Human Rights Watch (HRW) and over 110 organizations and trade unions on Friday called on the EU to immediately suspend its trade agreement with Israel, citing the latter’s ongoing atrocities against Palestinians. The joint statement emphasized that such action is overdue in holding Israel accountable for systematic abuses, including alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave alarm on Saturday following the US’s recent airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, warning of an escalating cycle of violence that could further destabilize the Middle East. Guterres urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to diplomatic dialogue to avoid a broader regional conflict. “At this perilous [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said that the bodies of three Israeli hostages were recovered from Gaza. Netanyahu stated that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, the country’s internal security agency, managed to successfully bring back the bodies of Yonatan Samarno, Sergeant Shai Levinson and Ofra Keder. According to the IDF, [...]

The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision on Friday that retirees are not “qualified persons” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and therefore cannot bring ADA suits over issues that occur in retirement. The appellant in the case, Karyn Stanley, took disability retirement from the fire department in the city of Sanford, Florid, [...]

A layoff notice was served to 639 employees at Voice of America and its parent organisation, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), on Friday. The announcement brought the total number of employees eliminated at Voice of America and the US Agency for Global Media to 1400, which is an 85 percent reduction in personnel [...]

The UK’s lower chamber of Parliament, the House of Commons, on Friday voted to pass a landmark bill on assisted dying for terminally ill people, advancing it to the House of Lords for review. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, proposed by the Labour Party’s Kim Leadbeater, had been debated by Members of [...]

A UN expert on Friday urged governments worldwide to strengthen protections for migrants, warning that thousands face the risk of enforced disappearance each year. In a recent statement, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants Gehad Madi highlighted migrants’ vulnerability to enforced disappearance. According to guidelines published by the International Committee of the Red [...]

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that American planes targeted and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, declaring that “now is the time for peace.” Warplanes struck nuclear sites at Fordow, Nantaz, and Esfahan, with a “full payload” of bombs dropped at the primary target in Fordow. Trump said that the planes then evacuated Iranian [...]

The Government of Panama declared a state of emergency in “the entire province of Bocas del Toro” on Friday, in an ad hoc cabinet meeting, in the background of escalating civil unrest opposing Law 462, implemented on March 18 to reform the social security system. The declaration temporarily suspends constitutional rights, among other things, leading to the suspension [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor on Friday urged authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights defenders, after concluding her visit to the country. In her statement, Lawlor called for authorities to ensure accountability and “tackle negative narratives” against human rights [...]