international news

Nepal experienced four fuel price increases in a single month during April 2026, driven by disruptions in global oil markets caused by conflict in West Asia involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. Petrol prices surged 60 percent in under three weeks, reaching the highest levels among regional neighbors, which triggered widespread inflationary pressures across food, transport, and essential goods. The newly elected Rastriya Swatantra Party government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah has implemented emergency measures including tax reductions, fuel quotas, and weekend closures to manage consumption, but these have proven insufficient to reverse the crisis. The situation has sparked student protests, consumer complaints, and warnings from economists about broader economic impacts, while the Nepal Oil Corporation faces mounting losses and debt to its Indian supplier. # Key Takeaways

China's aggressive adoption of AI-powered surveillance technology serves as a cautionary case study for the relationship between governments, corporations, and citizens in the digital age. A security breach involving a DJI smart vacuum in 2026 revealed how AI surveillance devices can easily infiltrate homes, while China's broader use of facial recognition, social credit systems, and data tracking demonstrates how states can consolidate power at the expense of individual freedoms. Though China has implemented AI governance regulations addressing user rights and corporate responsibility, these laws prioritize national security over restricting state power, leaving citizens vulnerable to surveillance and data breaches. Meanwhile, AI surveillance tools and disinformation capabilities are spreading globally, with democratic nations also adopting similar technologies from non-Chinese sources, and generative AI being weaponized for propaganda worldwide.

The article advocates for a human rights-based framework to guide artificial intelligence development and governance, drawing parallels between democratic principles and how AI should serve humanity. The author traces the historical evolution of human rights from ancient documents like the Cyrus Cylinder through to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arguing these centuries-old principles should inform AI regulation. Five fundamental rights are identified as essential for human-centered AI: the right to life and liberty, equality, freedom of expression, access to essentials, and privacy. The piece emphasizes that AI must be designed, implemented, and governed with human dignity at its core, ensuring technology reduces rather than amplifies existing biases and power imbalances. Ultimately, the author contends that establishing legal redress mechanisms for AI violations is crucial to ensuring these systems reflect humanity's highest values rather than perpetuating historical injustices. # Key Takeaways

Jamaica's Cannabis Licensing Authority has introduced a new Medical Cannabis Special Permit Program aimed at making the country's marijuana industry more accessible and equitable. The initiative includes fee-free permits for small-scale farmers, simplified regulations for cultivators transitioning into the legal market, and new conveniences like cannabis delivery services and standardized fencing requirements. This reform comes as Jamaica's legal cannabis market has grown substantially, reaching $63.5 million USD in 2025 compared to $38.9 million the previous year. Officials view these changes as essential for correcting historical barriers that kept traditional farmers out of the formal market while positioning Jamaica as a competitive player in the global cannabis industry. # Key Takeaways

The International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS) commissioned ten case studies from organizations across Global Majority countries to examine how civil society groups are adapting to AI and algorithm-driven technologies in contexts of increasing authoritarianism. The research identified three main response strategies: co-opting technology for advocacy purposes, countering surveillance and digital repression, and innovating with new forms of engagement and journalism. Organizations are simultaneously shifting focus toward hyperlocal grassroots issues while building cross-border solidarity networks, employing flexible and ephemeral organizational structures to avoid state surveillance. Despite concerning trends in AI-enabled surveillance and power concentration, the studies reveal that civil society actors are successfully navigating hostile digital environments by combining narrative work, technological adaptation, and political organizing to advance democracy and social justice.

Brazil is experiencing a surge in AI-generated sexual violence targeting women and girls, with multiple incidents of students creating non-consensual deepfake pornography of classmates and teachers reported across several states. Research organization Internetlab has released recommendations calling for stricter AI regulations, noting that 98% of deepfake videos online are sexually explicit and 99% target women, with a 464% increase between 2022 and 2023. This digital violence coincides with rising offline gender violence in Brazil, including record femicide rates that increased 4.7% in 2025. Experts argue that online and offline misogyny are interconnected parts of the same structural problem requiring comprehensive public policy responses, including digital literacy education, platform accountability measures, and legal frameworks that classify non-consensual sexual deepfakes as "excessive risk."

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is positioning his country as a global testing ground for artificial intelligence, particularly in healthcare, following similar efforts with Bitcoin adoption. The government launched the second phase of DoctorSV, a telemedicine application developed with Google and international development banks, which uses AI to analyze medical records, identify chronic disease risks, and manage patient treatment remotely. While Bukele promotes this as innovative efficiency that will make El Salvador a world reference, healthcare workers and unions criticize the deteriorating public health system, mass firings of over 7,700 medical professionals, and concerns about privatization. Experts warn about inadequate safeguards for medical data privacy, unsustainable loan-based funding, and the risks of reduced face-to-face medical evaluation, characterizing El Salvador as an experimental "testing lab" for technology companies.

A report by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and UC Irvine law clinics examines how artificial intelligence systems used in U.S. border enforcement and immigration control disproportionately harm Black migrants and migrants of color through algorithmic bias. The study argues that AI technologies employed throughout the immigration process—from surveillance towers and drones at borders to facial recognition apps and risk assessment algorithms—systematically discriminate against darker-skinned individuals and non-English speakers while violating international anti-discrimination treaties the U.S. has ratified. The organizations advocate for a "decolonial approach" to AI development that centers African philosophical frameworks and ensures affected communities participate in designing these systems. They recommend that federal laws prohibit racially discriminatory AI use, mandate transparency and oversight, and provide remedies for those harmed, arguing that until AI systems eliminate discrimination, they should not be deployed at borders.

Sportellino is a free multilingual AI chatbot launched in July 2025 to help migrants in Italy navigate language barriers and complex bureaucratic processes through WhatsApp and Telegram. Developed by students and professionals at Sapienza University of Rome, the service provides anonymous, 24/7 guidance on residence permits, healthcare, employment, and other essential services in multiple languages including English, French, Arabic, Farsi, and Pashto. By March 2026, approximately 10,000 users had accessed the platform, which was designed using a European AI system that complies with strict privacy regulations. Rather than replacing human operators, Sportellino aims to handle routine questions so social workers can focus on complex cases requiring personalized attention, representing a bottom-up approach built around migrants' actual needs.

A father living in Qatar reflects on how media coverage of the Gaza conflict and escalating regional tensions have profoundly affected his two daughters, ages six and fifteen, even though they live far from active war zones. He initially failed to recognize that his children were absorbing disturbing images and conversations about war until regional threats came closer to home, causing visible fear and anxiety in both girls. The article argues that constant media exposure to violent conflict is eroding children's sense of safety worldwide, blurring the distinction between distant events and personal reality. Drawing on child psychology research, the author suggests parents, educators, and media institutions are failing to establish appropriate boundaries between keeping children aware and overwhelming them with traumatic content. # Key Takeaways

India currently operates under a loose AI governance framework consisting of voluntary guidelines, an unenacted ethics bill, and data protection rules that allow AI deployment without mandatory transparency or pre-deployment assessments. The government has rapidly expanded AI-enabled surveillance systems across the country, including facial recognition technology at airports, railway stations, exam halls, and public welfare programs, often without adequate legal safeguards or accountability mechanisms. These technologies have disproportionately harmed marginalized communities, with facial recognition systems failing to identify pregnant women, elderly individuals, and people with darker skin tones, thereby denying them access to essential services like food distribution programs. While India introduced non-binding AI governance guidelines in 2025 and proposed an ethics bill, human rights organizations argue these measures lack enforcement mechanisms and fail to protect citizens from invasive state surveillance. The contrast between India's aspirational "responsible AI" rhetoric showcased at the 2026 AI Impact Summit and the reality of widespread, unregulated surveillance has drawn criticism from international human rights groups.

Togolese author and lawyer Hubert Kolani has published his debut French-language novel "Le Sang du Pouvoir" (The Blood of Power) as a means to explore African politics through fiction rather than risking the dangers journalists and essayists face when criticizing those in power. The book examines what Kolani calls "dark politics"—including power struggles, mysticism, and human sacrifices—while centering on a resilient female protagonist who defies typical misery narratives about Africa. Kolani argues that novels provide authors protection through fictional characters while still conveying lived realities that people experience but cannot openly discuss in societies where public discourse is monitored. His generation approaches politics differently than their parents, using internet access to question and compare rather than silently accepting the status quo, and he hopes his work will inspire readers to humanize African political landscapes. # Key Takeaways

The author, a feminist technology advocate, questions whether ethical and feminist AI is possible after years of observing how tech companies prioritize business models over people's rights. She argues that AI systems inherently encode and amplify existing inequalities because they are trained on biased data reflecting historical exclusion, racism, and sexism, while being developed by profit-driven corporations without meaningful accountability. The article emphasizes that AI cannot replicate genuine human connection, empathy, or care work, warning against narratives that position technology as capable of replacing human relationships and decision-making. She advocates for a human rights approach to AI that challenges existing power structures, demands accountability from those who control these technologies, and maintains skepticism from the outset rather than accepting AI systems as inevitable.

Thirty-two years after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the international community observed a day of reflection to honor over one million victims killed during approximately 100 days of systematic violence targeting primarily Tutsi populations. The genocide, which began after President Habyarimana's assassination on April 7, 1994, resulted from years of planned incitement and left devastating long-term consequences including orphaned children, widespread sexual violence, and ongoing psychological trauma affecting survivors and subsequent generations. Rwanda has pursued justice through international tribunals and local Gacaca courts, processing nearly two million cases while attempting to rebuild a society where perpetrators and survivors now live side by side. United Nations officials emphasized that similar patterns of hate speech and incitement persist today through digital platforms, urging the international community to move beyond remembrance toward active prevention and protection of vulnerable populations.

Nepal's constitution guarantees social protection for vulnerable groups, with over 85 programs currently serving approximately 3.8 million people, including 10 endangered Indigenous communities receiving monthly allowances. While social security payments have enabled families to afford education, healthcare, and small business ventures, critics warn that cash transfers alone risk creating dependency and eroding traditional livelihoods without complementary development programs. Indigenous communities face significant barriers accessing benefits due to historical discrimination, geographic isolation, documentation gaps, and program designs that ignore their realities. Experts advocate for a balanced approach that links allowances with livelihood programs, traditional skill revitalization, and structural reforms including land access, housing security, and political representation to achieve sustainable empowerment rather than perpetual reliance on government assistance.

Student activists from across the University System of Maryland organized a "People's Tribunal" protest attended by roughly 100 people to challenge the Board of Regents over investment ties to weapons manufacturers. The coalition accused the 21-member governing board, appointed by Maryland's governor, of financial complicity in violence in Gaza through these investments and of suppressing campus activism on the issue. Before the tribunal event, protesters attended the Board's official meeting where they displayed symbolic red handprints and disrupted proceedings with chants demanding divestment. The demonstration highlighted student concerns about institutional policies they view as restricting free speech, including amplified sound bans and previous attempts to block student group activities that resulted in a lawsuit settlement. # Key Takeaways

African content moderators and social media users face severe challenges as AI moderation systems fail to understand the continent's 2,000+ languages, with only 42 African languages meaningfully represented in major language models. Content moderators like Bereket Tsegay review videos in languages they don't understand, relying on indirect signals rather than actual content comprehension, while creators posting in languages like Luo or Swahili see their accounts arbitrarily suspended or their content ignored by recommendation algorithms. This linguistic gap allows harmful content in African languages to spread unchecked while legitimate posts get wrongly removed, disproportionately affecting journalists, creators, and ordinary users who communicate in their native languages. Though some research initiatives and the African Union's AI strategy acknowledge the problem, and new EU regulations may create financial pressure for change, the solutions remain underfunded and scattered across academic institutions and small-scale projects.

The OpenSpeaks Archives, launched in 2024, is a digital platform helping Indigenous language speakers cite oral knowledge on Wikipedia by documenting, transcribing, and archiving nearly 20 languages from India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Taukeer Alam, a conservationist and Van Gujjari speaker from India's nomadic Van Gujjar community, explains that audio and video formats better capture Indigenous languages than written text because they preserve tone, emotion, and pronunciation that books cannot convey. He emphasizes that documentation must be participatory, involving youth who can continue the work, and materials should be quickly shared back to communities in accessible formats before knowledge holders pass away. While supporting documentation efforts, Alam expresses concerns about potential exploitation of sensitive community knowledge through AI and other technologies, stressing the need for protections that recognize collective community rights and require proper consent and attribution. # Key Takeaways

The European Union has established comprehensive AI regulations for use within its borders, but European funding and technology continue to flow to high-risk surveillance and AI systems used in West Asia and North Africa without adequate human rights oversight. Research by 7amleh reveals three main channels for this transfer: migration control agreements that provide biometric and surveillance infrastructure to countries like Egypt and Tunisia, research funding through programs like Horizon Europe that support Israeli companies with military applications, and direct commercial exports of surveillance technologies. Despite the EU's own acknowledgment in 2025 that Israel violates human rights and humanitarian law, and evidence linking European-funded AI targeting systems to civilian casualties in Gaza, political and economic interests have blocked meaningful reform. The author argues that closing regulatory gaps—such as extending the AI Act to cover exports and requiring binding human rights assessments—is essential for accountability and the survival of affected communities. # Key Takeaways

A Czech LGBTQ+ activist organization called the Society for Queer Memory has created an interactive online map documenting Prague's historical LGBTQ+ heritage, featuring 160 locations dating back to 1376 where queer individuals lived, worked, and gathered. The initiative emerged as a response to persistent discrimination in Czech politics, where politicians routinely make homophobic statements without consequences and dismiss gender diversity as foreign influence, despite the Czech Republic being relatively tolerant compared to other Central European nations. While the country decriminalized homosexuality in 1961 and legalized civil partnerships in 2006, same-sex marriage remains unratified despite public support, and over 40 percent of LGBTQ+ Czechs report experiencing abuse. The mapping project aims to counter narratives that portray LGBTQ+ identity as a recent cultural import by documenting centuries of queer presence in Czech culture and history.

Bangladesh has plunged into a severe energy crisis stemming from military conflict in the Persian Gulf region involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. Since the country imports approximately 95 percent of its energy needs, disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and force majeure declarations by liquified natural gas suppliers have left Bangladesh scrambling for emergency fuel at prices nearly 2.5 times higher than normal. The government implemented fuel rationing, closed universities early, and allocated billions in subsidies to prevent domestic price increases, while citizens face hours-long queues at gas stations and skyrocketing cooking fuel costs. The crisis threatens the crucial ready-made garment industry, which accounts for 84 percent of exports, as factories struggle with extended power cuts and reduced capacity. # Key Takeaways

A Nigerian UX designer working on online gender-based violence issues describes how the AI chatbot Grok, embedded in X (formerly Twitter), has systematically amplified harassment against women by enabling users to create non-consensual sexualized images from photos. While online abuse against women was already pervasive in Nigeria, where 45 percent of women experience cyberstalking and women are targets in 58 percent of online abuse cases, Grok has industrialized this harm by making it faster and easier to produce exploitative content. Nigeria's fragmented AI regulatory environment and weak platform accountability mechanisms have created conditions where these harms flourish unchecked. To address this crisis, the author's organization Superbloom developed a Gendered Privacy Evaluation Framework that offers tech companies practical tools to assess whether their AI systems reduce or reinforce gendered harm through better governance, consent mechanisms, and engagement with women's rights groups.

George Washington University is hosting its third annual Future of Finance and Trade in Africa conference on April 14, bringing together international leaders, World Bank officials, business executives, and academics to discuss economic development opportunities across the African continent. The event will focus on key topics including financial innovation, artificial intelligence applications, sustainable agriculture for addressing food insecurity, and renewable energy solutions. Organizers emphasize the importance of connecting African delegates with Washington-based policymakers and thought leaders to facilitate meaningful dialogue about Africa's economic transformation. The conference, launched in 2024 through a partnership between the university's business school and Elliott School of International Affairs, aims to highlight Africa's abundant natural resources, hydropower potential, and rapidly growing population as significant opportunities for future economic growth. # Key Takeaways

Bangladesh's former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who fled to India alongside Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the August 2024 student-led uprising, has broken his nineteen-month silence in a rare interview from his undisclosed Kolkata location. Despite being sentenced to death by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity during the July 2024 protests, Kamal claims his ousted Awami League party would have won recent elections and dismisses allegations of genocide during the uprising that killed approximately 1,400 people according to UN reports. He contests the legitimacy of the new BNP-led government, the tribunal prosecuting him, and suggests armed militants infiltrated peaceful student protests, while simultaneously expressing willingness for political dialogue and legal accountability under reformed judicial conditions. Currently sheltering in India with approximately 120 Awami League MPs imprisoned in Bangladesh, Kamal maintains the party remains Bangladesh's most popular political force and will eventually return to power through grassroots support. # Key Takeaways

This article examines the devastating psychological and physical toll that armed conflicts take on children worldwide, arguing that war trauma should be recognized as a global public health crisis. The author explains how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect children in conflict zones at far higher rates than in stable countries, with one in six children globally living in active war zones compared to one in ten Americans experiencing three or more ACEs. Children in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and West Asia face displacement, injury, death, and severe trauma that can lead to lifelong mental health issues including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. While children show remarkable resilience, especially with supportive caregivers, the article emphasizes that the international community must provide psychological care, stable environments, and educational opportunities to help war-affected children rebuild their lives and become future leaders rather than a "lost generation."

Bangladesh's February 2026 general election, the first since the July 2024 uprising that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, became saturated with AI-generated misinformation that fundamentally altered the electoral landscape. A comprehensive study identified 72 cases of AI-manipulated content designed to shape voting outcomes, including deepfake videos of political leaders making false statements, synthetic images showing fabricated campaign events, and edited news graphics falsely attributed to trusted media outlets. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which ultimately won by a landslide, faced the most attacks with 47 documented cases, while other parties including Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party also suffered targeted disinformation campaigns. This widespread deployment of AI manipulation—ranging from false attributions of inflammatory quotes to fabricated images of political meetings and events—represents the first comprehensively documented case of AI weaponization in South Asian electoral democracy, setting a concerning precedent for neighboring countries.

Local elections held on March 29, 2026 in ten Serbian municipalities were severely compromised by widespread violence and intimidation, according to independent observers, despite President Aleksandar Vučić claiming victory for his ruling coalition across all locations. Masked attackers, allegedly including ruling party officials and members of the Russian biker group "Night Wolves," assaulted journalists, election observers, students, and ordinary citizens using weapons including axes, metal bars, and firearms. The Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA) documented that police largely failed to intervene against perpetrators, undermining basic security and democratic principles during the voting process. Student-led opposition movements competed against the Serbian Progressive Party in several municipalities, with violence particularly concentrated in Bor, Kula, and Bajina Bašta overshadowing other electoral irregularities like parallel record-keeping and organized voter transportation.

Over one million Rohingya refugees have settled in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district since 2017, creating significant tensions with host communities over rising costs, diminishing employment opportunities, and perceived unequal aid distribution. Local volunteers like Abdur Rahim have initiated community dialogue sessions that gradually build understanding and practical compromises between refugee and host populations, though these grassroots peacebuilding efforts face substantial challenges. While international organizations provide crucial funding and technical support for youth programs and mediation training, their rigid planning structures, short funding cycles, and distant decision-making processes often fail to align with local realities and the slow pace of trust-building. The tensions in Cox's Bazar stem from complex economic competition and unemployment rather than simply religious or cultural differences, requiring nuanced, locally-informed approaches. Local peacebuilders are advocating for deeper collaboration with international partners through co-designed processes, longer funding commitments, and reduced administrative burdens that would allow community-led solutions to flourish. # Key Takeaways

Fareshtah, born in the final year of the first Taliban regime in Afghanistan's Ghor Province, was pursuing her dream of becoming an attorney through university studies in Sharia and Islamic Sciences along with a legal skills program when the Taliban reclaimed power in August 2021. After public universities eventually reopened, she completed her coursework and was scheduled to defend her thesis in December 2022, but a sudden decree banned women from universities just days before her defense. When she attempted to enter the university anyway, a Taliban guard threatened her with a weapon and fired a shot in the air, forcing her to leave. Despite this devastating setback and subsequent cancellations of various educational opportunities, she has spent the past three years teaching online classes to other deprived girls, participating in virtual programs, and fighting what she identifies as the root problem: ignorance and injustice.

Ekachai Hongkangwan, a Thai activist who became politically engaged after the 2006 coup destroyed his online lottery business, has repeatedly faced imprisonment and violence for his symbolic protests against government figures and the monarchy. His activism style evolved from mass demonstrations to individual acts that generate media attention, leading to over 30 legal cases and seven imprisonments under Thailand's strict royal defamation laws. Most recently, he received a 21-year sentence for allegedly obstructing the Queen's motorcade during a 2020 protest, despite an initial acquittal that determined the incident resulted from police miscommunication. His deteriorating health in custody, including an enlarged prostate and complications from previous liver surgery, has brought attention to inadequate medical care for ordinary prisoners in Thailand, particularly compared to the preferential treatment afforded to politically powerful inmates like former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.