Azerbaijan Blocks Social Media as Hijab Protests Continue
By Rafig Shahbazov 12 October 2026 Photo: Shutterstock Users in Azerbaijan have reported difficulties accessing Instagram and TikTok, claiming the sites only work with VPNs: fuelling speculation that the authorities are restricting access amid protests against hijab restrictions in schools. Users have reported that the platforms were inaccessible from Monday morning, with some complaining about slow connections, feeds failing to refresh, and videos not loading. While outage-m
Open Caucasus Media
2 days ago
Afghanistan Country Report
Country Report: Afghanistan October 2026 By Holly Swiglo Afghan women wearing burqas, as mandated by Taliban law. (Photo: Faruk Tokluoglu) August 15, 2026, marked five years since the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, took power in Afghanistan after the United States withdrew its troops from the country. The Taliban has since eliminated all political and civic rights, dissolved representative bodies, and imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Independent jou
Genocide Watch
4 days ago
Nearly 500 Children Killed In Afghanistan over Three Year
By Afghanistan International October 10, 2026 Credit: Afghanistan International The UN says 1,415 children were killed or wounded in Afghanistan over three years, including 446 killed and 969 injured. The casualties included 1,094 boys, 310 girls and 11 children of unknown sex. According to the UN secretary-general’s latest report on children and armed conflict, the Taliban recruited and used 557 boys during the same period, including children as young as 12. Cases of child r
Afghanistan International
4 days ago
ICC Unseals Four Arrest Warrants for Taliban Gender Crimes
By United Nations News October 5, 2026 The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made public four arrest warrants against senior Taliban figures, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in Afghanistan, which amounts to a crime against humanity. © UNICEF/Azizullah Karimi | Many girls have exchanged the classroom for household responsibilities following the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan. In a decision on Monday, judges unsealed warrants for Taliban Supreme Lea
United Nations News
7 days ago
Special Report: The Islamic State-K - A Resurgent Threat
By Alžběta Frommerová and Michał Jagielski Genocide Watch A still taken from an undated video shows Hafiz Saeed (center), the founder of IS-K, at an undisclosed location at the Afghanistan-Pakistani border in January 2015. Introduction After the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) territorial collapse in 2019, the threat to the West receded as ISIS’ capacity to strike Europe declined. Over the past four years, however, IS branches in sub-Saharan Africa have made the regi
Genocide Watch
Oct 7
Georgia: Critics Jailed for Online Speech
By Human Rights Watch September 18, 2026 The Georgian Interior Ministry headquarters in Tbilisi, February 2, 2010. © 2010 David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters (Berlin, September 18, 2026) – Georgian authorities are using vague administrative offenses to jail or heavily fine people for online speech, deepening the government’s crackdown on freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today. Since June 2026, a new Ministry of Internal Affairs unit has monitored social media and refer
Human Rights Watch
Oct 7
Rights Groups Urge Kazakhstan To Halt Extradition
By Kazakh Telegraph Agency 6 October, 2026 A number of international human rights organizations have issued a joint appeal urging the authorities of Kazakhstan to halt the extradition of activists Yulia Emelyanova and Mansur Movlayev—requested by Russia—or to allow them to safely travel to another country. "Kazakhstan must not allow its courts and detention facilities to become instruments of transnational repression against people who fled Russia in search of safety. If retu
Reuters
Oct 6
Special Report: The Persecution of Afghanistan’s Hazaras
By August Wyma and Sophia Khan Girls read from their textbooks at the Dasht-e-Barchi Education Centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Credit:UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani) Afghanistan is a religiously and ethnically diverse country whose modern history has been shaped by attempted intervention, political instability, and national identity struggles. Within such circumstances, the Hazara people in Afghanistan have endured over a century of systematic persecution because of their distinct eth
Genocide Watch
Oct 3
North Korea Set Off a Nuke Under a Mountain
By: Darren Orf A 2017 nuclear test may have reactivated dormant faults under Mt. Mantap. Credit: Getty Images Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site is located at Mt. Mantap, in the reclusive nation’s rugged northeastern wilderness. Even though it sits on stable intraplate crust, the area has experienced increased seismicity since 2017, when North Korea conducted its last and largest nuclear bomb test there. A new study
eastsoutheastasia
Oct 2
Taiwan receives 2 US F-16Vs, awaiting more fighter jets
By HUIZHONG WU Credit: Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP BANGKOK (AP) — Taiwan on Friday received the first two of 65 F-16V fighter jets ordered from the U.S., the island’s air force said, following years of delays. The two F-16V Block 70 jets landed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung. There are 63 more to be delivered. The self-ruled island, which is also claimed by Beijing as part of its territory, placed an order for the F-16Vs in 2019. Taiwan largely purchases arms
AP News
Oct 2
Four civilians killed in Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan
By Tinshui Yeung September 25, 2026 Credit: BBC Afghanistan's Taliban government said a wave of Pakistani air strikes had killed four civilians in the latest escalation between the two sides. The strikes hit provinces including Kandahar, the Taliban's base of power, sources told the BBC. A resident told AFP news agency they heard a jet, followed by a large explosion and then a fire in the city. Pakistan said its forces had struck 10 targets in Afghanistan, without specifying
BBC News
Sep 25
UN Says Iran Crackdown Amounted To Crimes Against Humanity
By Iran International September 17, 2026 Iranian security forces committed crimes against humanity in their crackdown on nationwide protests, a UN fact-finding mission said on Thursday, citing mass killings, torture and arbitrary detention. A masked protester raises both hands in victory signs as crowds gather on a smoke-filled road during protests in Mashhad, Iran, on January 9, 2026. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said its report examined the 202
#a Iran International
Sep 23
