Moscow / AFP Russian authorities have launched their first criminal case against a rights activist for failing to comply with Moscow’s controversial “foreign agent” law, the activist said on Tuesday. Valentina Cherevatenko, who runs two women’s rights NGOs in the southern Rostov region, could face up to two years in prison if she is charged under legislation which critics ...

  Bloomberg Driven from its stronghold in northeastern Nigeria, the militant group Boko Haram is targeting the world’s least developed country: Niger. The Nigeria-based militants stepped up attacks in southeastern Niger this month, raiding villages for food and cattle and attacking the town of Bosso, near Lake Chad, to steal weapons. A looting spree in villages near the lake on ...

  United Nations / AFP Three European countries and two Asian nations are battling for seats on the UN Security Council in elections on Tuesday that are drawing attention to the refugee crisis and human rights. Five non-permanent seats are up for grabs in the vote at the UN General Assembly, but two are all but decided. Ethiopia and Bolivia ...