The human rights organisation Memorial said yesterday that it would cease to work in Chechnya and close its office in the republic, as it could not guarantee the safety of its staff.
The organisation took the decision after the kidnapping and murder of Natalya Estemirova, one of its employees, on Wednesday. The decision
will be another blow [...]

In a speech in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches challenged churches to end their denial of violence against women.
“The churches still seem to relegate violence to the private sphere, and still understand violence as only physical,” the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, [...]

Officials have shut down a legal aid and research centre founded by pioneering Chinese lawyers, increasing fears of a crackdown on those who take sensitive cases.
Authorities have also revoked the licences of more than 50 lawyers, many known for tackling human rights issues.
About 20 officials from Beijing’s civil affairs bureau arrived at the Gongmeng (Open [...]

Sapon D Costa, a hotel chef arrested during the night of 25 May for allegedly possessing illegal alcoholic beverages, was recently released on bail to wait for trial. For two weeks the Catholic man was imprisoned in Dhaka, locked up in a cell originally built for 20 inmates but currently holding about 240 men. In [...]

“I urge you to meditate on your relationship to Christ, who called you to share in his life, and reflect on how you can share this life with others,” said Mgr Joseph Marino, apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh, in an address to a group of missionaries living in the South Asian country during a seminar on [...]

A series of attacks on the Christian minority in Baghdad, Iraq, from Saturday 11 July to Sunday 12 July left four people dead and approximately 32 wounded. Several of the church bombings occurred as worshippers were leaving Mass, in an explicit attempt to harm Christian faithful. The worst of these was the explosion of a [...]

By Basil Fernando
A minister of the Sri Lankan government has publicly claimed responsibility for the assassination of slain newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge and for the serious injuries caused to another well known journalist, Poddala Jayantha. Yet no action has been taken against him.
Labor Minister Mervin Silva publically stated the following at a meeting in Hunupitiya, [...]

By Zin Linn
U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma for two days last week to prepare for a trip by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the ruling junta’s state media reported. State television reported on June 27 that Gambari met with Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the capital of Naypyitaw and discussed preparations for the visit.
“The [...]

Anwar Pasha liton a young political leader of Jubo League, a youth wing of the Awami League, was gunned down by assailants on July 19th in the capital, said police officials
While Anwar was eating in at restaurant in Mohakhali area was shot and he died on the way to hospital,said Gulshan Police Station chief Md [...]

Arifur Rahman, a lecturer of Begum Khaleda Zia College was killed by the Hijackers on July 18th.
On Saturday Arifur was on his way to home with two other friends in his motorcycle, said locals
The Hijackers tried to snatch Arifur’s motor cycle near Ramagarhi on the Lalpur-Banparha highway at around 10:30pm. As they resisted the hijackers [...]