Amnesty International denounced Taiwan’s execution of Huang Linkai on Thursday, calling the event a “shameful setback” as it marked the first execution in Taiwan since 2020. Director of Amnesty International Taiwan E-Ling Chiu stated: “The execution of Huang Linkai (黃麟凱) was carried out in violation of constitutional and international safeguards on the use of the [...]

The South African Police Service confirmed the deaths of at least 78 people on Wednesday following the end of a rescue operation at an abandoned mine where miners, cut off from food and water, had been working illegally. The announcement relayed that the bodies of 78 miners had been retrieved, and a total of 246 [...]

A UN expert expressed concern Thursday over Türkiye’s “misuse” of counter-terrorism laws to detain nine prominent human rights defenders and lawyers. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor noted arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, and lengthy sentences handed to the nine activists and lawyers, emphasizing that these practices undermine fundamental freedoms [...]

Oral arguments began in federal court on Wednesday in a case between a coalition of news organizations led by The New York Times and OpenAI, the creator of the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, which alleges copyright infringement by OpenAI’s use of copyrighted material for machine learning. The case centers on allegations that OpenAI unlawfully utilized [...]

The Supreme Court (SC) of Bangladesh unanimously acquitted the former prime minister and leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Khaleda Zia, of graft charges related to the Zia Orphanage Trust case on Wednesday, local media reported. The verdict also acquitted Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, and four other individuals who had been convicted [...]

The international community must emphasize climate justice, human rights group Amnesty International said Thursday. In a financial mobilization statement issued before the World Economic Forum in Davos, the organization highlighted the shortcomings of existing climate finance strategies, which do not adequately tackle the growing effects of climate change, especially in low-income and climate-sensitive countries. Amnesty [...]

The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, a case concerning a Texas law restricting access to websites with “sexual material harmful to minors.” Derek Shaffer, counsel for the law’s challengers, argued that the application of rational basis defies the precedent set in Ashcroft v. [...]

Human rights faced severe tests worldwide in 2024, with democratic institutions under strain and humanitarian law repeatedly violated in major conflicts, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its annual report released Thursday. The 546-page “World Report 2025” reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries, emphasizing the devastating human tolls of conflicts in Gaza, [...]

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday refused to attend a second day of questioning after being detained over his declaration of martial law, according to local media. Yoon’s lawyers said he did not intend to comply with investigators’ orders to undergo additional questioning, citing concerns over his physical well-being. His team also [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Fayette County, Tennessee, alleging its Board of County Commissioners violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The board’s adoption of a county commission redistricting plan did not give black voters “an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect [...]