A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced 22 people, including a journalist, to various prison terms over deadly unrest in the autonomous Karakalpakstan republic last July.

Twenty-one people were killed in the protests, which were triggered by plans to curtail the province’s autonomy. The aftermath of the violence presented a dilemma for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on whether to reinforce the authority of his government or to soften its stance in line with the more liberal image he has long sought to present to the West.

The United States and its allies have imposed further sanctions on Myanmar’s military rulers amid deepening conflict two years since the military seized power in a coup.

Nigeria's human rights commission has appointed a special panel whose role will include investigating a Reuters report that the military ran a secret abortion program in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the northeast.

United Nations experts on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Mali by government forces and Russian private military contractor the Wagner Group.

Mali, whose government took power in a 2021 military coup, has previously said Russian forces in the West African country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Moscow.

Peru’s Congress has rejected a proposal to move elections forward to December 2023, despite nearly two months of protests that have left dozens dead following the removal of former President Pedro Castillo.

Legislators will continue debating a different proposal to hold early elections, a key demand of the protesters. Within the deeply fragmented Congress, some politicians wish to finish their original term, while others want to go further and hold a referendum for a new constitution, another demand of protesters.

Syria on Thursday dismissed the global chemical weapons watchdog’s statement, which said that investigators had found “reasonable grounds to believe” the Syrian air force dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas in 2018 on then-rebel-held town of Douma.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) produced a detailed report following a fact-finding mission that investigated the April 7, 2018 attack. Medical workers and activists said at the time more than 40 people were killed in the attack.

The end of 2022 in Venezuela was marked by signs of willingness from all parties to take concrete steps toward democracy. The government and the opposition resumed negotiations and agreed to allow the United Nations to manage a fund for billions of dollars of frozen assets, which would be gradually released to address the country’s humanitarian crisis. The United States authorized the Chevron Corporation to resume limited operations for importing Venezuelan oil. Finally, the 2015 National Assembly voted to end the opposition-led interim government. While these steps are initial ones to create the conditions for trust among the parties, they offer opportunities to improve the dire circumstances in which many Venezuelans currently live.

Armenia pleaded with judges of the United Nations’ highest court on Monday to order Azerbaijan to break up a road blockade that is isolating the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, calling the action part of an act of “ethnic cleansing.”

Late last year, Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists began blocking a winding road known as the Lachin Corridor that forms the only land connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The blockade threatens food supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh’s 120,000 people.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday condemned an offensive by M23 rebels in the east of the country that forced 450 people, including women and children, to seek refuge around its base in Kitshanga town.

The insurgency has inflamed regional tensions with Congo accusing neighbor Rwanda of backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and Western powers have accused Rwanda of backing the M23. The government of Rwanda has denied any involvement.