Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Vietnam on Tuesday to repeal its new cybersecurity law, saying that it violates the rights to free speech and freedom of expression. Vietnam’s new law, set to come into effect on December 25, builds on existing legislation to impose stricter rules surrounding internet use and freedom of speech. Vietnam’s current [...]

An explosion in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Wednesday resulted in the death of Khalil Rahman Haqqani, the Taliban’s acting minister for refugees and repatriation, and at least six others, the Taliban government confirmed on X. The explosion occurred within the ministry building as Haqqani was leaving after afternoon prayers, according to Haqqani’s nephew Anas Haqqani. Taliban spokesman [...]

The UK government on Wednesday placed an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for children under 18 years of age following the advice of a requested consultation by medical experts. An emergency prohibition on puberty blockers is currently in place and will expire on December 31. The emergency ban will be replaced with The Medicines (Gonadotrophin-Releasing [...]

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) declared on Wednesday that Sudan is currently experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded. The report highlights that approximately 30.4 million people — over half of Sudan’s population — are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, a staggering figure that accounts for 10 percent of all people globally requiring aid, [...]

According to a report released Tuesday by a government watchdog, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) covertly obtained phone records from two members of Congress and 43 congressional staffers, possibly including Kash Patel, president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director. The records were obtained during wide-ranging leak investigations conducted during Trump’s first term. The report, issued [...]

Zambia’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that former President Edgar Lungu is ineligible to run for another term in office. The decision follows Lungu’s announcement of his return to active politics last year, sparking debate over his eligibility under Zambia’s constitutional term limits. The court found that Lungu, president from 2015 to 2021, had already [...]

Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an investigation into three senior officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for their alleged involvement in possible crimes against humanity during a violent crackdown on a demonstration in Goma city last year. The report, titled “Operation Keba: Massacre by the Army in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Goma [...]

The Nicaraguan Human Rights Collective “Nunca Más” reported on Tuesday that at least 229 individuals detained in the country for political reasons have endured various forms of torture and other acts that could be classified as “crimes against humanity” over the past seven years. The report highlights allegations of physical and psychological torture, arbitrary detention, [...]

Human trafficking has surged globally, with a 25 percent increase in victims detected between 2019 and 2022, according to a report released on Wednesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons revealed rising child exploitation and forced labor cases fueled by poverty, conflict, and [...]

In a move that has sparked widespread outcry, Niger’s military authorities have arrested Moussa Tchangari, a well-known civil society leader and critic of the government, Amnesty International reported Monday. Tchangari, secretary general of Citizens’ Alternative Spaces (Alternatives Espaces Citoyens, AEC), was taken from his home in Niamey on December 3 by three men in plain [...]