US President Donald Trump has vowed to revisit all of his predecessor’s diplomatic successes and failures, but is he ready to slam the door on Cuba? On Friday, he is expected to unveil a new policy on relations with Cuba after Barack Obama painstakingly restored ties with the communist-run island. Although many Americans support the … Read more
The United Nations said Tuesday it feared a “security vacuum” in central Africa after the withdrawal of Ugandan, South Sudanese and US troops formerly tracking Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony. One of Africa’s longest-surviving rebel groups, the Lord’s Resistance Army has terrorized parts of central Africa for 30 years. Since being set up by … Read more
Islamic State group jihadists waged fierce battles Tuesday in their Syrian stronghold Raqa in a bid to repel US-backed fighters advancing towards the walls of the Old City. The Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) entered Raqa a week ago, after months of fighting to encircle the northern city that has … Read more
Eight men have been arrested for violently ambushing a government convoy transporting cows in northwest India, police said Tuesday, the latest assault by vigilantes claiming to protect the sacred animal. A mob of about 200 Hindu hardliners Sunday blocked the convoy of trucks in Rajasthan state as government officials escorted 80 cows and calves to … Read more
Human Rights Watch has urged Lebanon to respect its moratorium on the death penalty after calls for its reinstatement following the murder of a young student that shocked the country. Capital punishment is legal in Lebanon, but there has been an effective moratorium in place since 2004, without any executions carried out despite judgements to … Read more
Libyan authorities said Monday that Moamer Kadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam, reportedly set free by a local militia at the weekend, was still wanted by a Tripoli court for a 2015 conviction. Seif al-Islam, the second son and heir apparent of the late deposed Libyan dictator, was said to have been released on Friday by a … Read more
Malaysian officials who launched a controversial video contest offering $1,000 cash prizes to explain how to “prevent” homosexuality have agreed to remove offending wording after widespread opposition, a LGBT activist said Friday. The competition sparked a backlash from activists who said such a move would further spread fear among Malaysia’s LGBT community. Contestants were invited … Read more
The choice of weapons by the Iraqi security forces and its allies from the US-led coalition is endangering the lives of civilians in Mosul, rights groups said on Thursday. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and a number of other rights groups issued a joint statement warning that some air strikes and unguided munitions used against … Read more
After fleeing the battleground city of Mosul, Yusra Mohammed says her children were detained by Iraqi Kurdish forces and she did not hear from them for around two months. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes as Iraqi forces press a massive operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group. Security … Read more
US envoy Nikki Haley on Tuesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to throw out abusive regimes and end what she called its “anti-Israel bias”, warning that its credibility was at stake. Haley did not explicitly threaten to quit the body if Washington’s concerns were not addressed, a prospect that first emerged in February … Read more
US envoy Nikki Haley on Tuesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to throw out abusive regimes and end its “anti-Israel bias”, warning its credibility was at risk. Haley did not explicitly threaten to quit the body if Washington’s concerns were not addressed, a prospect that first emerged in February in a leaked letter … Read more
The UN rights chief on Tuesday gave Kinshasa a two-day deadline to show it is seriously investigating violence in the central Kasai provinces, or submit to an international probe. “Unless I receive appropriate responses from the government regarding a joint investigation by June 8, I will insist on the creation of an international investigative mechanism … Read more
Saudi Arabia plans to execute 14 citizens, all Shiites, after a “grossly unfair trial” linked to political protests, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest rates of executions in the world, has witnessed protests and clashes with police in its mainly Shiite eastern province … Read more
The United States on Monday urged the United Nations to establish a special investigation into the murder of two UN experts who had been gathering evidence of mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. US Ambassador Nikki Haley, in Geneva for meetings of the UN Human Rights Council, also said a separate formal commission … Read more
A man and a teenager went on trial in a military court in Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, accused of killing two UN experts in March, their lawyer said. Evariste Ilunga, a 16-year-old student, and Mbayi Kabasele, 30, who sells palm oil, are being tried for war crimes, including murder and mutilation, as well … Read more
Eight watchdogs, including Human Rights Watch, on Friday denounced Egypt’s adoption of a contentious new law to regulate non-governmental organisations. The rights groups urged the Egyptian government to repeal the law, ratified on May 24 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, saying it “will crush civil society”. “The law ushers in unprecedented levels of repression and … Read more
Equatorial Guinea was for the first time elected to the UN Security Council on Friday during a vote that saw Ivory Coast, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Poland also win seats at the top world table. The oil-rich central African country, which has been ruled by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo for nearly four decades, ran … Read more
Authorities in Bahrain have clamped down on dissent in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf last month — a move that experts say is no coincidence. “The human rights situation was already bad, but the timing of the latest crackdown is striking and it’s unlikely to be coincidental,” said Jane … Read more
International and local rights groups called on the UN on Thursday to open an urgent inquiry into the months-long violence that has swept central Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving over a million homeless. “The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) should urgently establish a commission of inquiry into the situation in the central Kasai region,” said … Read more
Anguished Afghans scoured hospitals and morgues in Kabul Wednesday, sifting through disfigured and charred bodies for missing relatives after a catastrophic truck bombing left at least 90 people dead and hundreds wounded. The bomb, hidden inside a sewage tanker, detonated close to the presidential palace and a number of foreign embassies, but in what has … Read more