Human Rights

The government is suppressing rallies against President Joseph Kabila extending his term past the constitutional two-term limit. There are reports more than 20 people have been killed at protests.

In a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council, commission chief Yasmin Sooka reported murder and rape on an "epic" scale. "We are running out of adjectives to describe the horror," she said.

This vote marks the most serious challenge yet to the rule of President Yahya Jammeh. The president has ruled for 22 years since he led a coup, and has a dismal human rights record.

Forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad have retaken the largest rebel-held district in the city, Masaken Hanano.

When staffers arrived for work, they found a seal over the door declaring that they were not allowed to enter without a city official. Amnesty calls it "an unwelcome surprise."

The fighters are allegedly killing civilians who refuse to comply with their instructions or who they suspect are loyal to the Iraqi security forces, the U.N. human rights chief says.

The Saudi-led coalition warplane bombed a crowded funeral hall in Yemen's capital Sanaa. An investigation has concluded that the coalition believed it was a gathering of rebel leaders.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Assad blamed the U.S. for the collapse of a fragile truce earlier this week and denied carrying out well-documented human rights abuses.