US civic health rating downgraded after year of ‘restrictive‘ Trump actions | First Thing

Civicus, a nonprofit that monitors global civic freedoms, moved the US from the narrowed' to obstructed' category. Plus, the gay wool' taking over a New York catwalk

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A coalition of global civil society organizations has downgraded the civic health rating of the US from narrowed" to obstructed".

What does it mean by obstructed"? Countries where civic space is heavily contested - where civil society organizations still exist but state authorities undermine them, including through illegal surveillance, bureaucratic harassment and demeaning public statements.

What's holding up the European plan? Though a majority of EU countries support the plan, it has met strong resistance from Belgium. About 160bn ($213bn) of Russian assets are immobilised at Euroclear, a central securities depository in Brussels, and the Belgian government is concerned that it will bear liability for any seizure and face retaliation from Moscow.