The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy disclosed on Friday that Tehran police authorities have detained Italian journalist Cecilia Sala since December 19. Under instructions from Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Italian diplomatic officials have been monitoring Sala’s detention in Evin prison while working with Iranian authorities to clarify her legal situation. Italian Ambassador Paola Amadei [...]
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a climate change bill into law, empowering the state government to levy heavy fines on fossil fuel companies. The fines will go to a “superfund” that pays for addressing environmental damages caused by human-driven climate change. The Climate Change Superfund Act creates a climate adaptation cost recovery [...]
The US Congress on Thursday failed to pass a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act (NKHRA). The NKHRA reauthorization bill seeks to renew funding for humanitarian efforts in North Korea and reaffirms the key purposes of the law. Apart from renewing the funding, the reauthorization bill also criticizes the executive branch’s [...]
The European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs condemned the deliberate destruction of electricity and data cables in the Baltic Sea, in a joint statement issued on Friday. Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, described this incident as part of a disturbing trend of attacks on infrastructure linked to Russia’s [...]
Syria’s new revolutionary authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, a high-ranking military official accused of ordering mass executions at the notorious Sednaya prison during the regime of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Kanjo was responsible for the executions of thousands of young Syrian [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday condemned the recent escalation of violence between Yemen and Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least three people and injured dozens. New Israeli airstrikes targeted critical civilian infrastructure, including Red Sea ports, power stations, and Sana’a International Airport. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was [...]
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday called on the Chinese government to immediately release Liu Hanbin, a blogger who has been detained for one month following his publication of information regarding a protest by farmers against forced land seizures. RSF’s Asia-Pacific bureau director Cédric Alviani stated: Chinese blogger Liu Hanbin was only serving the public [...]
China imposed sanctions on seven US military firms and their executives on Friday following a recent US arms sale to Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that it froze the sanctioned firms’ and executives’ assets that were located within Chinese jurisdiction. The ministry also prohibited all Chinese organizations and individuals from engaging in any transactions [...]
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday urged Israel to promptly withdraw from southern Lebanon, citing violations of a November 27 ceasefire agreement with the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. In a statement posted on both X and Telegram, UNIFIL stated: “Any actions that risk the fragile cessation of hostilities must cease.” [...]
South Korea’s National Assembly voted on Friday to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo, intensifying the political turmoil that has gripped the country since the impeachment of his predecessor, President Yoon Suk Yeol. The National Assembly unanimously approved the impeachment, with all 192 lawmakers supporting the motion. Members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted [...]
