Six people died when a boat capsized off the Lebanese coast of Tripoli overnight, including at least one child, Lebanese transport minister Ali Hamie told Reuters. The small dinghy carrying around 60 people sunk off the coast on Saturday night with both Lebanese and Syrians aboard. Hamie told Reuters that a young girl's body was retrieved on Saturday night and that the army had recovered another five on Sunday morning. The powerful armed group Hezbollah issued its condolences in a statement, where it appealed for people to stay calm.

The trial of a Gambian man accused of being part of a death squad that assassinated opponents of former President Yahya Jammeh, including a journalist of the AFP news agency, has begun in Germany. The suspect, identified by media as Bai Lowe, is accused of crimes against humanity, murder, and attempted murder, including the 2004 killing of longstanding AFP correspondent Deyda Hydara, who was also co-founder of the Gambian independent daily The Point. Lowe, arrested in Hanover in March 2021, will appear in court on Monday in the nearby town of Celle. 

Nicaragua has said it has completed its withdrawal from the Organization of American States (OAS) despite the regional bloc saying the move was not allowed for another year. Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister Denis Moncada announced on Sunday the immediate break from the organization and the closure of the OAS’s offices in the capital, Managua. President Daniel Ortega had announced the Latin American country’s withdrawal in November last year.

The long-awaited first trial of the Special Criminal Court of the Central African Republic opened on Monday but was immediately postponed to May 16. The court, known by its French acronym CPS, was set up in the capital Bangui seven years ago to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity committed in the country since 2003. Unique for being in a country that is still in civil war, the trial could have been a key moment in fostering accountability in a country scarred by decades of violence. 

A series of explosions across Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 16 people and wounded scores more, according to police and health officials. The Islamic State (IS) group's local affiliate claimed an attack on a Shiite mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, which killed at least 11 people. 

Nicaragua’s parliament, controlled by allies of President Daniel Ortega, has shut down 25 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in a move slammed by the opposition as the latest example in a months-long crackdown on civil society. The groups, many of which have publicly criticized the government, were closed by Congress on Wednesday with 74 votes in favor and 15 abstentions. Lawmakers argued the NGOs had violated Nicaraguan laws and failed to disclose financial accounts. Most of the groups work on human rights issues and carry out social and cultural work. 

For journalist Amer Matar, a decade-long search for his younger brother has defined him and changed the course of his life, now dedicated to researching and documenting crimes committed by the Islamic State group in Syria. His brother, Mohammed Nour Matar, vanished in Syria’s northern city of Raqqa in 2013 while reporting on an explosion that hit the headquarters of an insurgent group. His burnt camera was found at the scene of the blast, and his family soon after got word he was in an IS prison. But there has been no other sign of him since.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine will have rippling effects in populations far outside the two countries in conflict, especially in the global food supply, experts are warning. The war in Ukraine could plunge millions into malnutrition if governments, donors, and funders do not act now to prevent a shortage of the nutritional staples typically exported out of the region. Women and children in low- and middle-income countries are particularly vulnerable, according to the op-ed, which was authored by 10 nutrition and food supply experts from all over the world.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), South Africa’s third-largest political party, has organized peaceful protests along the country’s borders in the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces with the neighboring Eswatini.

At a time when truth-seeking and reparations initiatives are taking hold across the United States, this report offers reflections from various civil society-led truth-seeking processes. Drawing on case studies from the United States, Colombia, Scotland, and West Papua, the report identifies lessons learned and best practices from these experiences and presents practical options for activists considering similar initiatives.