Amnesty International reported Monday that the Myanmar Army has bombed villages and cut off access to food and humanitarian assistance while targeting rebels in the Rakhine State. “Security forces have also used vague and repressive laws to detain civilians in the area.” The crackdown began on January 4 when the Arakan Army rebels raided police [...]
The lower house of the Australian Parliament passed amendments Tuesday that would give doctors more power to bring over asylum seekers stranded in the country’s offshore camps for treatment. Australia has held thousands of asylum seekers in camps on the island nation of Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island since 2013, with about 1,000 [...]
UN Expert Alioune Tine reported on Tuesday that the human rights situation in Mali is of grave concern and that the country needs a comprehensive strategy to tackle it. Tine urged an effective military response to stop the violence and protect the population. Violence caused by armed extremist groups and by Malian and international security [...]
A Malaysian court on Monday postponed the trial set for Tuesday against former prime minister Najib Razak for money laundering and corruption-related charges, while seven of the charges are brought before the High Court. The charges were brought against Razak under the Malaysian constitution, Criminal Procedure Code and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act of 2009. In May Razak was [...]
An Australian Court on Friday ruled against the development of a coal mine in New South Wales because of its potential as a climate change contributor. The mine proposed, an open cut coal mine, is a process in which coal, closer to the surface, is extracted from the earth by its removal from an open [...]
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), a judicial body that adjudicates environmental matters in India, has dismissed a petition filed by the Karnataka state government to review its earlier order penalizing the state for damage to lakes. The impugned order directed the government to deposit 5 billion Indian Rupees (approximately USD 70 million) in an escrow [...]
A UN expert on Monday warned that the dismissal of Nigeria’s Chief Justice by President Muhammadu Buhari violated international human rights standards on independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers. The president of Nigeria suspended Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen on January 25. The president insisted that he had acted in compliance with an [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday condemned Egyptian authorities for the execution of three Muslim Brotherhood members. The three men were sentenced to death last year following their confessions related to the 2014 killing of a judge’s son in Mansoura. These confessions, though, were reportedly extracted through torture, which included electrical shocks and beatings and threats [...]
UN experts on Friday urged action against attacks on people with albinism leading up to Malawi’s elections in May. This declaration comes on the heels of the killing of one person and the separate abduction of a baby. Discrimination against people with albinism has been a problem in the past in Malawi—150 cases of these [...]
An Egyptian parliamentary committee on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to constitutional amendments that would allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to remain in office until 2034. Many Egyptian opposition parties have expressed their disapproval and have reportedly formed a coalition against the proposed changes. Egypt’s Conservative party said in an official statement on Wednesday that it [...]
