Vietnam has arrested two democracy activists for posting articles critical of the government on the Internet, signalling a continued crackdown on dissent despite the early release of three dissidents last month.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has vowed that Washington will do "everything possible" to help Nigeria deal with the armed group Boko Haram, following the kidnapping of scores of schoolgirls.  "Let me be clear. The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime," Kerry said in a policy speech in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday.

São Paulo’s gay pride has held the record for largest parade since 2006, and this year was no different. Hundred of thousands marched in the streets Sunday, and event organizers claim there were more than 2.5 million people in attendance.

One minute she's singing "Happy Birthday" to an African king, and the next she's being lambasted by human rights activists for endorsing the continent's "last absolute monarch" — the brutal and despotic Mswati III of Swaziland.

In February, the United Nations released a remarkably comprehensive report on North Korea's human rights abuses. The report interviewed 320 people, including a number of survivors from the notorious secret political system, and concluded that the country was committing human rights violations “without any parallel in the contemporary world.”

Russia should not impose unjustified regulations on freedom of expression and privacy on the Internet, Human Rights Watch said today. A restrictive new law requires Russian bloggers with significant followings to register with the authorities and comply with the same regulations as media outlets.

The soft-power age has almost ended. The key players of global politics no longer use their soft power to influence other states, nor the general route of international politics. Worse, there are not many actors with the ability to perform decisively at the international level.

The US government must increase diplomatic and financial support to help Colombia prepare for the possibility of a post-conflict scenario, stated a report published Monday by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).