By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The Thai cargo ship, Mayuree Naree, was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, March 11, 2026. © 2026 Royal Thai Navy via AP Photo Iranian forces appear to have deliberately targeted at least two civilian commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, 2026, which would amount to war crimes. Between March 1 and 17, the UN confirmed 17 incidents of damage to commercial vessels in the region. The attacks, as well as the threat of attacks, also appear to have contributed to significant global cost increases in energy, which may also result…
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Monday, March 23, 2026
Nearly 70 years after South African police fired upon peaceful demonstrators in Sharpeville protesting apartheid-era laws, killing 69, the UN renewed the commitment to work for justice and equality on Monday, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
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By Clarice Tang, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, Victoria University
Air hunger is more than just feeling out of breath. Here’s what causes this distressing sensation – and when to seek help.
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By Juan Zahir Naranjo Cáceres, PhD Candidate, Political Science, International Relations and Constitutional Law, University of the Sunshine Coast
Cubans are suffering through a series of nationwide blackouts as Donald Trump threatens to “take” the country. Here’s what might happen next.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The Thai cargo ship, Mayuree Naree, was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, March 11, 2026. © 2026 Royal Thai Navy via AP Photo Iranian forces appear to have deliberately targeted at least two civilian commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, 2026, which would amount to war crimes. Between March 1 and 17, the UN confirmed 17 incidents of damage to commercial vessels in the region. The attacks, as well as the threat of attacks, also appear to have contributed to significant global cost increases in energy, which may also result…
(Full Story)
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By Jim Salinger, Adjunct Research Fellow, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
After the planet’s 11 hottest years on record, scientists are warning the return of an El Niño climate pattern could push global temperatures even higher.
Today, the World Meteorological Organisation reported that the past decade has been the warmest observed, with rising…
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By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Senior Researcher and Sustainable Future Lead, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University
Yesterday, the Australian federal government released new expectations for data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The message is simple: if companies want faster federal approvals, they must show their projects are in Australia’s national interest, support the clean…
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By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato
The government must weigh complex moral, legal and political questions before committing to any military involvement in defending the Strait of Hormuz.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Osman Kavala © 2017 Private (London, March 24, 2026) – The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights will hear pleadings on March 25, 2026, in a case brought by the human rights defender Osman Kavala, the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project (TLSP), Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists said today. Joint Third Party Intervention in Kavala v Türkiye Kavala has been continuously detained since 2017, despite binding judgments from the court that his detention should end. The three organizations have…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The 2017 trial of human rights lawyer Xie Yang seen on the social media account of the Changshai Intermediate People's Court in Beijing, China, May 8, 2017. © 2017 Ng Han Guan/AP Photo (New York) – A court in China sentenced the prominent human rights lawyer Xie Yang to five years in prison on March 23, 2026, on politically motivated charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” Human Rights Watch said today. The Chinese government should immediately quash the conviction, which followed serious procedural violations and years of persecution, and free Xie…
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