By John Calabrese, Assistant Professor of International Relations, American University
Iraq has pursued friendly relations with many countries who are themselves at odds. The strategy has lots of upside for war-torn Iraq – but holds key risks as well.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Minoru Kihara, bows to members of the House of Councilors after lawmakers passed a law prohibiting desecration of the national flag, Tokyo, July 17, 2026. © 2026 Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo (Tokyo) – The Japanese Diet on July 17, 2026, adopted a flag desecration law that criminalizes damaging Japan’s national flag, a violation of the right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner Japan Innovation Party, and three opposition parties supported the bill during…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Displaced Sudanese people who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), walk in the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in western Darfur, on November 3, 2025. © 2025 AFP via Getty Images Congress is currently considering two bills on Sudan: the Preventing External Aggression and Conflict Escalation (PEACE) in Sudan Act of 2026 in the Senate and US Engagement in Sudanese Peace Act in the House of Representatives. These bills contain several positive initiatives but should go further on accountability. Human…
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By Amnesty International
Reacting to a social media video shared with Amnesty International, and confirmed by Mozambican police, showing a plain-clothed police officer shooting a man, later identified to be Narciso Castigo Sambo (also known as Macovo), after he had been subdued by other officers in Xinavane district, Maputo province on 18 July, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for […] The post Mozambique: Authorities must immediately open investigation into summary execution of Narciso Castigo Sambo appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Amnesty International
Reacting to proposed legislation in the Russian Duma that would impose sweeping restrictions on government critics targeted with problematic laws in Russia and living abroad, including the denial of consular services and the blocking of banking and property rights, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “This legislation is a chilling […] The post Russia: Draft law imposing sweeping restrictions on government critics abroad weaponizes punishment to silence dissent appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Marwan El Gaddafi, PhD Candidate in Religious Studies, McMaster University
Québec’s Bill 9 demands the public sphere be free of visible religion, even when expressions of religion take are obligations its adherents cannot set aside.
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By Colleen Murrell, Full Professor in Journalism, Dublin City University
This account of the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency is full of direct quotes from White House insiders.
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By Andrea Loux Jarman, Senior Lecturer in Law, Bournemouth University
Donald Trump recently took to his Truth Social platform to celebrate a Supreme Court judgment. In response to the court’s decision in Trump v Slaughter on June 29, he posted: “90 years of precedent has been COMPLETELY AND UNEQUIVOCALLY OVERRULED, greatly increasing Presidential Power at a time when it is most needed!”
The US president is famously hyperbolic, but this time he did not exaggerate.…
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By Nathan Abrams, Professor of Film Studies, Bangor University
Mamet’s classic play is famous for its macho swagger. A recent production suggests the real subject was always work and power.
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By Despina Alexiadou, Reader at the School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde
The UK’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has appointed John Healey as chancellor of the exchequer. His pick to fill the UK’s top economic post was something of a surprise: if we were to believe the speculation, the choice was between a minister with strong views on the economy – Ed Miliband – and a pragmatist with solid managerial credentials – Shabana Mahmood.
Healey, however, is an MP with cabinet experience – and more of a pragmatist like Mahmood than an ideologue like Miliband.
The role…
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