From community trust to public safety, law enforcement leaders in Detroit are focusing on what comes next for policing at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) conference.
Palestinian Authority calls the bill a ‘war crime’ against Palestinians, says it breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Rights group B’Tselem pointed out prior to the Knesset’s approval of the bill that the conviction rate for Palestinians tried in military courts is about 96 percent. “In many cases, these convictions are based on ‘confessions’ obtained through pressure and torture during interrogations,” it said in a post on X on Sunday.
“The law is worded in such a way that it targets only Palestinians. And it will turn the killing of Palestinians into an accepted and common tool of punishment through several mechanisms,” said the group. https://aje.news/lzu8nz
By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and The Associated Press – 3/30/2026
“After uprooting Palestinian hamlets, extremist settlers set sights on purge of entire West Bank“
Extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, already at unprecedented levels over the last three years, has reached a new zenith since the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran at the end of February.
Civil rights groups and activists have reported extremely high rates of Jewish extremist attacks since war broke out, with multiple incidents of assault, vandalism, theft, and harassment occurring daily.
This has included intensified violent settler raids into Palestinian towns and villages, as well as the establishment of Jewish settlement outposts in Areas A and B, as part of the grander plan to assert Israeli control over the entire territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. https://www.msn.com/…/after-uprooting…/ar-AA1ZNITt… Story by Jeremy Sharon | The Times of Israel – 3/31/2026
“The bill, which comes into effect as the occupied West Bank experiences a surge in Israeli military and settler violence, was condemned by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom on Sunday.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who championed the death penalty bill, celebrating after the Knesset passed the controversial draft law by raising a bottle of champagne. (Photo: Reuters) https://zeenews.india.com/…/explained-what-is-israel-s…
The United States, Israel, and Argentina were the only three countries that voted against Ghana’s landmark United Nations resolution recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity. – EMTV News
On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution from Ghana declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity.
In total, 123 countries voted in favor and 52 abstained, including the entire European Union, Canada, Australia and Japan. Only three countries voted against the resolution: the United States, Israel, and Argentina.
Ghana spearheaded the resolution, which emphasizes that for 400 years, millions of people were stolen from Africa and forced to endure generations of exploitation with repercussions that continue to this day. The resolution reasons that the transatlantic slave trade constitutes the gravest crime against humanity, given “the definitive break in world history, scale, duration, systemic nature, brutality and enduring consequences that continue to structure the lives of all people through racialized regimes of labour, property and capital.”
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, notified the UN that the country would bring forward the motion in September 2025. The resolution emphasizes that it was not simply cruel individuals at fault, but rather it was an institutionalized architecture of multiple states. Ghana brought the resolution to a vote on March 25, the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Transatlantic Trafficking of Africans.
The resolution affirms the importance of addressing historical wrongs affecting Africans in the diaspora. The resolution supports reparations, calling them a concrete step towards a remedy. This comes following guidance released by the UN Human Rights Office, which released a report in 2023 on how states could address reparations for the descendants of formerly enslaved and colonized people.
Ambassador Dan Negrea, US representative to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) called the resolution highly problematic. He argued that the UN was founded to maintain international peace and security, not “to advance narrow specific interests and agendas.” He affirmed that the United States does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs which were not illegal at the time they occurred.
The vote comes in the context of an international landscape which increasingly acknowledges the historical crimes committed against the peoples of the Global South. In December, leaders from across Africa convened for the Conference on the Crimes of Colonialism in Africa, a step in the African Union’s plan for justice and reparations. In 2024, Human Rights Watch called on European governments to address colonial impacts on people of African descent.
Resolutions adopted by the UNGA are non-binding on member nations, but are persuasive and normally reflect the prevailing international consensus. According to article 18 of the UN Charter, each member state has one vote, and once a two-third majority of member states present and voting vote in favour of a resolution it becomes adopted by the UNGA.
CREDITS:
= PHOTO: Ghana Secures Landmark UN Resolution Declaring Transatlantic Slave Trade a Crime Against Humanity | EMTV NEWS – 3/26/2026
= VIDEO: UN adopts Ghana’s resolution to class slave trade as crime against humanity | Guardian News – 3/25/2026
= NEWS: UN General Assembly adopts resolution condemning the transatlantic slave trade; by Rhys Groen|U. Ottawa Faculty of Law, CA || JURISTnews – 3/26/2026
Known as the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” it is a major Islamic holiday celebrated with special morning prayers, family gatherings, charitable giving, and festive meals.
Dozens of civilians and soldiers have been killed in recent months, as armed gangs raid villages and kidnap civilians. The United States has sent troops to help the Nigerian military’s offensive against criminal groups.
Today, the Department of Justice announced charges against Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi alleging that they attempted to detonate two explosive devices in the vicinity of Gracie Mansion, and that they were acting in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
“This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation—our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant, as they were when these devices were brought to a protest.”
“These men allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in service to ISIS with the hope of exceeding the carnage of the Boston Marathon bombing,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We are tremendously grateful to the brave law enforcement officers who ran into harm’s way to apprehend these individuals and disarm the explosives before anyone was harmed. Thanks to the quick investigative work by federal law enforcement, this Department of Justice will prosecute these men who pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization to the fullest extent.”
“The defendants allegedly support ISIS and tried to follow the path of that deadly group by attempting to detonate explosive devices in a crowd,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI and our partners have no tolerance for terrorist organizations or those inspired by them to engage in attacks. We are committed to stopping acts of violence and will hold accountable those who seek to harm our citizens. I want to commend the brave NYPD officers who took action to prevent injuries or loss of life on the streets of New York.”
“This alleged act of terrorism, including the packing of metal shrapnel into explosive devices, reveal an intent to cause multiple deaths or serious injuries,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “This is a sober reminder of the threat posed by ISIS and its despicable ideology. NSD will continue to use all tools at its disposal to protect this Nation and its people.”
“As alleged, on Saturday, March 7, during a protest taking place outside Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi attempted to detonate two improvised explosive devices amongst the protesters,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Moreover, after being apprehended by NYPD officers, both Balat and Kayumi stated they were aligned with ISIS. Free speech and peaceable assembly are the bedrock of American democracy. Violence is not protected speech, and it’s not protected protest. In New York, violence—particularly acts of terror—will be met with swift justice. This investigation remains ongoing, and we encourage anyone with further information to please contact tips.fbi.gov online or 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
As alleged in the Complaint:
On or about March 7, 2026, a protest called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer” and a counter-protest called “Run Nazis Out of New York City” were held outside of Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, New York. Gracie Mansion is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City.
The homemade devices, which did not explode, were hurled Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islamic demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office. Mamdani and his wife weren’t at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, at the time.
Speaking outside the residence Monday morning, Mamdani said Balat and Kayumi “traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to New York City.”
“They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” the mayor said. “There is video of these two individuals throwing two devices towards the protest. The police department has determined that these were improvised explosive devices, made to injure, maim or worse.
The withdrawals come in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which claims the project violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The OCR launched the investigations last year, arguing that the PhD Project “limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”
In a press release, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon praises the move, referring to it as the “Trump effect.” The leader also claims that eradicating programs that are focused on marginalized communities helps to combat racial discrimination in education.
“We are hopeful that other institutions with similarly discriminatory practices will follow suit, paving the way for a future where we reject judging individuals by the color of their skin and once again embrace the principles of merit, excellence, and opportunity.”
Some educators strongly criticized this move, arguing that it could potentially silence marginalized voices in academia.
“Any time the University of Michigan collaborates with the Trump administration is a day of shame,” Silke-Maria Weineck, University of Michigan Grace Lee Boggs Collegiate Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies, told CBS News.
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