The United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, and several other nations, including France, Germany, and Japan, released a joint statement on Wednesday, urging an end to the “situation between Lebanon and Israel” — a reference to the cross-border conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The coalition of states called for a “diplomatic settlement” to [...]

Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), a Canadian advocacy organization, identified a widening gap between the demand for homes within the Greater Toronto Area and housing starts, with a drop from 2,428 housing start applications in 2021 to 1,225 in 2024, in its report issued on Monday. The report reviewed the number of build [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Wednesday highlighting significant gaps in the comprehensive care framework for individuals with disabilities in Uruguay. According to the HRW report, while Uruguay is a leader in the Americas in integrating personal assistance for people with disabilities into its national care system, significant gaps remain in the provision [...]

In a monumental decision, Canada, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands are set to initiate legal proceedings against the Taliban at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over allegations of gender discrimination and apartheid, the Guardian newspaper reported Wednesday from the UN. This would mark the first instance in which the ICJ, located at The Hague [...]

Members of Russia’s State Duma, the country’s legislative authority consisting of 450 members, adopted a bill Wednesday to ban the adoption of children from the Russian Federation by citizens in countries where gender reassignment is permitted, emphasizing the need to uphold “traditional values.” The bill was approved by an absolute majority of the State Duma [...]

The Thai Royal Gazette announced on Tuesday that Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn has endorsed the Marriage Equality Bill, recognizing same-sex marriage. The bill revises several sections of the Civil and Commercial Code. Amendments to the law employ gender-neutral language and grant LGBTQ+ couples marriage, child adoption, inheritance and healthcare consent rights. The law will enter [...]

France’s newly appointed interior minister Bruno Retailleau signalled a rightward shift for French interior policy on Monday at his first public speech in office. Addressing police unions at the Cour de l’Hôtel de Beauvau, he vowed to end “illegal” migration and “restore order” in the country. Concerning immigration, the senior senator with The Republicans (Les [...]

A group of South Sudanese lawyers filed a petition on Monday with the Constitutional Court of South Sudan to challenge the decision of the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to extend the transitional period by two years and postpone the general elections from December 2024 to December 2026. Speaking to reporters after submitting the [...]

Non-governmental organizations championed by Human Rights Watch released a letter on Monday addressed to the United Nations-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, urging that the Commission look into the killing of Lebanese civilians, including the journalist Issam Abdallah, by the Israeli military in October 2023. Abdallah was [...]

Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) endorsed an arrest warrant for Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday over the alleged “theft” of a Venezuelan cargo plane confiscated in Buenos Aires and handed over to the United States. On the same day, the Federal Chamber of the City of Buenos Aires ordered the arrest of Venezuelan [...]