Free speech

a student stands with her arms crossed in front of a domed building on MIT's campus

On campus, Jewish and Muslim students fear for their safety

Education

A new report finds Jewish and Muslim students “fear personal danger” related to their positions on the war.

vigil with candles

Russian lawyer Alexei Navalny, who was clear-eyed about the dangers in prison, has died

protesters

Israel’s War Cabinet is fracturing as pressure mounts to bring hostages home

Israel-Hamas war
tribal leader

As Israel-Hamas war continues, there are signs of growing sympathy for Hamas in neighboring Jordan 

Israel-Hamas war
Portrait of Alsu Kurmasheva,  a Russian-American journalist, who is wearing a purple sweater.

American journalist detained in Russia

Human rights
Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is pictured in his office in New York, Nov. 29, 2023.

Assassination plot in the US allegedly traces back to Indian govt

On Wednesday, a US federal indictment was unsealed, charging Indian national Nikhil Gupta in a murder-for-hire plot ordered up by an official inside the Indian government for targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual American and Canadian citizen, in New York.

Activists from the Standing Together Movement play drums at a demonstration.

Standing Together leaders discuss attempts to open Jewish-Arab dialogue amid Gaza war

Israel-Hamas war

As political and military leaders negotiate over the fate of civilians on both sides of the war in Gaza, there are Israeli and Palestinian people who are working together to search for common ground. The World’s host Marco Werman had a discussion with two leaders from Standing Together, the largest Jewish-Arab grassroots organization in Israel. They are both Israeli citizens. Sally Abed is Palestinian and lives in Haifa. Alon-Lee Green is Jewish and lives in Tel Aviv.

Hundreds gather at a rally outside New Scotland Yard demanding police to do more to protect London's Jewish citizens.

Jewish London on edge amid spike in antisemitic attacks

Sacred Nation

Police in London report that antisemitic attacks increased by more than 1,350% in the first two weeks of October, amid war between Israel and Hamas. The country’s small, close-knit Jewish community is saying the British government isn’t doing enough to protect them.

Pre-trial detention hearing for RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva started in Kazan, Tatarstan, and was immediately closed for the press. 

Russian American journalist detained in Russia

Human rights

This week, Russian authorities detained Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty news service. The dual US-Russian citizen was accused of failing to register as a foreign agent and collecting information about the Russian military as a “foreign entity.”

gathering of schoolchildren

New Russian high school history textbook blames West for war in Ukraine

Ukraine

This coming school year, high school students in Russia will receive new history textbooks. They offer a rewritten rendition of Russian history that reflects the Kremlin’s narrative about the war in Ukraine. The textbooks are part of a wider effort by the state to tighten control over the flow of information.