Human Rights Watch warned Monday that the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup risks unfolding against a backdrop of abusive immigration enforcement, threats to media freedom, and discrimination, releasing a 79-page reporter’s guide documenting human rights conditions across all three host countries ahead of the tournament’s June 11 opening. The guide, titled “Reporter’s Guide for the [...]

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that the ongoing restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment in Afghanistan could result in a shortage of more than 25,000 women teachers and health workers by 2030, urging authorities to lift the ban on secondary education for girls. In a new report titled “The Cost of [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday reversed a district court ruling that had blocked Texas’s 2025 congressional map as a likely racial gerrymander, allowing the Republican-drawn districts to stand for the 2026 midterm elections. The unsigned one-paragraph order cited the Court’s own 2025 decision in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens as controlling, [...]

A group of 15 rights organizations sent a joint letter on Sunday to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concerning her government’s proposed anti-espionage law and foreign agents registration act. The organizations caution the government to ensure the laws are consistent with legal obligations, writing: While we recognize that protecting national security and tackling the unlawful [...]

Victor Qiu is a JURIST correspondent and practicing lawyer based in Washington, DC, United States. Last week, I attended the first oral argument of the US Supreme Court’s April sitting, Sripetch v. Securities and Exchange Commission, a case that could clarify the scope of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) disgorgement authority and its relationship [...]

In December 2025, a lawyer walked into court and asked a question that goes to the heart of Ghana’s anti-corruption project: can the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) prosecute anyone at all without the Attorney-General’s say-so? A High Court in Accra has since answered no, ordering the Attorney-General (AG) to take over all prosecutions currently [...]

Zimbabwe authorities have intensified a crackdown on student leaders opposing a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend presidential and parliamentary terms, said Human Rights Watch, adding that the pattern of repression includes abductions, arrests and alleged ill-treatment targeting those tied to opposition activity. The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill, 2026 would extend political [...]

A special counsel team in South Korea is seeking a 30-year prison sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of “benefiting the enemy” after allegedly ordering the dispatch of military drones over the North Korean capital city, Pyongyang, in 2024. The former president is accused of sending over 10 drones to North Korea [...]

A Russian court in St. Petersburg held Monday that the Russian LGBT Network is an “extremist organization,” followed by a nationwide ban on its activities. Amnesty International condemned the ruling as a misuse of anti-extremism legislation to target sexual minorities. According to the group, the decision came after the Russian Ministry of Justice requested closed [...]

In Kenya, thousands of prisoners are appearing before courts without legal representation, with no one to protect or defend their rights. It has become its own kind of epidemic. Kenya currently holds approximately 59,000 adult prisoners. Of these, over 22,000 are on remand — legally presumed innocent, awaiting trial without any legal support. Walk into [...]