Human rights

If these working group meetings proceed as planned, they will be the first major technical talks under the Doha framework to take place on Afghan soil.

Violence against children emerged as another pressing issue. The committee raised alarms over sexual violence, particularly against boys, gender-based violence, corporal punishment, and online abuse.

The EPA, which enforces federal environmental laws, said it would stop estimating the economic value of health benefits from reducing ozone and fine particulate matter, even though it acknowledges that they contribute to pulmonary disease, heart attacks, and premature deaths. 

The NCCEBL survey found that over 80 per cent of rescued workers did not have a First Information Report (FIR) registered, a prerequisite to hold exploiters legally accountable. Moreover, 63 per cent did not receive interim financial assistance.

The UN report, issued on January 13, finds that sexual violence was “part of a deliberate, widespread, and systemic pattern of violations” by state security forces, and “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Opening the hearings, Judge Iwasawa Yuji, President of the Court, outlined a detailed schedule that includes two rounds of pleadings by Gambia and Myanmar, as well as closed sessions to hear testimony from witnesses called by the applicant State.

The holding centres often lack necessities like water and sanitation, and the people held there are lucky if they even receive two meals a day, as food stocks are often too low to supply enough meals. The need for blankets and winter kits is increasing.

On January 9, 2026, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), publicly voiced deep concerns about the country’s deteriorating security situation ahead of the polls, expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of law enforcement agencies.