A UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights urged countries on Monday to phase out fossil fuels to combat the climate crisis following the 10 hottest years in history, which saw average global temperatures reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in 2024, exceeding the Paris Agreement threshold. Presenting her latest report to [...]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda on Friday signed a US-brokered peace agreement, ending a 30-year-old conflict that has killed thousands of people. The agreement, built on the Declaration of Principles signed by the parties on April 25, 2025, aims to promote lasting peace through the resumption of normal bilateral relations between [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday expressed concern over an Islamic State-linked group abducting increasing numbers of children in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. According to HRW, the armed group, locally known as Al-Shabab, has kidnapped at least 120 children in recent days. Although some children were released by the group, a number of them remain [...]

The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) reported on Saturday a transition towards more inclusive global participation in outer space activities, with the growing involvement of Global South countries, including Ghana, Maldives, Tonga and Côte d’Ivoire. Having long been dominated by technologically advanced countries, outer space is now becoming increasingly accessible [...]

The SANAD Organization for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch urged Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to end the mistreatment and medical neglect of elderly prisoners following Saudi authorities’ refusal to permit a UN expert access to older prisoners during an April visit. Samer Alshumrani, the operations manager at SANAD, expressed concerns over the situation in [...]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday urged both Iran and Israel to exercise “maximum restraint” to prevent deeper conflict. The statement comes amid a sudden escalation between the two states following Israel’s attacks on various nuclear installations in Iran. Condemning the Israeli strikes, the statement from the secretary-general’s office expressed concerns about a wider conflagration [...]

The Tokyo High Court on Friday overturned a district court ruling against the former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) which had ordered them to pay compensation of 13 trillion yen ($90 billion) for their failure to prevent the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The High Court’s ruling centered around TEPCO [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged China on Tuesday to address the Tiananmen Massacre, including by halting censorship, allowing commemorations, compensating the victims’ families, and holding the perpetrators accountable. This statement comes ahead of the 36th anniversary of the killing of hundreds of peaceful pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on June 4, 1989. China researcher [...]

Elon Musk announced on Wednesday that his tenure as a US special government employee at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is over, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). Musk stated in his post: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday protested what it called Qatar’s discriminatory policies against the religious minority Baha’i community. HRW deputy Middle East director at HRW Michael Page stated: The Baha’i community of Qatar has endured decades of government discrimination and intimidation, and authorities have consistently ignored community leaders repeated efforts to engage the government [...]