UN experts found dead in DR Congo; Iraq airstrikes; Belarus beating; outcry over UK domestic violence case; Belgium endorses Safe Schools Declaration; fears for fate of ISIS families in Iraq; Singapore couple starved Philippine maid; EU citizens' right to remain in UK still in jeopardy as Brexit begins; & why Jordan should arrest ICC fugitive Omar Al-Bashir.

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Deaths from drug overdoses in the United States have surpassed deaths from gun homicides and car crashes combined, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. America's opioid addiction is attracting national attention as painkillers are now killing more Americans than any other drug. President Trump has convened a task force to study the opioid crisis and propose solutions. But tackling the crisis should also include expanding access to treatment and life-saving medication that can bring people back from an overdose.
At least 140 people are dead or missing after a boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea earlier today. It is the latest in what has become an all-too-familiar tragedy in the deadly crossing as people escaping conflict and abuse risk peril to seek protection in Europe. Rather than creating hazardous conditions, the European Union should provide safe passage for those fleeing violence.
The Trump administration is likely to announce soon that it will withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council. But the move would be ill-advised and badly timed. Undermining the Council now could embolden rights-abusing governments around the world.
The United Kingdom has formally notified the European Union of its intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Two years from today, the exit is scheduled to take place. But as Brexit becomes official, threats from xenophobia and an uptick in hate crimes looms over human rights in the UK.
Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo this week signaled that he supports reinstatement of the country's official moratorium on the death penalty. Indonesia ended a four-year unofficial moratorium on the death penalty in March 2013. If President Widodo supports reinstating it, he should be decisive in doing so.
From earlier today: The UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo has confirmed that the bodies of two UN experts, who went missing two weeks ago, have been found near to where they disappeared. Zaida Catalán, a Swede, and Michael Sharp, an American, were found by UN peacekeepers near Bunkonde in Kasai Central province on Monday. Four other people who were with them at the time of their disappearance remain unaccounted for.
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