China expressed on Friday its strong objections to two new Philippine laws that define the country’s maritime boundaries over disputed areas in the South China Sea, summoning the Philippines’ ambassador. The Philippine Maritime Zones Act (RA 12064) and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (RA 12065) were signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the government of Mozambique Wednesday to halt internet restrictions and re-establish full access to social media platforms following post-election protests. HRW argued that these shutdowns violate several human rights, such as access to information, freedom of speech, and peaceful protest. Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at HRW said, “The shutdown [...]

The speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Honorable Kingsford Alban Bagbin, addressed the media Wednesday regarding the controversy surrounding four parliamentary seats, reassuring them that democracy remains strong. The speaker assured the people of Ghana that the House is alive and at work amidst the determination of the suit Afenyo Markins v. Speaker of Parliament and [...]

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi brought attention to the humanitarian crisis ongoing in Lebanon before the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday. Grandi alleged violations of international law including mass destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes that has resulted in the deaths of civilians and damage to civilian infrastructure. Israel’s [...]

The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office arrested eight people on Tuesday under suspected membership of a neo-Nazi militant group known as “Sächsische Separatisten” or “Saxon Separatists,” the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a press statement. The arrests were made under Section 129a of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the formation of terrorist organizations dedicated to the [...]

Amnesty International on Tuesday recognized Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of the Russian election watchdog Golos (“Voice”), as a prisoner of conscience. Melkonyants was arrested on August 17, 2023, shortly before the start of federal and local elections and the 2024 presidential campaign. He was charged with “organizing the activities of an undesirable organization” and could face [...]

The UK House of Commons began its first reading on Tuesday of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which aims to restrict the legal age to purchase tobacco each year to create the “first smoke-free generation”. The bill was proposed under former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government, and advanced by Parliament in April 2024. The 2023 [...]

Human rights organizations sounded the alarm on Tuesday over the deteriorating health of Chinese legal scholar and human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month to protest his ongoing ill-treatment in detention. Xu, a key figure in China’s New Citizens’ Movement, has been held since February 2020, [...]

India’s Delhi High Court on Tuesday lifted the ban on Salman Rushdie’s novel ‘The Satanic Verses” due to the government’s failure to promulgate the ban in 1988. The controversial novel is especially known for being considered blasphemous by Muslims. The petitioner challenged the ban, reportedly imposed on October 5, 1988, as unconstitutional and requested the [...]

Amnesty International condemned Lebanon’s military courts on Tuesday for failure to hold accountable the security forces officers accused in the death in custody of Syrian refugee Bashar Abd Saud. Bashar Abd Saud, 30, was arrested on August 30, 2022, by Lebanon’s State Security agency on accusations of possessing a counterfeit $50 bill. A day later, [...]