The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Thursday that the world faces a “new water reality,” announcing its latest report assessing the state of global water resources. Growing numbers around the world would increasingly experience “abnormal water supplies,” especially due to disruption in freshwater resources, including river flows, groundwater and glaciers. The WMO’s report [...]

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday released a 20-page report documenting 1,004 cases of sexual violence committed during Russia’s full-scale armed attack against Ukraine between February 24, 2022, and July 31, 2026. The report, titled Sexual Violence in the Context of the Russian Federation Full-Scale Armed Attack against Ukraine, is based on confidential interviews with [...]

As a physician, I have spent a career on the far side of a fact pattern I did not choose. This is the moment when something prescribed or administered goes wrong inside a body that trusted it not to. I have seen that more than once. It would be more comfortable to cast myself as [...]

There are evenings when I walk through my apartment as if the apartment were a badly designed republic whose entire constitutional order depends upon the imagination of one person, and I take upon myself, with a seriousness that is immediately undermined by the absurdity of the situation, the role of the president of the United [...]

On January 14, 2026, the US Department of State announced that it would suspend immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries beginning one week later. The stated concern was public charge: the State Department described the affected nationalities as at high risk of relying on public benefits. The instructions sent to US embassies and [...]

UN experts on Wednesday raised concern over Meta’s proposed multibillion-dollar settlement with US state attorneys general over alleged harms to children and adolescents, warning that privately negotiated agreements should not replace transparent regulation developed with participation from young people and affected communities. The experts described bringing social-media platform design within accountability mechanisms as a necessary [...]

The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries warned Tuesday that rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies are making it harder to determine who is responsible for human rights abuses linked to mercenary and private military and security operations. In a report presented during the 63rd session of the UN Human [...]

In her State of the Union Address in Strasbourg on Wednesday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the first “associate member” of the European Union (EU). Von der Leyen proposed upgrading the existing Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to an “Alliance for the Future” that would create [...]

Nineteen consumer advocacy organizations sent a letter Wednesday to the National Association of Attorneys General, urging state attorneys general to investigate Zillow, Compass and other major real estate platforms over practices the groups say have made housing less affordable nationwide. The letter, addressed to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong as president of the association, was signed [...]

The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement warned on Thursday that harsh drug laws and policies continue to play a role in systemic racism against “Africans and people of African descent around the world.” They advocated a shift to approaches based on public health and respect for human [...]