Lebanon explosions ‘almost certainly criminal’, says human rights lawyer | Channel 4 News

Channel 4 speaks to leading human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice, who led the prosecution of the former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Hong Kong: First person sentenced under new security law | DW

A Hong Kong man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison, making him the first person to be convicted under a strict new national security law.

Mexico to launch ‘impossible’ process to elect 7,000 judges | FT

When Mexicans arrive at voting booths next year to elect their judges for the first time, they face a unique and daunting task.

Trans woman killed in Georgia day after anti-LGBT law passed | BBC News

One of Georgia’s most well-known transgender women has been killed in her home, a day after the country’s parliament passed a major anti-LGBT bill.

Dozens of families file $500m lawsuit against Syria for alleged assistance to Hamas, 7 October operation | Middle East Monitor

American-Israeli families have filed a $500 million lawsuit against the Syrian government, accusing it of financing, arming and providing material support to Palestinian Resistance group, Hamas.

UN overwhelmingly backs Palestinian resolution to end Israeli occupation | Middle East Eye

A majority of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly has voted in favour of a Palestinian resolution demanding an end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the occupied West Bank within a year.

The brutal truth behind Italy’s migrant reduction: beatings and rape by EU-funded forces in Tunisia | The Guardian

Keir Starmer says he wants to learn from Italy’s ‘dramatic’ statistics. But a Guardian investigation reveals that EU money goes to officers who are involved in shocking abuse, leaving people to die in the desert and colluding with smugglers.

Iran executed nearly 1,500 since 2022 protests began – rights group | Iran International

At least 1,425 people have been executed in Iran since Mahsa Amini’s death in custody sparked a nationwide protest movement in September 2022, a new report by Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization said.

UN reports continued deterioration of human rights in Russia | JURIST

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has highlighted the ongoing deterioration of human rights in Russia in a new report.

Jailed Cuban dissident leader wins Norwegian human rights award | NBC News

A Norwegian human rights foundation has given its annual prize to jailed Cuban dissident leader Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara for his “fearless opposition to authoritarianism through art”.