By Amnesty International
Reacting to the decision by Russian authorities to further restrict the Telegram messenger service by considerably slowing it down, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “As usual, Russian authorities are resorting to the bluntest instrument in their digital repression toolbox: censorship and obstruction under the guise of protecting people’s rights […] The post Russia: “Slowing down” of Telegram messaging app another blow for freedom of expression appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Members of the European Parliament, Strasbourg, France, January 21, 2026. © 2026 Philipp von Ditfurth/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo The European Parliament voted today to usher in changes to European Union asylum rules that jeopardize the right to seek asylum.It adopted an EU-wide list of “safe countries of origin” which means citizens from these countries will face an automatic presumption that they do not need protection and will be channeled into accelerated procedures that could overlook their individual circumstances; raising concerns about hasty and poor-quality…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Baku City Court Complex, Baku, Azerbaijan, January 2025. © 2025 Aziz Karimov/Reuters Courts in Azerbaijan have handed down further politically motivated in-absentia convictions against journalists, bloggers, and other critics of the government living abroad, expanding the authorities’ campaign of transnational repression.In January, a Baku court convicted several government critics residing in the United States. Sevinc Osmangizi, a journalist, was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison on charges of “calling for mass unrest” and “overthrow of the state.” The…
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By Abel Gwaindepi, Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies
Technology can help countries with high levels of informal workers build stronger tax systems, if there are strong foundations and the right incentives.
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By Dirk Kotze, Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa
A new DA leader will have implications for the party’s relationship with President Cyril Ramaphosa as well as the government of national unity.
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By Turnwait Otu Michael, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Johannesburg
Kammila Naidoo, Professor of Sociology, University of Johannesburg
Many married women in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have the freedom to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. Global data show that only 37% of women in the region aged 15-49 can make their own informed decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive healthcare in the region. In Europe, 87% of women have this freedom.
These decisions shape whether women survive pregnancy, avoid unsafe abortions, stay in school, participate in paid work…
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By Cynthia Kwakyewah, Course Director in Social Science, York University, Canada
Ghana has a long history of resource extraction that has caused socioeconomic and ecological harm. The mining of gold, stones, sand and salt has displaced people, polluted the environment and destroyed livelihoods. It’s commonly believed that this continues to happen, with impunity.
But recent developments reveal a more complex reality.
As a global sociologist who specialises in human rights, corporate…
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By Maha Khawaja, PhD Student, McMaster University
‘Love languages’ are a popular but misleading framework that oversimplify how relationships work and can even obscure the real conditions that sustain intimacy.
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By Nicholas Marcelli, PhD Candidate in English Literature and Creative Writing, Queen's University, Ontario
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, which exposed hazardous working conditions in Chicago’s meatpacking plants, first appeared serially in a socialist newspaper before being published as a novel.
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By Nathalie Louisgrand, Enseignante-chercheuse, GEM
Bouillons are back! What’s behind the French revival of these cheap and cheerful eateries that started out as canteens for Paris’ hungry, blue-collar workers?
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