German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called a meeting with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and several European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in Berlin. Zelensky will be present at the meeting and is scheduled to brief reporters later on his expected participation.
The Trump administration has shifted its approach to promoting democracy and human rights, viewing it as interference in another country's affairs. This is evident in its selective criticism of countries such as Romania, Germany, and France, where officials have denounced the suppression of right-wing leaders. The State Department's Human Rights Report, which has been a reference point for global rights advocacy, was revamped after hundreds of employees were fired from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour. This year's report criticized courts in Brazil for undermining freedom of speech, particularly against supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly conspiring to overturn his loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The report also highlighted worsening human rights conditions in South Africa, where the Trump administration has accused the government of racial discrimination towards Afrikaners.
The Indonesian Consul General in Cape Town, Tudiono, opened a BIPA (Bridging Indonesia and the Pacific) class at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in South Africa, highlighting the language's role in diplomacy and friendship. The program aims to improve Indonesian language proficiency among enthusiasts, the diaspora, and the international community, with the goal of strengthening its use in international diplomacy. Tudiono believes that learning Indonesian can facilitate communication with five countries, including Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, and has been taught in Australia since 1986.
Bangladeshi anti-corruption officials have testified against former British anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, who is Sheikh Hasina's niece, accusing her of using a family connection to obtain state-owned land in Bangladesh. Siddiq resigned from her post after reports emerged that she lived in London properties linked to her aunt and was named in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh. She is being tried with her mother, brother, and sister, who are also facing charges related to the receipt of state land in a township project near Dhaka.
The proposed peace treaty includes several key conditions to address human rights concerns in Ukraine. These include the release of individuals subjected to political persecution, those falsely accused of treason under Ukrainian law, and an end to forced mobilization and persecution of Orthodox Christians. The treaty also calls for the cancellation of sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council on all Ukrainian citizens, regardless of nationality, and guarantees equal access to voting rights for anyone with a Ukrainian passport.
The United Nations has condemned Israel over alleged human rights abuses, with Secretary-General António Guterres accusing the country of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape and sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. The allegations include genital violence, prolonged forced nudity, and repeated strip searches conducted in an abusive manner. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has dismissed the accusations as
UN investigators have recorded "systematic" torture in Myanmar's military-run detention facilities, including beatings, electric shocks, and gang rape. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) has identified "serious abuses during interrogations and in detention facilities", with evidence of children as young as 2 being detained and subjected to torture or ill-treatment. The IIMM chief, Nicholas Koumjian, said the organisation is working towards holding perpetrators accountable, while the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
The United Nations talks on a landmark treaty to combat plastic pollution have stalled as dozens of countries rejected the latest draft text, citing its lack of legally binding action. Oil-producing states from around the world also criticized the proposal, saying it did not go far enough in reducing the scope of the treaty. The talks chair, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, is under pressure to finalize a deal among the 184 countries gathered in Geneva before the deadline expires on Thursday.
The European Union and the United States are warning Iran that it will face snapback sanctions if it fails to meet its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal by August 2025. The E3 ministers have written a letter to Iran, citing their JCPOA membership as justification for triggering UN snapback measures, which could lead to the reinstatement of US and European sanctions on Iran's uranium enrichment activities.