The Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy after having married a Christian is to be freed in the next few days, it was reported on Saturday night. Meriam Ibrahim, who gave birth to a daughter on Tuesday while shackled in heavy chains, has been in jail since January. The announcement came on the back of international outrage that turned into a global campaign to save the mother of two – her 20-month-old son has also been forced to stay in prison with her. David Cameron had joined political leaders in condemning the Sudanese government's actions.

Hours after a Sudanese court sentenced his pregnant wife to death when she refused to recant her Christian faith, her husband told CNN he feels helpless.  "The fact that a woman could be sentenced to death for her religious choice, and to flogging for being married to a man of an allegedly different religion, is abhorrent and should never be even considered," Manar Idriss, Amnesty International's Sudan researcher, said in a statement.

The Qatari government has announced several changes to its controversial labour system amid international criticism of its treatment of foreign workers.  At a joint press conference in Doha on Wednesday, Qatar's Ministries of Interior and Labour released plans to ease restrictions on foreign workers' terms of employment.

Egypt is spiraling toward instability and radicalization. Since last summer’s coup, the military-backed regime has used brute force to try to restore peace and manage its form of “democratic transition.” But its repressive strategy to physically eliminate political opponents, restore stability and end society’s acute polarization is backfiring.

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world came together to call for justice in Amnesty International's most successful ever letter-writing campaign, the organization said today

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world came together to call for justice in Amnesty International's most successful ever letter-writing campaign, the organization said today

Australians online have reacted with ire to reports that the visa application fee for journalists visiting the Pacific island of Nauru will skyrocket from $200 to $8,000 AUD ($7,100). Nauru, a country with a population of fewer than 10,000, is home to one of Australia's offshore detention centres, where unauthorised asylum seekers who land in Australia by boat are deported. According to Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection, there are 686 people, including 109 children, currently held in immigration detention in Nauru as of November 30.

In the former Soviet Union, when officials thought a citizen was stirring up trouble, they simply shipped him off to the Gulag. Today, authoritarian leaders have become more subtle about reining in those who would challenge the government – especially nongovernmental organizations promoting democracy and greater civil rights.