The Scottish government launched a public inquiry into Emma Caldwell’s murder in 2005, a case that brought significant attention to the failures of police investigations. Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs Angela Constance announced in a statement to the parliament that an “independent, judge-led, statutory Public Inquiry” will take place into the investigation [...]

The United States issued a statement on Friday condemning Zimbabwean authorities for their alleged attempts to intimidate US government officials and aid workers, subjecting them to unlawful overnight detention, prolonged interrogation and eventual forced deportation.  The US Agency for International Development (USAID) alleged that their aid workers, who were there to “support civic participation, democratic [...]

The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa Azin, issued Executive Decree No. 193, renewing the declaration of a state of emergency in Ecuador due to a “serious internal disturbance and internal armed conflict,” extending the duration of the state of emergency for another 30 days due to serious criminal incidents and conflicts in the country. The [...]

UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), a UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide, released a report Friday on International Women’s Day alleging that more than 230 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), an increase of 30 million or 15 percent compared with [...]

India deported Friday the first batch of Myanmar nationals who are alleged to have entered India illegally. The deported nationals are reported to have entered India in the aftermath of the Myanmar military coup in 2021, which has caused an increase in violence in that country. Chief Minister of the Indian state of Manipur, which [...]

The UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution on Friday, calling on all parties involved in the conflict in Sudan to immediately cease hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and negotiate for a sustainable resolution. The ongoing internal armed conflict between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces [...]

A prosecutor in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) requested on Friday a 20-year sentence in prison for Stanis Bujakera, a journalist on trial for an article implicating military intelligence in the death of an opposition politician, Chérubin Okende. Bujakera was arrested last year on September 8 and is facing charges including spreading false information. Bujakera [...]

The Hong Kong government released the new national security bill on Friday and sent it to the Legislative Council (LegCo) for deliberation. The bill consists of nine parts, including criminalizing several national security offenses not covered in the 2020 National Security Law but listed in Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. The bill [...]

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran unveiled a report on Friday alleging widespread human rights violations committed by the Iranian government, particularly in response to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests that began on September 16, 2022. “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests were sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini [...]

A US federal judge upheld on Friday the Biden administration’s program to grant temporary legal immigration status to up to 30,000 asylum-seekers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This initiative, also known as humanitarian parole, provides an avenue for people from these nations to avoid illegal entry into the US. It has been a key [...]