UN official says Israel ‘consolidating unlawful annexation’ of West Bank | Middle East Eye

The UN human rights chief said on Wednesday that Israel’s expansion of its civilian control in the occupied West Bank would entrench the territory’s integration into Israel and amount to unlawful annexation.

Russia bans WhatsApp, pushes state-backed alternative | Al Jazeera

Russia has blocked messaging service WhatsApp over alleged legal breaches, urging users to switch to a state-backed alternative in what is widely seen as a bid to clamp down on free speech amid the war in Ukraine.

AOC says Cuba blockade part of “new era of depravity” ushered by Gaza genocide | Truthout

As the US’s extremist blockade on Cuba pushes the country to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said that the world has entered a “new era of depravity” in which such actions are ignored by world powers due to the heinous precedent set by the Gaza genocide.

UK and France asylum deal could violate human rights laws, warns UN | The Guardian

The UN has called on the UK and France to halt the controversial “one in, one out” asylum system, warning there could be “serious violations of international human rights law”.

Revealing names and faces of the victims of Iran’s protest crackdown | BBC News

BBC News Persian has verified the identities of more than 200 of the thousands of people killed during Iran’s brutal crackdown on the recent widespread protests.

Activists fear weakening encryption in UK could endanger journalists and dissidents | PoliticsHome

Human rights activists have warned that their work in the UK could be under threat, as ministers press ahead with plans that could allow online platforms to scan private encrypted messages.

Chinese technology underpins Iran’s internet control, report finds | The Guardian

Iran’s architecture of internet control is built on technologies from China, according to an analysis published by a British human rights organisation.

Nigerian court orders UK to pay £420m over 1949 killing of miners | BBC News

A Nigerian court has ordered the British government to pay $27m (£20m) to each of the families of 21 coal miners killed in 1949 by the colonial administration in the south-east of the country.

Swiss to vote in referendum on right-wing party’s proposal to limit population to 10 million | CNN

Switzerland is to hold a landmark vote on a right-wing party’s proposal to restrict the nation’s population to 10 million, amid divisions over immigration. 

Kenyan court charges cult leader Paul Mackenzie over 52 more deaths | Al Jazeera

A Kenyan self-proclaimed preacher and seven others linked to an infamous doomsday cult have been charged over the deaths of dozens of people whose bodies were discovered in shallow graves in southeast Kenya last year.