On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court heard a challenge brought by parents arguing that a Maryland School Board violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by not allowing children to opt out of exposure to books that portray gay, lesbian and trans folks as worthy of dignity and equality. There are numerous complex legal doctrines [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday warned that the latest wave of threats on journalists and media outlets in Indonesia has escalated, leading to a severe impact on press freedom across the country. According to HRW, these actions are against the fundamental principle of democracy and have led to nationwide outrage, with journalists criticizing the [...]

Two Israeli attacks in Lebanon between September and November 2024 appear to be indiscriminate attacks against civilians and should be investigated as war crimes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed on Wednesday. HRW states that the two Israeli strikes on the town of Younine are evidence of the failure of Israeli forces to distinguish military targets [...]

Human Rights Watch submitted recommendations on Tuesday to Panama’s Ministry of the Environment regarding a draft executive decree that would regulate national, sectoral and municipal responses to climate change and adaptation, the biodiversity crisis, and the degradation of ecosystems. The submission emphasizes the need for a rights-based approach to planned communities facing climate-related displacement for [...]

Harvard University filed a lawsuit in US federal court on Monday seeking to block the Trump administration’s freeze on more than $2.2 billion in federal research funding to the university, arguing that the government’s action violates its Constitutional rights and undermines the autonomy of higher education institutions. The complaint, filed in US District Court for [...]

Twenty eight students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Florida, and Florida State University (FSU) demanded Monday that Governor Ron DeSantis oppose efforts to lower the state’s minimum age to purchase a firearm after another deadly shooting last week. The letter sent Monday calls for DeSantis to reject attempts in Florida to [...]

The US Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge Monday to an appellate court decision that struck down a Minnesota law prohibiting adults aged 18-20 from obtaining a permit to own guns and carry them in public. Second Amendment Foundation founder and executive vice president Alan M. Gottlieb in a statement: “We are cautiously optimistic [...]

As the Trump administration moves forward with its rapid efforts to deport those immigrants—with or without status—whom it deems dangerous or politically problematic, rights groups and immigration lawyers have repeatedly petitioned US courts to ensure due process for all at risk of deportation. These efforts have created a web of overlapping cases that are shaping [...]

Haiti is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as gang violence intensifies, displacing over 60,000 people in just weeks and pushing the country toward collapse, a United Nations official warned Monday. UN Special Representative María Isabel Salvador told the Security Council that Haiti is “approaching a point of no return.” February and March alone saw over 1,000 [...]

Transnational organized cybercrime groups from East and Southeast Asia are rapidly expanding operations beyond the region, leveraging advanced technologies and strategic relocation to evade growing enforcement pressure, according to a new report published Monday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The report, “Inflection Point: Global Implications of Scam Centres, Underground Banking [...]