The fifth session of negotiations on a historic, legally binding global plastic pollution treaty concluded on Sunday, with countries agreeing to reconvene in 2025. The session, held from November 25 to December 3, was hosted by the government of the Republic of Korea and attracted more than 3,300 participants, including delegates from over 170 countries and [...]

Romania’s Constitutional Court directed the Central Electoral Bureau on Thursday to reverify and recount all ballots cast in the first round of the presidential election. The court’s ruling, made in accordance with Article 146(f) of the Romanian Constitution, empowers the Constitutional Court to intervene in electoral disputes. The ruling therefore mandates the reexamination of both valid [...]

The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua voiced grave concerns on Monday over newly enacted constitutional amendments, warning that the changes are an attempt to grant President Daniel Ortega unlimited power and could undermine democratic governance. The newly adopted amendments expand the presidential term from five to six years and elevate the role of the [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of US states filed a motion on Wednesday seeking to compel Google to divest its Chrome web browser. The DOJ argued that Google’s control over Chrome has significantly bolstered its monopolistic position in the search-engine market. The department contended that forcing Google to divest Chrome is [...]

Amnesty International has condemned the increasing harm inflicted on children in Ukraine by Russian airstrikes, describing them as a grave violation of international law. In a statement issued on Monday, Amnesty International outlined a series of attacks in 2024 that resulted in child casualties, calling for urgent accountability for the perpetrators of these unlawful acts [...]

European governments must acknowledge and take responsibility for the enduring consequences of their colonial pasts, which continue to affect people of African descent both in Africa and throughout the diaspora, according to a Human Rights Watch report released on Monday. This statement comes ahead of the 140th anniversary of the 1884 Berlin Africa Conference, a [...]

The Rabat Court of First Instance sentenced journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui on Monday to 18 months in prison for defamation against Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahb. The verdict also includes a civil compensation of approximately USD$150,000 to the justice minister. The verdict follows a lawsuit filed in October by justice minister and former secretary-general of [...]

Seven families in France have united under the collective Algos Victima to file a civil lawsuit against TikTok in the Créteil judicial court, represented by their lawyer, Laure Boutron-Marmion, on Monday. The families allege the Chinese-owned social media platform exposes children to harmful videos that promote suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders. The Algos Victima collective [...]

Egypt’s Minister of Justice, Adnan El-Fangary, announced new provisions under the Draft Criminal Procedures Law on Sunday, aimed at overhauling the country’s criminal justice system. The draft law, currently under review in the Egyptian House of Representatives, establishes detailed regulations for pretrial detention, includes strong anti-corruption measures, and introduces comprehensive protections for witnesses participating in criminal [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that the Armenian government’s proposed surveillance bill raises significant concerns regarding privacy rights and civil liberties. HRW cautioned that the mere presence of surveillance systems in public areas can create a chilling effect on fundamental rights, including freedoms of assembly, association and expression. The rights group added that [...]