Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, Human Right Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday. The mark set a new record for the highest annual number of executions in the nation since monitoring began. Saudi Arabia exceeded its execution record for the second year in a row, increasing from 345 in 2024. Most of those [...]

Minnesota and Illinois filed separate federal lawsuits Monday challenging the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement operations, alleging constitutional violations and claiming federal agents have terrorized communities across both states. Minnesota’s lawsuit, filed jointly with the municipalities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, targets “Operation Metro Surge,” which has deployed thousands of Department of Homeland Security agents [...]

On January 3, 2026, the US military captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, at his compound in Caracas. The operation came after months of mounting pressures by US President Donald Trump, including a series of controversial boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific. US Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced [...]

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Sunday condemned the arson attack on the building of the Beth Israel Congregation and Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, Mississippi’s largest synagogue. The suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, allegedly set the synagogue on fire early Saturday. The ADL’s South Central Regional Office issued the statement saying it was “horrified” [...]

The Supreme Court of British Columbia (BC) heard a constitutional challenge on Monday to end forced transfers of patients seeking access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD), brought by organization Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC). Currently, access to MAiD in certain cases is impaired by caretakers whose religious beliefs conflict with patient requests. In some [...]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began proceedings Monday on charges of genocide concerning Myanmar’s persecution of its Rohingya population. The Gambia, bringing the case, will present its arguments until January 15, after which Myanmar will present its defense until January 20. The Gambia alleges that Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, have conducted widespread and [...]

In anticipation of the UN gathering to draft a treaty that would formally allow international prosecution or extradition of alleged perpetrators of crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated Monday that it is “imperative that pay more attention to the issues affecting children.” HRW noted how the draft text only mentions children twice—once in [...]

Editor’s note: This story is part of ongoing coverage of the lead up to Mangione’s trial. Read Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Days 5-7, Day 8, and Day 9 of suppression hearings on the case. Luigi Mangione’s federal criminal trial could begin as soon as October 2026. On January 9, Judge Margaret [...]

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a series of defiant statements as tensions between Tehran and Washington intensify over the former’s crackdown on nationwide protests. On December 28, amid inflation and a currency collapse, protests erupted in Tehran before spreading across the country. A violent crackdown ensued, resulting in hundreds of deaths, according [...]

As of the time of writing, Iranian citizens have remained without internet or telecommunications access for 96 hours, according to online monitoring group NetBlocks. Amid the collapse of Iran’s currency, protests erupted in Tehran late last month and quickly spread across the country. Dozens of protesters and bystanders have been killed, according to human rights [...]