JURIST

A US federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to move forward for now with changes to a federal homelessness program, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that had set aside the new funding plan. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit granted the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) request to put the lower court’s decision on hold while HUD appeals.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission in Venezuela stated on Wednesday that despite some limited improvements in the human rights situation in Venezuela, institutions involved in human rights violations and repression remained intact.

Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on Tuesday that the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees cannot install memorials for President Donald J. Trump, or anyone else who is not former President John F. Kennedy, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts without Congress’s approval.

The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus on Tuesday presented a report detailing the weaponization of the nation’s criminal justice system against government dissenters. The experts found violations of several international human rights treaties, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [CAT], the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR], and others.

The global food supply is under threat from laws that criminalize the sale and exchange of peasant seed varieties, a group of UN experts said Wednesday. In their latest report to the Human Rights Council, the UN Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas indicated that almost all of the world’s food comes from seeds and that traditional systems supply 70 to 90 percent of the seeds sown in many countries.

The family of a San Antonio woman who died after allegedly being denied an abortion despite life-threatening pregnancy complications filed suit Tuesday in the District Court of Bexar County, Texas, challenging the state’s abortion bans as unconstitutional and accusing state officials and her health care providers of violating federal law.

Amnesty International named 87 Iranian security and interior ministry officials Wednesday who it says should face criminal investigation forcrimes against humanitycommitted during the 2022 crackdown on the Woman Life Freedom protests, and urged the UN Security Council to refer Iran’s situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) The 1,161-page report, titled “Architects of Atrocities,” documents 377 fatalities among protesters and bystanders between September and December 2022, 56 of...

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran Monday called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and comply with international humanitarian law following reported US airstrikes that killed and injured civilians in southern Iran. The Mission said that two strikes in Hormozgan province raise serious questions about whether the United States took all necessary precautions to protect civilians during military operations.

An Iranian court says that crude removed from the Advantage Sweet has been sold for $36 million to $37 million. The proceeds, held by Iran’s judiciary, are intended to satisfy a damages judgment for 771 Iranians with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) over sanctions-related barriers to medical supplies. The vessel was released in 2024. For purposes of execution, oil has become money; the dispute can now follow the proceeds. The seizure occurred in 2023, before the conflict that began in February 2026.

The Associated Press (AP) on Tuesday sued the Administrative Office of the US Courts, arguing that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c) violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Under Rule 5.2(c), “remote access to electronic files” in an action relating to “an order of removal” or “immigration benefits or detention,” among other actions, is restricted.