North Korean defectors describe how K-pop groups like BTS and Blackpink provided hope and freedom through secret listening, despite severe government restrictions on South Korean content.

The White House defended Argentina’s football team’s right to display a banner supporting their territorial claim to the Falkland Islands after a World Cup victory, while the UK and Fifa face calls to investigate.

Russian authorities detained blogger Ilya Remeslo on suspicion of spreading false military information, while politician Boris Nadezhdin was convicted of extremist symbol charges, barring him from September parliamentary elections.

An Indian filmmaker’s documentary about police killings during a 1990s separatist crackdown was blocked by censors for over three years, then banned from a streaming platform within 48 hours on national security grounds.

The U.S.-Iran conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international waterway through which roughly a fifth of global oil and gas previously transited, raising concerns about freedom of navigation and setting precedents for other strategic passages.

North Korean defectors describe how K-pop groups like BTS and Blackpink provided hope and freedom through secret listening, despite severe government restrictions on South Korean content.