UN human rights experts on Aug. 25 condemned what they described as escalating repression against the Khmer Krom people in Vietnam, urging authorities to cease targeting minority communities through security laws, and to release those detained for peaceful activity. The experts reported that Khmer Krom rights defenders, including Theravada Buddhist monks, face systematic harassment and criminalization for peaceful efforts to promote indigenous identity, cultural expression and religious freedom. The experts further condemned government claims that indigenous and minority cultural identity threaten national security and public order.

The Israeli military's extensive destruction of civilian property and agricultural land across southern Lebanon must be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said in a new research briefing released on Aug. 25.

The public prosecutor of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formally requested the death penalty for former president Joseph Kabila on Aug. 22 during proceedings before the High Military Court in Kinshasa. The military auditor general, Lt. Gen. Lucien René Likulia, argued before the court that the former president should face capital punishment for his role in war crimes, including homicide, rape, deportation and torture. Additionally, prosecutors sought a 20-year sentence for condoning war crimes and 15 years for conspiracy, for his role in enabling armed violence in eastern Congo.

UN human rights experts expressed deep concern Aug. 21 over continuing violence against the Druze population in the Suwayda region of Syria. Since the outbreak of fighting in mid-July, the UN experts said they have received reports of "killings, enforced disappearances, abductions, looting, destruction of property, and sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls." The experts especially emphasized the prevalence of gender-based attacks, reporting that an estimated 105 Druze women and girls have been abducted by armed groups in connection with the Syrian interim authorities.

A report released by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) program on Aug. 22 found that a "famine is currently occurring in Gaza Governorate," the district covering Gaza City, and is "rapidly spreading" under seige conditions imposed by Israel. Multiple international aid agencies and organizations have renewed their calls for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate an "unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives."

In Donald Trump's perverse ambition to win the Nobel Peace Prize, he is citing his supposed diplomatic victories in ending six conflicts: Armenia-Azerbaijan, Congo-Rwanda, Israel-Iran, India-Pakistan, Thailand-Cambodia and Egypt-Ethiopia. In Episode 292 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg examines each of these examples, and breaks down how claims to have won "peace" are either extremely overstated or (more often) total Orwellian jive. The implication that Russia-Ukraine will be next, as Putin escalates his aggression, puts a hideous crown on the irony.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen on Aug. 19 announced the opening of a new immigration detention center in the southwest corner of the state. National Guard Maj-Gen. Craig Strong called the move a step in supporting "the president's initiatives for homeland security." The present McCook "Work Ethic Camp," run by the state Corrections Department, will be transformed from a minimum-security facility, and its holding capacity will be expanded from about 185 to approximately 300.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Aug. 15 condemned the five-year prison sentence handed down to Remi Rowhani, a Baha'i religious dignitary, following a months-long trial by Qatari authorities. Rowhani was charged for promoting an ideology that casts doubt on the foundations of Islam, an accusation stemming from several social media posts by members of the Qatari Baha'i community. The court cited article 259 of the Penal Code—which states that whoever casts doubt on the tenets of Islam, or "calls upon, or favors or promotes another religion," faces a maximum of five years in prison.