By Hugo Temby, Research fellow, Australian National University
Joel Nilon, Senior Pacific Fellow, Australian National University
The past five years have not been easy for the people of the Pacific. COVID restrictions disrupted tourism and upended supply chains, while global fuel shocks raised prices and hit island economies hard.
The region relies on expensive imports of fossil fuels, as domestic sources are largely lacking. Some nations spend
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Syrian government forces in the western city of Latakia, Syria, on March 9, 2025. © 2025 OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images (Beirut) – Demonstrations demanding accountability for Assad-era crimes in Syria have coincided with a rise in vigilante attacks and identity-based incitement between June 13 and 17, 2026, Human Rights Watch said today.The protests spread across Aleppo, Idlib, Deir Ezzor, Raqqa, and Damascus governorates. Syrian authorities should ensure that security forces protect people accused of ties to the former government from mob justice.“Massacres…
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By Amnesty International
Amnesty International urges the European Union (EU) institutions and member states to abandon Afghanistan deportation plans and end any readmission cooperation with Taliban de facto authorities. Afghanistan cannot in any way be considered safe for returns, and this approach will put the lives of returnees at risk, as repeatedly noted by several UN bodies. The European Commission recently invited Taliban authorities to Brussels to discuss the deportation of Afghan nationals. This meeting, which is expected to take place imminently according to media reports, follows a push […] The post…
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By Amnesty International
Saudi Arabian authorities have executed nearly 100 people so far this year, including at least 61 for drug-related offences, the latest of which was on 18 June. In response, Dana Ahmed, Middle East Researcher at Amnesty International, said today: “It is halfway through the year and Saudi Arabia has executed nearly 100 people, a grim […] The post Saudi Arabia: Almost 100 people executed so far this year as dozens more remain on death row for drug-related offences appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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Monday, June 22, 2026
As artificial intelligence reshapes how people work, communicate and access information, UN Women warned on Monday that the technology is reproducing old gender stereotypes, which amplify online abuse and leave women out of the decisions that will define the digital future.
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Monday, June 22, 2026
A decline in humanitarian assistance is worsening the suffering of millions of people in Myanmar after five years of conflict-related violence, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Monday.
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By Oiwan Lam
Global Voices conducted a face-to-face interview with a local LGBTQ+ activist, Peregrine (a pseudonym), who discussed the challenges they faced, their survival strategies, and their hopes for the future.
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By Rohan McWilliam, Professor of Modern British History, Anglia Ruskin University
On the gloriously sunny morning of July 5 2024, Keir Starmer walked into Downing Steet as prime minister for the first time, having won a stonking 174-strong majority in the general election the day before. On a similarly warm morning a little less than two years later, he has been forced to stand outside Number 10 and announce his resignation. How did it come to this?
The resignation speech, marked with pathos and dignity, was particularly surprising because, as the prime minister made clear,…
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By Stacy Olive Jarvis, PhD Candidate in in Musicology, University of Birmingham
Dragons may be fictional, but the struggle for the throne, influence and legitimacy in House of the Dragons has roots in conflicts that shaped real history.
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By Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, Boise State University
In President Donald Trump’s public language, Congress rarely appears as a coequal branch of government. It appears as an obstacle, an audience, a pressure point, a rubber stamp or an afterthought.
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