Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison term for convictions on corruption and abuse of power charges. The decision follows a judicial inquiry into whether corrections officials mishandled his return to the country in 2023. Thaksin was convicted in absentia in three corruption cases between 2008 [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday called on Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to immediately release journalist Shikib Ahmad Nazari, who has been detained since July following a raid on his Kabul office. In a statement, CPJ Asia-Pacific director Beh Lih Yi urged, “They should release the journalist immediately, and stop coercing journalists into [...]

Amnesty International on Tuesday condemned the public caning of two men in Indonesia’s Aceh province after they were convicted of same-sex relations under Islamic criminal law. Aceh, located on the northern tip of Sumatra island, is Indonesia’s only province with special autonomy to enforce qanun jinayat, a set of bylaws introduced in 2015 that criminalize [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Cambodian authorities Monday to immediately release environmental journalist Ouk Mao, who was arrested on May 7 while reporting in the coastal city of Sihanoukville. Ouk Mao works for a local news outlet and was documenting illegal deforestation and land grabs in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province. He was [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed serious concern on Monday over Egypt’s newly approved draft Code of Criminal Procedure, citing potential violations of international human rights laws. The draft law was recently passed by Egypt’s House of Representatives and currently awaits President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s approval. The new law [...]

The European Commission on Tuesday referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to comply with EU law regarding penalties for migrant smuggling. The case concerns Hungary’s Decree 148/2023, adopted in April 2023. The law allows people convicted of migrant smuggling to leave prison early and serve the rest [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Nepalese authorities on Tuesday to promptly investigate the deaths of two journalists in November 2024 and March 2025. The organization expressed concern over the slow progress of inquiries and warned that ongoing impunity in these cases threatens journalists’ safety and right to information. One of the journalists, 32-year-old Suresh [...]

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned Tuesday that 3.6 million vulnerable people in Ethiopia could lose access to food and nutrition assistance unless funding arrives urgently. The agency stated that only half of its anticipated funding was received last year, forcing program cuts that are now endangering lives. In a video link with journalists, [...]