World Briefing Plus: Ballots, Backsliding and Bombardment

From pivotal elections in Thailand, Japan & Bangladesh, to HRW’s warning that global democracy has slid back to 1985 levels - and as Russian strikes again darken Ukraine’s skies, we connect the dots

Police detain an activist outside the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, before lawmakers approved. bill that punishes online searches for information that is deemed ‘extremist,’ in Moscow, July 22, 2025. Credit HRW World Report

Weekend elections in Thailand, Japan and soon Bangladesh unfold against a grim backdrop: Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that a vast majority of humanity now lives under autocracy. According to HRW: democracy is now back to 1985 levels - with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under autocracy. Russia and China are less free today than 20 years ago. And so is the United States.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to endure renewed Russian strikes on power and industry. HRW said: “In Ukraine, Trump’s peace efforts have consistently downplayed Russia’s responsibility for serious violations. These include indiscriminate bombing, coercing Ukrainians in occupied areas to serve in the Russian military, systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and the use of quadcopter drones to hunt and kill civilians.”

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