The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Friday revealed it was lifting a 21-year-moratorium on executions in response to escalating violence and militant attacks, to stop its citizens, as well as active duty military and police, from cooperating with M23 rebels in the country’s eastern regions. The decision to lift the moratorium and reinstate [...]

The United States issued a statement on Friday condemning Zimbabwean authorities for their alleged attempts to intimidate US government officials and aid workers, subjecting them to unlawful overnight detention, prolonged interrogation and eventual forced deportation.  The US Agency for International Development (USAID) alleged that their aid workers, who were there to “support civic participation, democratic [...]

Sweden officially joined NATO on Thursday as its 32nd member, nearly two years after first applying for membership to the military alliance. Earlier on Thursday, the Swedish government issued a statement in which it shared that it was holding an extraordinary government meeting to formally vote on joining the alliance after all current NATO members [...]

Senegal’s President Macky Sall on Friday released a statement condemning a violent attack on Maimouna Ndour Faye, a prominent female journalist and director of 7TV, a private television channel.  Faye, who presents a political show for 7TV and is a respected voice within the sphere of political journalism, was subjected to a brutal attack and [...]

German authorities arrested alleged Red Army Faction (RAF) fugitive member Daniela Klette in Berlin on Monday after several years on the run and evading arrest for armed robbery and attempted murder charges, a German public prosecutor’s office shared Tuesday. Klette was arrested in Kreuzberg, a district of Berlin, the country’s capital and largest city. A [...]

New Zealand Health Minister Shane Reti said Tuesday that the Māori Health Authority will be shut down by the end of June this year, and its functions will be absorbed into the country’s national healthcare system. The move comes amid nationwide protests and legal action by the Pacific nation’s indigenous population, who believe the new [...]

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole on Sunday, according to local media, six months into his year-long sentence for corruption and abuse of power. Incumbent Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin previously announced the former PM’s release on Tuesday.  Thaksin, 74, was seen leaving Police General Hospital in the Pathum Wan District of [...]

An Italian judge ruled on Tuesday that two UN agency employees cannot be tried over the deaths of an Italian ambassador, his bodyguard and a driver in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to Rome daily newspaper Fatto Quotidiano. During a preliminary hearing, Judge Marisa Mosetti found that the UN agency employees have diplomatic [...]

The US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia called for an investigation into an alleged massacre of civilians taking place in Ethiopia’s Amhara region on Friday, where local rights group Ethiopia Human Rights Council (EHRC) has said over 80 people were killed following violent clashes between soldiers and a militia groupknown as the Fano.  On January [...]

The Slovak parliament approved reforms calling for the eradication of a special prosecution branch dealing with high-level crimes in the country, as well as the lowering of punishments for financial crimes. The approval of the package of laws took place in a fast-track procedure before parliament, despite nationwide protests and statements of concern by the [...]