UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned a deadly Israeli artillery strike that damaged Gaza’s historic Holy Family Catholic Church on Thursday, calling the attack “unacceptable” and reiterating calls for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages. The strike, which occurred on July 17, killed three civilians and injured several others, including parish priest [...]

Angolan police used excessive force and carried out arbitrary arrests during a peaceful protest in Luanda on July 12, Human Rights Watch alleged Friday. According to reports, officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets without justification, assaulted demonstrators, and detained 17 protesters, some of whom were released only after legal intervention. The demonstration, organized by [...]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced the revocation of US visas for eight of Brazil’s 11 Supreme Court justices, in what officials described as part of a broader effort to support former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently fighting prosecution for his alleged attempt to overturn the 2022 election. The announcement [...]

A Moscow court fined the bookstore Falalster 800,000 rubles (approximately $10,000) and its founder, Boris Kupriyanov, 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,300) on the charges of LGBTQA+ “propaganda,” according to local media. Charges were reportedly based on the bookstore selling books like More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera, Satanic Feminism by Per Faxneld, Fruit of Knowledge by [...]

A UN expert on Thursday condemned Israel’s violence on Palestinian women and girls, calling it a “femi-genocide,” and accusing the Israeli government of deliberate killing with the “intent to destroy” the continuity of the Palestinian people. Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against Women and Girls, called Israel’s actions “so extreme” that [...]

US House of Representatives on Thursday voted in favor of House Resolution 4 (HR4), which will retract approximately $9 billion in funds that had already been allocated for the next two fiscal years.  The cuts are to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), along with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), international peacekeeping [...]

El Salvador’s most prominent human rights organization officially ceased operations in the country Thursday due to increasing repression against civil society groups. The organization, Cristosal, cited the “criminalization of human rights defenders, the imposition of Russian-style Foreign Agents Law (LAEX), and the weakening of institutional independence” as key reasons for its decision. While operations in [...]

France officially transferred control of its last military installations in Senegal to local authorities in a ceremony on Thursday, concluding the permanent deployment of French troops in the country since Senegal gained independence in 1960. The withdrawal of over 350 troops marks the completion of a process initiated in March, when France began handing over [...]

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called for urgent accountability and a halt to escalating violence in the southern Syrian city of Suweida on Friday, following credible reports of mass killings, arbitrary executions, looting, and the forced displacement of civilians. Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani emphasized [...]

Puerto Rico’s LGBTQ+ Federation on Thursday denounced a recently passed law that prohibits the use of puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and gender-affirming surgeries for anybody under the age of 21. The law, called the Law for the Protection of the Health and Wellbeing of Minors in Puerto Rico, imposes a sentence of up to 15 [...]