The US withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Tuesday on the basis that “continued involvement” is not part of the nation’s interest. The press statement released by the Department of State claimed the decision was a response to UNESCO’s stance on Palestinian statehood in particular. The department stated: UNESCO works [...]

A US federal court on Monday upheld the dismissal of claims brought by US service members and civilians against three major global banks accused of indirectly funding terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. The US Court of Appeals Second Circuit dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiffs failed to “plausibly allege that Defendants are liable [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) requested on Tuesday that Philippine authorities conduct a swift and credible investigation into the killing of veteran broadcaster Erwin Labitad Segovia, who was shot on Monday while riding his motorcycle home after his morning broadcast in Bislig city. According to CPJ, Segovia, also known as “Boy Pana,” is the [...]

UN human rights experts on Monday demanded the Taliban release a British couple who they said have been arbitrarily detained in Afghanistan since February. Experts criticized the couple’s lack of access to effective legal assistance and medical care, severed communication with family members, and deprivation of liberty without due process. They stressed the severity of [...]

Amnesty International stated on Tuesday that the Nepalese government has failed to protect the right to housing, which has resulted in homelessness particularly affecting marginalized groups, particularly Dalit and Indigenous peoples. The organization condemned the repeated forced evictions conducted by the Nepalese authorities and urged the government to implement appropriate safeguards to protect citizens’ right [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) praised the High Court of Malawi’s unanimous decision on Monday to decriminalize the former offense of defamation. CPJ spokesperson Muthoki Mumo said: Malawi’s Constitutional Court has taken a monumental step towards protecting press freedom and affirmed that criticism and dissent are essential to democracy by ruling criminal defamation to [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday reported that Mali’s armed forces and allied Russian mercenaries have carried out numerous “summary executions and enforced disappearances of ethnic Fulani men.” HRW documented that, since January, the Malian army and Wagner Group mercenaries have executed “at least a dozen Fulani men and forcibly disappeared at least 81 men” [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday classified the Kazakhstan Foreign Affairs Ministry’s withholding of accreditation from 16 Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty Kazakh service journalists as a “blatant” attack on independent media. The Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Hugh Walliamson, expressed concern about the evident escalation of stifled independent voices in [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published a report on Monday assessing the state of public media across 27 EU member states, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The report warns of future threat scenarios for independent public media broadcasting as the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) is set to fully come into force on August 8. “Public media must [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called upon the Jordanian government to immediately reverse a policy that mandates displacing a Bedouin community from the Petra area through forcible evictions. Human Rights Watch deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adam Coogle, stated: Jordan can’t claim to protect Petra’s living heritage while sidelining the community that [...]