Global human rights deteriorated sharply in 2024, with more than 60% of countries receiving failing grades in an annual watchdog report released Thursday, reflecting what researchers called a “systemic breakdown” in protections for basic freedoms worldwide. The second annual assessment by the Global Rights Project (GRIP) found just 18% of nations achieved A or B [...]

Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) announced on Friday the execution of Rosman bin Abdullah, an individual convicted of drug trafficking. Rosman’s execution is the third in the country in less than two weeks, as the CNB reported the execution of two other individuals convicted of drug possession last Friday. Under Singaporean law, death penalties are administered [...]

Amnesty International on Thursday condemned a Thai court’s dismissal of a spyware misuse lawsuit against NSO Group Technologies, caling the court’s decision an “alarming setback.” The rights group said: The court’s failure to recognize NSO Group’s role in facilitating human rights abuses via the targeting of Thai human rights defenders with Pegasus spyware is deeply [...]

In September, a federal lawsuit settlement forced Florida’s Nassau County public school district to restore 36 books featuring race-related or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) themes to bookshelves. Among the books is the award-winning And Tango Makes Three, which tells the true story of two male penguins who raise a chick together at the Central Park Zoo. [...]

Against the backdrop of abuse-of-power warnings from leading civil rights groups, the US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that, if enacted, would grant the Treasury Secretary the discretion to designate certain nonprofits as “terrorist supporting organizations” and thus strip their tax-exempt status. The so-called Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of US states filed a motion on Wednesday seeking to compel Google to divest its Chrome web browser. The DOJ argued that Google’s control over Chrome has significantly bolstered its monopolistic position in the search-engine market. The department contended that forcing Google to divest Chrome is [...]

Former US Representative Matt Gaetz (FL) withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general on Thursday in the face of considerable Republican opposition in the Senate and pending release of a report from a House Ethics Committee investigation into sex trafficking allegations. Citing meetings with members of the Senate and the uphill battle the nomination [...]

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, restricted the use of gendered bathrooms in the House to biological members of each sex on Wednesday. The measure has triggered anger among legislators and advocates and has once again brought the issues of transgender rights and their inclusion in society to the agenda of [...]

Russia’s upper house of parliament approved two laws on Wednesday that will prohibit the visibility of LGBTQ+ people in media and ban citizens of countries that allow gender transitioning from adopting Russian children. The first law amends Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation to prohibit “propaganda of non-traditional sexual [...]

Human rights organizations on Wednesday urged the government of India to end the prolonged imprisonment of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez. Khurram has been held in custody for three years on charges of terrorism and related offenses, which many believe are unfounded and politically motivated. Khurram is the coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition [...]