, and severely disrupted life-saving services. Speaking to journalists at the Geneva UN Office after her visits to Kinshasa and Goma, UNFPA Director [...]

The European Union on Thursday approved the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, the latest effort to hinder Russian aggression in Ukraine, adding new restrictions on individuals and sectors supporting Moscow’s war effort. The new sanctions aim to intensify strain on the Russian economy and debilitate important sectors such as energy, finance, the military industrial [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday announced an agreement with the University of Virginia (UVA) that forbids the school from “discrimination” based on race, sex or national origin in admissions and hiring. The agreement follows months of pressure from the administration after a DOJ investigation that began in April led to officials claiming [...]