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‘MAHSA’ Act Advances in US Senate

A woman carrying a picture of the Iranian activist Mahsa Amini in Brussels last September (AFP)
A woman carrying a picture of the Iranian activist Mahsa Amini in Brussels last September (AFP)
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‘MAHSA’ Act Advances in US Senate

A woman carrying a picture of the Iranian activist Mahsa Amini in Brussels last September (AFP)
A woman carrying a picture of the Iranian activist Mahsa Amini in Brussels last September (AFP)

After more than 7 months of approval in the House of Representatives, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced it will discuss the Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) on April 16.

The bipartisan legislation passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming majority in September 2023, but has not yet been moved forward for a vote in the Senate.

It is named after the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl whose death in police custody in September 2022 sparked country-wide protests, challenging the Iranian regime like never before.

Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin decided to put the bill on the agenda after previously holding back.

This move was welcomed by supporters of the bill, like Republican Representative Jim Banks, who urged for its vote to honor Amini’s memory and hold Iran accountable for human rights abuses.

Banks urged Chuck Schumer, the current Senate majority leader, to put the bill to vote in the Senate.

In a post on “X,” he highlighted two main points: the sanctions mentioned in the legislation and the upcoming steps and challenges.

The MAHSA Act, passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives with 410 votes, urges the US government to impose sanctions on top Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, for human rights violations and supporting terrorism.

The bill requires the Biden administration to impose these sanctions within 90 days and freeze the assets of Iranian officials involved in human rights abuses.

Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul criticized the Biden administration for not applying existing sanction laws against Iranian officials despite their roles in human rights violations.

He also accused the administration of pursuing a political agenda in dealing with Iran, cautioning against sacrificing the Iranian people’s interests for a flawed nuclear deal.

These criticisms have raised doubts about the Biden administration’s willingness to sign such legislation.

Banks urged Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to put the bill to a vote in the Senate.

While its discussion in the committee is important for party unity, it doesn’t guarantee a vote. The final decision rests with Schumer, who hasn’t revealed his stance yet.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee may propose amendments during the expected debate on the bill. This means the final version will differ from the House's.

Hence, the House will need to vote again to align the text before sending it to the White House for the President’s signature.

Additionally, the committee will discuss two more bills to impose extra sanctions on Iran: one targeting the oil sector and the other aimed at the drone and missile program and its exporters.

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World

Lavrov Says Russia Ready to Resume Talks with Ukraine from Point Where They Left Off

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with Madagascar's Foreign Minister following their talks in Moscow on June 19, 2026. (Sergei Ilnitsky / Pool / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with Madagascar's Foreign Minister following their talks in Moscow on June 19, 2026. (Sergei Ilnitsky / Pool / AFP)
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Lavrov Says Russia Ready to Resume Talks with Ukraine from Point Where They Left Off

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with Madagascar's Foreign Minister following their talks in Moscow on June 19, 2026. (Sergei Ilnitsky / Pool / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with Madagascar's Foreign Minister following their talks in Moscow on June 19, 2026. (Sergei Ilnitsky / Pool / AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia was ready to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine from the point where they left off.

"We are ready ‌to talk ‌with Kyiv, ‌as ⁠we have always ⁠been," Lavrov told reporters, referring to talks that took place in Istanbul soon after the start ⁠of the war in ‌2022 ‌and were resumed in 2025.

However, ‌he did not ‌signal any shift in Moscow's demand, rejected by Kyiv, for Ukraine to ‌surrender the remaining part of the Donbas region ⁠that ⁠it has successfully defended from Russian forces.

The last US-mediated peace talks took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran.

World

Armed Group in Nigeria Kills at Least 20 People and Exchanges Gunfire with Police

Security personnel stand guard near Eagle Square during a Democracy Day protest in Abuja, Nigeria, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/ Marvellous Durowaiye
Security personnel stand guard near Eagle Square during a Democracy Day protest in Abuja, Nigeria, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/ Marvellous Durowaiye
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Armed Group in Nigeria Kills at Least 20 People and Exchanges Gunfire with Police

Security personnel stand guard near Eagle Square during a Democracy Day protest in Abuja, Nigeria, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/ Marvellous Durowaiye
Security personnel stand guard near Eagle Square during a Democracy Day protest in Abuja, Nigeria, June 12, 2026. REUTERS/ Marvellous Durowaiye

An armed group killed at least 20 people in a community located in the north-central region of Nigeria, police said Monday.

The attack occurred Sunday in the Kawel community located in the Bokkos area of Plateau State, The Associated Press quoted police spokesman Alfred Alabo as saying in a statement.

Police officers quickly arrived at the scene and exchanged gunfire with the assailants, forcing them to retreat, Alabo said. No arrests were reported.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in a region that has experienced a recurring pattern of violence.

“The remains of the victims have since been released to their families for burial, as the families declined autopsy,” Alabo said.

Plateau State Gov. Caleb Mutfwang instructed the government's emergency management and humanitarian agencies to provide immediate relief and support to victims and families, spokesperson Joyce Ramnap said in a statement.

An insurgency in northeastern Nigeria has killed thousands of people and displaced millions over the years, according to the United Nations. Armed gangs are also active in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.

A nighttime attack in March, killed 20 people in Gari Ya Waye community in Plateau.

World

Afghan Taliban to Hold Rare, Closed-door Talks with EU Officials on Deportations

Taliban administrative staff use feature phones at the Department of Information and Culture building in Kandahar on June 22, 2026. (Photo by Sanaullah SEIAM / AFP)
Taliban administrative staff use feature phones at the Department of Information and Culture building in Kandahar on June 22, 2026. (Photo by Sanaullah SEIAM / AFP)
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Afghan Taliban to Hold Rare, Closed-door Talks with EU Officials on Deportations

Taliban administrative staff use feature phones at the Department of Information and Culture building in Kandahar on June 22, 2026. (Photo by Sanaullah SEIAM / AFP)
Taliban administrative staff use feature phones at the Department of Information and Culture building in Kandahar on June 22, 2026. (Photo by Sanaullah SEIAM / AFP)

A delegation from the Afghan Taliban is traveling to Brussels on Tuesday for closed-door talks with European Union staff, expected to focus on deportations, said a Taliban official. 

Afghans make up one of the largest groups of migrants seeking asylum in the European Union, but a growing number of governments in the 27-nation bloc want to speed up and increase deportations for those whose claims are rejected or who commit crimes in their host countries. 

Afghan authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on rights, particularly for women and girls, since the Taliban seized power in the country in 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal of US-led forces. 

Rights groups said Tuesday's meeting undercuts the EU’s human rights obligations and could endanger people in Europe and Afghanistan. 

“Any engagement with the Taliban needs to prioritize protecting human rights and accountability — not deporting people to danger there,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “EU countries are undermining their credibility by condemning Taliban abuses and pursuing accountability on one hand, while cooperating with the Taliban to forcibly return Afghans on the other.” 

With not a single EU nation recognizing the Taliban, the meeting in Brussels symbolizes a small crack in the group’s diplomatic isolation since seizing power five years ago. 

The five-person delegation in Brussels from the Taliban — a government that none of 27 EU nations recognizes — includes Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a New Zealand-born spokesperson for the Taliban’s foreign ministry, said a Taliban official speaking on condition of anonymity. 

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said that while Belgium doesn’t recognize the Taliban, it would comply with EU requests to grant the Taliban visas. 

“Belgium cannot confer legitimacy on a regime accused of serious human rights violations,” he said in a statement referring to Belgium’s hosting of the EU institutions. “Making a meeting possible in the framework of our host-state policy does not amount to recognition, does not amount to legitimacy, and does not constitute an invitation by the Belgian government.” 

Members of the Taliban delegation were issued visas after security screening with limited territorial validity, giving them 24 hours in Belgium and no access to other countries in the Schengen border-free travel zone. 

Since neither Belgium nor the EU officially recognizes the Taliban government, the meeting will not take place on official buildings or sites belonging to either. The European Commission has declined repeated requests to provide additional information. 

Drive to increase deportations  

A spokesperson for the European Commission said Monday that the meeting is in response to pressure from a clear majority of the 27 EU nations – 20 of whom signed a letter in October calling for stronger migration policies including a ramping up of deportations. 

“They had asked the Commission to coordinate such technical contacts on returns,” said spokesperson Markus Lammert. “Member states are looking into ways to return persons who have committed serious crimes and who are possibly a security threat.” 

The first EU-Taliban meeting was held in Afghanistan in January when the Commission sent a mission to Kabul. It also maintains staff there. 

The October letter was drafted in part by Belgian Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who said then that “we have sent a clear and powerful message to the European Commission: we can no longer afford a standstill. It is high time for a firm and joint approach, so that Europe can regain control over migration and security.” 

Bossuyt said that across the EU, only 2% of the 22,870 Afghans told to return had done so. 

Another Commission spokesperson said the meeting “does not mean by any means recognition.” 

Deteriorating situation in Afghanistan  

Afghanistan has been dealing with the return of about 3 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran in the past year alone, all of whom have pretty much been forcibly repatriated from those two countries, exacerbating a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan, already reeling from food and economic crises including biting sanctions. 

Afghan Taliban authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education beyond primary school and on working in all but very few professions, as well as strict regulations on what women are allowed to wear in public. 

“The desperate scenes of people — including EU staff — fleeing Afghanistan are a recent memory. It is unconscionable that the EU would now try and deport people to Afghanistan, which has only become more dangerous in the meantime,” said Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office. 

Facing political pressure to toughen migration policies across the 27-nation bloc, the EU has recently passed deep reforms to its collective rules aiming to ramp up deportations -- including allowing the setting up of so-called “return hubs,” increased domestic surveillance capabilities, tighter border controls, and engagement with the Taliban government which it does not recognize because of human rights abuse allegations. 

With Afghanistan facing food shortages and economic collapse, the Taliban government is in need of humanitarian aid and hopes to lessen its international economic and political isolation.