A UN expert urged states to recognize hostage-taking as a crime against humanity on Thursday. The statement comes as a preparatory committee is drafting a treaty on crimes against humanity. The Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, called on states participating in the negotiations to include hostage-taking as a crime against humanity in the [...]

The European Union (EU) has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization following a violent crackdown on protesters that killed thousands in recent weeks. The designation was adopted by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday, and places the IRGC under the bloc’s terrorism framework. EU officials framed the designation [...]

It has been a month since the internet was cut off in Iran. I know nothing—and it is precisely this not-knowing that allows me to think from multiple positions at once: from myself, from my brother, from my father, and from my mother. Each of us occupies a different role, a different exposure, a different [...]

“I tell you, ye have still chaos in you.” Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra On January 27, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced the hands of its “doomsday clock” to eighty-five seconds before midnight. This unprecedented move signified that the world has never been closer to nuclear war. Ipso facto, there could be no [...]

Editor’s note: This story is part of ongoing coverage of the lead up to Mangione’s trial. Read coverage of federal oral arguments to dismiss Counts Three and Four here. Judge Garnett of the Southern District of New York dismissed Counts Three (murder through use of a firearm) and Four (firearms offense) in US v. Mangione [...]

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Thursday introduced legislation that would make it unlawful for another state to deploy its National Guard in Massachusetts without the governor’s permission. Among the laws introduced, one would keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of local schools, houses of worship, hospitals, and courthouses. The proposed legislation received many statements [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem acted illegally when she ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans and Haitians, effective on April 7, 2025. Noem’s order in April would have vacated a designation for Venezuelans that was set to expire on [...]

Canada’s federal New Democratic Party (NDP), which has the third-largest membership base in federal politics, is facing controversy in its 2026 leadership race after an unelected three-person vetting committee rejected two successive candidates advancing an explicitly anti-war, anti-capitalist platform. The decision has sparked fierce debate about the boundaries of acceptable political discourse within the country’s [...]

The Budapest 5th and 13th District Prosecutor’s Office brought charges Wednesday against the city’s Mayor Gergely Karácsony for organizing last year’s June 28 Pride March that violated a police prohibition order enforcing an anti-LGBTQ+ law passed by Hungary’s national authorities. The charge accused Karácsony of calling on the public to participate in the Pride March [...]

Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta’s tenure as Ghana’s Finance Minister from 2017-2024 was marked by ambitious economic reforms, heavy borrowing, and controversial fiscal policies. Initially celebrated for his financial acumen, he later became the target of fierce criticism as Ghana’s debt crisis deepened. By 2025, his reputation was further complicated by corruption charges filed by Ghana’s [...]