Articles Tagged with United Nations

Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón on Sunday signed into law Senate Bill 63 (SB 63), a measure that modifies public records request procedures in the US territory.  SB 63 amends the territory’s 2019 Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act, which is similar to the US Freedom of Information Act. Under the [...]

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Chmee2, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The US Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear a case challenging the federal illegality of marijuana. The case, Canna Provisions v. Bondi, was brought by four Massachusetts commercial cannabis growers. The businesses alleged that the Controlled Substances Act exceeds the powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause and violates the right to [...]

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Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons / “Norderney, Tonnenleger "Norden" -- 2025 -- 9137” / CC BY-SA 4.0
For print products: Dietmar Rabich / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norderney,_Tonnenleger_%22Norden%22_--_2025_--_9137.jpg / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

UN experts said Monday that Norway’s decision to stop issuing deep-sea mining licenses until at least the end of 2029, and to withhold all public funds for such activities, marks a major advance for ocean protection, environmental integrity, the cultural identity of Indigenous peoples, and human rights. The statement from a group of UN Special [...]

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FBenjr123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Human Rights Watch said Monday that the Israel’s repeated attacks on reconstruction-related equipment and other civilian facilities in southern Lebanon throughout 2025 constitute war crimes. The extensive report documented four specific strikes between August and October that killed three civilians and destroyed over 360 pieces of heavy machinery and a major cement factory. The attacks [...]

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Noah Wulf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Australian authorities announced on Monday plans to heighten firearms restrictions after two gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, a mass shooting national authorities have called “an act of pure evil, an act of terror, an act of antisemitism.”  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement following a National Security [...]

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U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Human Rights Watch said on Monday that the M23 armed group and allied Rwandan forces that captured the city of Uvira in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on December 10 have put civilians at grave risk of abuse. The warning followed the fall of Uvira, South Kivu province, in a joint offensive that [...]

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A three-judge panel of Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance on Monday found media tycoon and pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper founder Jimmy Lai guilty on sedition and national security charges. These include conspiracy to publish seditious material and two counts of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security. [...]

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Joe Gratz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) released its annual report Monday, finding that, while the number of executions in the US increased last year, the number of new death sentences decreased. The following is an overview of the report’s key findings. Death Sentences Decline, Executions Rise The report drew a contrast between new death sentences [...]

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Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

UN experts expressed concern on Monday about legislative and administrative measures taken by the Estonian state against the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (EOCC), stating that these actions may amount to impermissible restrictions on minority rights and freedom of religion or belief. The warning was issued by a group of UN Special Rapporteurs, who highlighted a series of [...]

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Democfest, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese deemed a mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney a “terrorist incident” on Sunday after the attack left 15 dead, as well as one of the shooting’s two perpetrators. The other shooter has been taken into custody, according to New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns. NSW Police reported [...]

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