Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong Monday announced that Australia is imposing sanctions against Iran over the country’s human rights violations amid ongoing protests against the death of Mahsa Amini. The sanctions will also target Iran’s supply of drones to Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine. Wong said that Australia was applying “targeted financial [...]
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The US military Tuesday announced a Russian fighter jet collided with and downed a US drone over the Black Sea. The US claims Russia downed the drone in international airspace while it was acting in accordance with international law. However, Russia says the drone violated a “temporary airspace regime” established around the Crimean Peninsula following [...]
UN concerned about human rights violations committed through use of counter-terrorism technologies
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Counter-Terrorism, Fionnuala Aoláin, Tuesday expressed concern that digital technologies used to combat terrorism contribute to human rights violations around the world. The expert’s report highlighted several avenues through which counter-terrorism arguments are used to encourage the development and use of biometric [...]
US sanctions nine entities involved in Iran petrochemical and petroleum sales
The US Department of the Treasury Thursday announced sanctions against nine entities involved in the production, sale and shipment of millions of dollars worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum. The action targets entities across multiple jurisdictions, including six Iranian manufacturers and their subsidiaries and three companies in Malaysia and Singapore. Under Secretary of the Treasury [...]
US sanctions Iranian executives for supplying drones to Russia
The US Friday sanctioned executives and board members of Qods Aviation industries (QAI) for supplying Russia with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The sanctions are pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13382. This Bush Administration EO gives the Department of the Treasury the authority to block property belonging to proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. The sanctions [...]
New York Times releases redacted US military report on failed Afghanistan drone strike
The New York Times released an article on Friday containing a half-complete document from US Central Command which investigated a failed drone strike in Afghanistan. 66 pages of the unclassified document were released to the New York Times, containing redactions, after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. The investigation was instigated shortly after the drone [...]
Ukraine dismisses Russia call for Orthodox Christmas ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday ordered a 36-hour ceasefire to allow Russian Orthodox Christians to attend church services around their traditional Christmas. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the call, saying, “the war will be over when your soldiers either leave or we drive them out.” If accepted, the ceasefire would have been the first major [...]
Iran blacklists 60 US officials for the 2020 assassination of top Iran military commander
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Monday said in an interview with Iranian state TV that 60 US officials allegedly involved in the 2020 assassination of General Qasem Soleimani have been placed on Tehran’s terrorist blacklist. Abdollahian said the country was exhausting all possible legal and diplomatic channels to prosecute those involved in the general’s assassination. [...]
UK sanctions Russia commanders, Iran businessmen following strikes on Ukraine territory
The UK Wednesday announced 16 new sanctions against Russian commanders and Iranian businessmen in response to missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. The sanctions are in response to the continuing Russian occupation and seizure of Ukrainian territory. The new sanctions target 12 Russian commanders, 3 Iranian businessmen and an Iranian business for the [...]
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) Monday published a report detailing the increased usage of drones by New York government agencies and called for reform and civilian protections. According to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, 200 drones manufactured by a company which enables human rights abuses have been registered [...]