China’s government released a report on Monday that claims a grounded Philippines warship at Second Thomas Shoal caused extensive damage to the shoal’s coral reef ecosystem. China claims a significant portion of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, including the Second Thomas Shoal. The report, authored by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, claims that [...]

A Russian military court on Monday convicted and sentenced a playwright and a director to 6 years in jail over a play that allegedly justifies terrorism. The judge found director Yevgeniya Berkovich and writer Svetlana Petriychuk, who had been in pre-trial detention since May 2023, guilty under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian [...]

The UN Security Council unanimously voted on Monday to extend the mandate of the body monitoring the ceasefire agreement in Yemen’s Al Hudaydah Governorate, the United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA). The Security Council adopted Resolution 2742 (2024), allowing the mission to act until July 14, 2025. With the new resolution, it [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International plus other NGOs signed a joint statement Monday urging the European Union (EU) and its member states to “safeguard the right to territorial asylum in Europe.” The statement refers to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and emphasizes EU member states’ responsibility under Article 18, which guarantees the right [...]

The Archbishop of Canterbury on Monday joined Archbishop Hosam Naoum in protesting the closure of a hospital in Gaza and an attack on an ambulance vehicle. The Al Ahli Anglican Hospital was compelled to close by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) amidst “escalating military activity.” An ambulance was also fired at while en route to [...]

Gambian lawmakers endorsed recommendations presented by the Joint Committee on Health and Gender on Monday to maintain the country’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in anticipation of an upcoming vote later this month on the potential decriminalization of the practice. The recommendations were adopted with 35 members voting in favor, 17 voting against and [...]

A group of Louisiana families filed a motion for an injunction Monday to stop officials from implementing a law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in the state. Louisiana is set to become the first state to impose such a requirement, though the action has been debated in other [...]

Amnesty International said in a Monday report that the right of peaceful assembly in Europe is increasingly under attack due to state authorities stigmatizing and punishing individuals who organize and participate in peaceful protests. The report’s findings are based on legal regulations of the right to peaceful assembly in 21 European countries, including Austria, Finland, [...]

The Employment Court of New Zealand on Monday ordered the University of Auckland to pay damages of NZ$20,000 for breaching its contractual obligations to protect Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles’s health and safety due to public harassment over her commentary during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Over the course of 2020-2022, Wiles, a microbiologist and science communicator, experienced physical [...]

Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior told the Sindh High Court on Monday that its ban on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) was legitimate in light of national security concerns and that it did not violate Article 19 of the Pakistani Constitution. The Ministry explained to the High Court that X’s presence in Pakistan without [...]