United Nations human rights experts on Monday called on Serbia to end the intensifying crackdown on peaceful student demonstrators, urging the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with academic institutions to uphold academic freedom. Experts expressed concern following the Serbian authorities’ targeting of students, educators, human rights activists, and civil society, emphasizing the importance of [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Lebanese authorities on Monday over their continued inaction concerning the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020. The blast, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, killed at least 236 people, injured 7,000, and destroyed large parts of the capital. HRW said authorities have failed to deliver [...]

Texas Democrats in the US on Sunday vacated the state in order to break quorum and prevent a vote on legislation that would allow Republican lawmakers to draw a district map with five new Republican-leaning seats. Many Democratic lawmakers chose to wait out the legislative session in Chicago, due to its party ties. Illinois Governor [...]

Italy’s competition regulator, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), imposed a €1 million fine on fast fashion company Shein on Monday for publishing misleading environmental claims related to the amount of pollution the company produces. The AGCM investigation found that Shein made false claims about the recyclability of its clothing, and that [...]

Former International Criminal Court (ICC) judges on Saturday criticized the handling of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s sexual misconduct case, questioning UN oversight office actions like the public naming of Khan in the complaint and outsourcing investigation work to third parties. Former ICC Judge Cuno Tarfusser, alongside a former judge who remained anonymous, said that Khan [...]

Refugees International on Saturday condemned a new US agreement that diverts funds originally slated for economic development to Costa Rica deportation efforts. The organization denounced the deal as a dangerous extension of “outsourced” immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, claiming it is a “misuse of US funding” and urging authorities to redirect resources towards strengthening [...]

UNICEF warned on Sunday about the severity of the cholera outbreak in Sudan, especially in North Darfur state, calling for immediate action. As of July 30, the total toll of cholera in the wider Darfur region was 2,140 infections and at least 80 deaths. Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative in Sudan, commented: “Despite being preventable and [...]

A new freedom of speech law came into force in the UK on Friday, which seeks to protect free speech in universities. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which received formal approval (or “royal assent”) in May 2023, aims to protect academic freedom. The law specifically focuses on the freedom to “question received [...]

The European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued a landmark ruling Friday that tightens legal requirements for EU member states wishing to designate “safe countries of origin” for accelerated asylum processing. In its decision, the CJEU upheld the legality of expedited asylum procedures in principle but made clear that such classifications must be based on rigorous, [...]

Myanmar’s military courts sentenced 14 individuals to life imprisonment in a series of human trafficking cases involving forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and the production of pornographic content, local media reported Saturday. “The president of the military court has sentenced nine Burmese and five Chinese nationals to life imprisonment for selling Burmese women to Chinese men [...]