Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara confirmed Monday that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has safely returned to the country. The individual, who had been held by Iranian authorities since last year, arrived in the country Sunday in good health. The confirmation followed an announcement by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who stated [...]

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced former interior and safety minister Lee Sang-min to seven years in prison for his participation in the insurrection connected to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee of playing a key role in [...]

Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday signed a new ceasefire agreement, ending weeks of military conflict over disputed territories. Thai Defense Minister General Natthaphon Narkphanit and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Tea Seiha signed the joint agreement at the third special meeting of the General Boundary Committee (GBC), reaffirming a previous ceasefire in July and outlining 16 [...]

This dispatch was co-authored by Divyabharthi Baradhan (JURIST Staff, Malaysia) and Sarisha Harikrishna (Queen’s University Belfast School of Law, United Kingdom). In a landmark ruling, the Permanent People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan (the Tribunal) on December 11 in the Hague, Netherlands, found that the Taliban de facto authorities have committed crimes against humanity under [...]

The Tokyo High Court on Friday issued the final pending appellate decision in Japan’s nationwide same-sex marriage litigation, holding that the country’s statutory framework limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples does not violate the Constitution of Japan. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims of breach of constitutional guarantees to equality and individual dignity. It rejected their [...]

Amnesty International called Thursday for Germany to provide reparations for genocide committed against Namibia’s Ovaherero and Nama peoples between 1904 and 1908—steps Germany has refused, despite recognizing the atrocities as genocide. The appeal came on the 121st anniversary of Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha’s extermination order against the Ovaherero people, issued Oct. 2, 1904. A [...]

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced on September 15 a new visa policy reforming requirements for Chinese nationals in the country. The policy aims to curb illegal mining in Ghana—commonly known as “galamsey.” Illegal mining continues to devastate water bodies, threaten public health, and contribute to rising electricity and water costs. One [...]

The United States government announced on September 12 that it will suspend the long-anticipated Strategic Dialogue with Kosovo, citing Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s actions as a source of escalating tensions and instability. In a statement posted on X, the US Embassy in Pristina said the decision reflected Washington’s concern that Kurti’s policies are undermining stability [...]

The United Nations observed the International Day for People of African Descent on Sunday, with leaders urging the global community to advance justice, dignity, and equality. Secretary-General António Guterres praised the “extraordinary” contributions of African peoples, while stressing that the legacies of slavery and colonialism continue to cast “long shadows” in the form of systemic [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday reported that Mauritanian security forces committed serious human rights violations between 2020 and early 2025 against west and central African migrants and asylum seekers. The 142-page report, titled “They Accused Me of Trying to Go to Europe: Migration Control Abuses and EU Externalization in Mauritania,” documents torture, rape, arbitrary [...]