A protester waves a fan while standing in front of a California National Guard outside the North Los Angeles Federal Building during a "No Kings" protest in response to a series of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, 14 June 2025. (Keystone/Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

👁️US placed on rights watchlist over health of its civil society under Trump. Human rights NGO Civicus rated civic space in the United States as “narrowed”, faulting Washington for its use of the military to repress protests, rising restrictions on journalists and civil society and its targeting of pro-Palestinian advocates.

🙅🏻‍♂️PR firm working for Shell wins Cop30 media contract. The host of this year’s UN climate conference hired comms giant Edelman and the same executive working with Shell in Brazil to craft its strategic narrative. The selection process, vetted by the United Nations Development Programme, has sparked criticism from climate activists.

📢UK move to recognise Palestinian state is a diplomatic crowbar to revive peace process. Following in France’s steps, prime minister Kier Starmer said the recognition would be made during the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel made “substantive steps” to end the situation in Gaza, agree on a ceasefire and commit to peace to revive the two-state solution.

🪪Sanctioned Russians in Geneva: who are they and why can they enter Switzerland? Critics say the large delegation of Russian MPs attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s summit in Geneva risks normalising the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

🛏️UN holds emergency talks over sky-high costs for Cop30 climate summit. Some delegations say they may pare down their presence due to the exorbitant accommodation pricing in the Amazonian city of Belém.