World News in Brief: Justice for Yazidis, South Sudan abductions, food prices hold steady

The Commission said that survivors and victims of Yazidi genocide and ISIL crimes, as well as women and children held solely for their perceived affiliation to ISIL, should be immediately released from unlawful detention in northeast Syria and repatriated where possible and supported to rebuild their lives. “Captured Yazidi women, girls, and boys, survivors and […]

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Israel: Amid reports of torture inside jails, rights experts call for end to impunity

“Israel’s widespread and systemic abuse of Palestinians in detention and arbitrary arrest practices over decades, coupled with the absence of any restraints by the Israeli State since 7 October 2023, paint a shocking picture enabled by absolute impunity,” the experts said. Call for international observers “What is required now is nothing short of an independent, international […]

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Bangladesh: UN urges peaceful transition as PM resigns and flees the country

Secretary-General António Guterres “continues to closely follow developments in the country,” UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said in a statement. “He urges calm and restraint by all sides and emphasizes the importance of a peaceful, orderly and democratic transition,” he added. The UN chief also expressed “full solidarity with the people of Bangladesh” and called […]

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Historic first medal for Refugee Olympic Team

The 25-year-old was the first boxer to qualify for the Refugee Olympic Team, and now she is slated to win gold, silver or bronze later in the week, after her contest against France’s Davina Michel in the 75-kilo category. “I want to say to refugees all around the world, [including] refugees who are not athletes around […]

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Shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop: UN rights chief

More than 80 people, including at least 13 police personnel, are said to have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to media reports. Authorities have imposed a curfew and restricted internet access. A police station in Sirajganj district, about 100 kilometres (62.5 miles) northwest of the capital, Dhaka, was also attacked. […]

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10th Anniversary of ISIS’s Genocide Against Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims

Today we remember the victims and honor the strength of the survivors of ISIS’s genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing against Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. We also remember the Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities who were victims of ISIS crimes. ISIS killed and enslaved thousands of Yezidis. Over 2,600 Yezidi women and […]

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US-Russia prisoner swap ‘an unprecedented diplomatic act’, rights expert says

More than 20 people were released, including journalists, human rights defenders and dissidents. Among them were American Evan Gershkovich, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal;  Alsu Kurmasheva a Radio Liberty journalist who holds US citizenship, and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British activist and journalist, who were all freed from Russian prisons. […]

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Fight bigotry whenever and wherever it appears, UN chief declares

On the night of 2 August 1944, the last 4,300 Roma and Sinti in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were murdered by the Nazi forces, despite their fierce resistance. That marked the killing of more than 500,000 members of the community, representing at least a quarter of their total population at the time. The Nazis’s genocidal […]

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EU mobilises aid to combat wildfires in North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated this week for the wildfires burning across southeastern Europe.  Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “In the constant fight against wildfires, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism responded immediately. I am grateful to the Member States that sent assistance – this is EU solidarity in practice!” Following a […]

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Nepal Supreme Court Rules Trans Woman Is a Woman

The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled that Rukshana Kapali, a transgender woman, should be legally recognized on all documents as a woman without having to submit to medical verification. The judgment is the latest in the court’s history of progressive rulings on sexual orientation and gender identity, which has earned Nepal a positive global reputation on […]

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