Austria’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Meta’s personalized advertising model practices violate EU data protection law, which requires a company to obtain consent with “clear and plain language,” about how one’s personal information is used—something Meta has failed to do. The court held that Meta cannot rely on “contractual necessity” under the General Data Protection [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Nicolas Levrat on Friday urged Nepal to effectively implement constitutional and legislative safeguards to end discrimination against minorities, especially singling out Dalits. Speaking in Kathmandu, Levrat acknowledged Nepal’s progressive legal framework but warned that persistent failures in enforcement, accountability and institutional inclusion continue to deny Dalits and other minorities [...]

UN-appointed investigators reported on Thursday that Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) has over the past decade carried out a pattern of killings, arbitrary detentions, torture, and sexual violence against protesters and political opponents of President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela entered 2025 under intensified international attention, after a wave of repression followed the July 2024 presidential election. [...]

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday that more than 100,000 people have fled their homes in northern Mozambique over the past two weeks as armed groups intensify attacks. According to the OCHA, the total displaced in the last four months is now 330,000. The Office of the United [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Tanzanian government on Thursday to open an independent investigation into alleged killings, disappearances and repression carried out by security forces after the country’s disputed October 29 election, warning that “serious violations” of rights may amount to international crimes. Tensions had been building before the vote. Opposition leader Tundu Lissu [...]

European Union environment ministers approved a revised 2040 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target on Wednesday, after marathon negotiations that stretched into the early hours. The decision comes just ahead of the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, on November 10, and establishes a legal framework linking the EU’s short- and long-term climate goals. [...]

US President Donald Trump’s administration sent a 10-page proposed agreement on Wednesday, called the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” to nine major US universities. The initiative marks an unprecedented effort by the administration to exercise federal power to reshape higher education in line with the president’s agenda. The document urges universities to align with the [...]

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu signed a controversial media bill into law on Thursday, giving a new government-backed commission broader power to fine media outlets and even shut them down. In its press release, the President’s Office maintained that the new law “seeks to prevent the spread of false information” and “establish a framework that [...]

Protests in Nepal turned violent on Monday, resulting in at least 19 deaths and over 400 injuries as young activists took to the streets to voice their frustrations over government corruption and a recently imposed social media ban, according to official reports. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post on Tuesday, his secretariat [...]

The Nepalese government on Thursday instituted a widespread block on major social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), restricting access to 26 platforms across the country. The decision, enforced by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), follows the platforms’ failure to comply with the directive requiring registration with the Ministry of Communications [...]