The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Friday hailed Malaysia’s positive developments in maternal and infant health care, while questioning the use of penalties for children convicted in serious crimes and calling for alternatives to institutionalization for children. Following its review of Malaysia’s latest periodic report, the committee commended the country’s efforts [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, on Friday expressed grave concern about Israel’s ongoing systemic attacks against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN, and the Palestinian people. The remarks come following Israeli forces’  demolition of the UNRWA compound in East [...]

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in a report on Thursday that it urgently needs USD $128 million to sustain its operations in Nigeria through June, warning that more than a million people in the country’s northeast could lose access to emergency food and nutrition aid within weeks as violence surges across the nation. [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned Thursday that recent reductions in donor support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria risk undermining the right to health for millions of people worldwide. HRW said donors have pledged US$11.85 billion toward the Global Fund’s US$18 billion target for the 2026–2028 replenishment cycle, leaving a US$6.15 [...]

Denmark and Greenland began the year by rejecting any suggestion of US control over Greenland, stating that the island’s sovereignty remains absolute, despite comments by Donald Trump that referenced a proposed Arctic security framework with NATO. Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a televised address January 5 condemned what she called threats, pressure and condescending [...]

A group of 73 South Korean nationals accused of participating in online scam operations in Cambodia were returned to South Korea on Friday. They will now face formal investigations in South Korea surrounding alleged “scam compounds.” Officials allege that the group is responsible for defrauding more than 800 South Koreans of approximately 33 million US [...]

Peru’s interim President José Jerí on Wednesday offered inconsistent explanations over unregistered meetings with two Chinese business owners who are subject to ongoing legal investigations. According to media reports, the meetings include an unregistered encounter with businessman Zhihua Yang in late December 2025 and in early January 2026, which took place at a “chifa” restaurant, [...]

Police and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname announced Thursday the arrest of nearly 200 individuals in a transnational operation to combat illegal gold mining in the Amazon. Backed by Interpol, the European Union through EL PACCTO 2.0, and a Dutch police unit specializing in environmental crime,  “Operation Guyana Shield” involved over 24,500 [...]

UN officials warned on Wednesday that Haiti’s crisis has reached a critical phase as violence escalates, with entrenched criminal networks and spiralling humanitarian needs fueling national instability. Haiti is nearing the end of a foreseen political transition period, set to expire on February 7. However, the UN officials stated that efforts to restore security, democratic [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thursday for accountability for the toxic spills that have affected children living near Lega Dembi gold mine in Ethiopia, urging the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to ask the Ethiopian government to suspend mining operations and take measures to safeguard children’s health. HRW reported that [...]