Armenia insisted on April 16 that the top United Nations court has jurisdiction to hear its case accusing Azerbaijan of breaching an international convention that aims to stamp out racial discrimination.

At a preliminary hearing on April 15, Azerbaijan had urged the International Court of Justice to toss out for lack of jurisdiction the case Armenia filed in 2021 that accuses Azerbaijan of a “state-sponsored policy of Armenian hatred” that has led to “systemic discrimination, mass killings, torture, and other abuse.”

A transitional council tasked with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and Cabinet was established April 12 in a move supporters hope will help quell turmoil in the troubled Caribbean country where most of the capital remains under the grip of criminal gangs.

The formation of the council, announced in a decree published April 12 in a Haitian government gazette, was expected to soon trigger the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, but a new provision said he would step down when a new premier is chosen. Henry did not immediately comment.

Ethiopia’s state-appointed rights commission on April 10 called for an investigation into the killing of a prominent opposition figure recently released from prison.

Bate Urgessa was gunned down on the night of April 9 in his hometown of Meki in Oromia, Ethiopia’s biggest region, according to the Oromo Liberation Front, or OLF. He was a political officer with the OLF, a legally registered opposition group that boycotted elections in 2021.

Germany has denied accusations that it was aiding genocide in Gaza by selling Israel arms in a case at the top UN court brought by Nicaragua—a case that reflects a mounting legal action in support of Palestinians.

An Israeli attack in northern Gaza has killed three sons of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh as Israel continues its bombardment of the besieged enclave on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Haniyeh confirmed the killing of his children Hazem, Amir and Mohammad along with a number of his grandchildren on April 10. Shehab news agency reported that at least three grandchildren of the Hamas leader were killed in the attack.

Reporters Without Borders said on April 10 that one of its representatives was denied entry into Hong Kong, calling it a “new decline” in the city’s press freedoms.

According to the group, its Taipei-based staffer Aleksandra Bielakowska was stopped at the Hong Kong airport by immigration officers earlier in the day. She was detained, questioned, and had her belongings searched three times before she was denied entry to Hong Kong, said the group, also known by its French acronym RSF.

Colombia’s ex-president Álvaro Uribe will face trial for witness tampering and fraud, prosecutors have announced, once again casting the spotlight on allegations that the former leader partnered with paramilitary death squads in his war against leftist rebels.

Mali's junta has issued a decree halting political party activities, government spokesperson Abdoulaye Maiga announced in a statement read on state television on the evening of April 10.

The decree suspends until further notice all activities by political parties and "associations of a political nature" on the grounds of maintaining public order, the statement said. Mali has been under military rule since August 2020, the first of eight coups in West and Central Africa over four years, including in its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger.

The United Nations Security Council president has referred the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) application for Palestine to become a full member of the world body to its membership committee.

The 15-member committee is expected to make a decision about Palestine’s status this month, said Vanessa Frazier, Malta’s UN ambassador, who also proposed that the committee meet on April 8 to consider the application.