What the US can learn from affirmative action at universities in Brazil (theconversation.com)
North Korea Detains U.S. Soldier After Unauthorized Border Crossing (www.nytimes.com)
'All cost, no benefit': Victoria cancels 2026 Commonwealth Games (www.forbes.com.au)
Switzerland fights to contain forest fire near Italy border as winds pick up (ghostarchive.org)
BITSCH, Switzerland, July 18 (Reuters) - Swiss firefighters on Tuesday were battling a forest fire that has forced more than 200 people to evacuate, and authorities warned winds were making the blaze difficult to contain....
Panama Ex-President Martinelli is sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering (apnews.com)
Prosecutors said companies that had won lucrative government contracts during Martinelli’s presidency funneled money to a front company that was then used to purchase the publisher. The transactions involved a complex series of foreign money transfers totally $43 million. The front company collecting the money was called...
‘Haiti is experiencing a brush with famine’: UN slashes food assistance (thehill.com)
A key international aid organization is slashing its food assistance program in Haiti, leaving 100,000 people without food aid they had previously counted on....
Italy's antitrust investigates inflated prices for Colosseum tickets (www.reuters.com)
ROME, July 18 (Reuters) - Italy’s antitrust authorities are going into combat over Rome’s Colosseum, opening an investigation into ticketing operations that have seen tourists paying inflated prices to visit the ancient Roman arena where gladiators once fought....
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court ruled Tuesday that an investigation into the Philippines’ deadly “war on drugs” (www.sandiegouniontribune.com)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court ruled Tuesday that an investigation into the Philippines’ deadly “war on drugs” can resume, rejecting Manila’s objections to the case going ahead at the global court. The court’s investigation was suspended in late 2021 after the Philippines...
Tunisia anti-fake news law criminalises free speech: Legal group (www.aljazeera.com)
Tunis, Tunisia – A leading human rights group has slammed the use of a Tunisian law criminalising the spreading of “fake news” to stifle free speech in the country....
Egypt jails rights researcher Patrick Zaki for 3 years, NGO says (www.aljazeera.com)
An Egyptian court has sentenced Patrick Zaki, a rights researcher who had been studying in Italy and was accused of spreading false news, to three years in jail, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said....
Romanian court rules to keep Andrew Tate under house arrest as human trafficking case continues (www.ctvnews.ca)
DeSantis: Biden Needs to 'Butt Out' on Judicial Overhaul, Let Israel Govern Itself (archive.ph)
US soldier held in North Korea after crossing demilitarized zone - BBC News (www.bbc.com)
US nuclear missile submarine visits S.Korea as allies talk war planning (www.reuters.com)
Australia pulls out of hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games due to ballooning costs (www.upi.com)
Henry Kissinger meets China’s defence minister in surprise visit to Beijing (www.theguardian.com)
Afghanistan: Children are the main victims of unexploded and abandoned weapons - Afghanistan (reliefweb.int)
EU to give Tunisia €1bn to fight trafficking and prop up ailing economy - Von der Leyen to return with Italian and Dutch PMs despite warnings over ‘breakdown’ of democracy under Saied (www.theguardian.com)
A forensic investigation finds a site that doxxes Hong Kong activists and journalists is likely backed by Beijing (globalvoices.org)
Are weapons sent to Ukraine ending up in the hands of drug cartels? (www.euronews.com)
'Sexist' remarks land Italian swim commentators in hot water (www.euronews.com)
Thailand: Drop ‘insulting the monarchy’ charge against child protester involved in mock fashion show (www.amnesty.org)
US national held after crossing into N Korea (www.bbc.com)
World Bank chief warns mistrust splitting Global South and West (www.aljazeera.com)
The new head of the World Bank has warned that growing divides between rich and poor nations risk deepening poverty in the developing world, at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in India....