Former US Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson Sunday stated in an exclusive to CNN that WNBA star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan could be released from Russian detention following meetings he held with senior Russian officials. Richardson visited Russia on behalf of Griner, Whelan and other American detainees in Russia. Richardson [...]

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Sunday encouraged stakeholders in Haiti to put aside differences and to prioritize saving lives. The Secretary-General responded to UN Security Council Resolution 2645 by submitting a letter to the Security Council outlining “options for enhanced security support to Haiti.” Resolution 2645 asked, among other requests, for the Secretary-General [...]

Commonwealth observers in Lesotho Sunday released a statement commending the people of Lesotho for the “calm and peaceful atmosphere” during the nation’s 2022 general elections. The Commonwealth sent a six person team to monitor the polls in Lesotho at the request of Lesotho’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Chairperson of the Commonwealth Observer Group and former [...]

Deputy Minister of Information of Somalia Abdirahman Yusuf Saturday declared a crackdown on media organisations that publish “propaganda” for Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (al-Shabaab). Beginning on October 9, media outlets that disseminate al-Shabaab messages and news will be punished. Yusuf said that broadcasting al-Shabaab attacks will be recognized as a criminal act and declared that there [...]

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, an Iranian human rights group, Saturday said Iranian security forces shot at protesters in at least three cities. The group’s Twitter page follows on-the-ground progress of protests in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini. According to Iran Human Rights, the nationwide protests have resulted in the death of [...]

The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to create a dedicated special rapporteur on human rights in Russia. The resolution was adopted on a vote of 17 in favor, 6 against and 24 abstentions. The Council set up the rapporteur to operate for a year and requested the mandate holder to monitor the situation of human [...]

An Arizona state appeals court Friday blocked enforcement of a 1901 abortion ban, which bans all abortions unless the procedure is necessary to save a pregnant person’s life. Planned Parenthood filed an emergency stay of enforcement of the ban following a September 23 ruling which would have allowed the ban to go into effect. Planned [...]

Uvalde, Texas, school district Friday suspended its police department, nearly five months after the mass shooting of an elementary school where 19 students and two teachers were killed. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s (UCISD) decision to suspend the police department was made in response to the current investigation into the mass shooting. Texas Police Chiefs Association [...]

Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) David Neal Friday filed a motion to dismiss a complaint from the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) regarding a policy restricting their ability to speak at public events. Neal argues that the NAIJ lacks standing and failed to state a plausible claim, and he contends [...]

The central government of India Thursday announced a three-member commission to examine whether Scheduled Caste (SC) status can be extended to groups that claim to historically belong to SC status, but have since converted to other religions. Groups with SC status are have been historically marginalized and discriminated against and are provided reservations in jobs [...]