<p>International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch has called on Bahrain to release imprisoned opposition activists, journalists and leaders as well as human rights campaigners during this crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.</p>

Abdul Majed, a former Bangladeshi army officer, was hanged in the country’s capital, Dhaka, for the assassination of the country’s founding President, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Majed was executed after spending 25 years as a fugitive and having his appeal for presidential clemency. Rahman was killed in 1975, along with much of his family. He was captured after returning to Bangladesh last month.

(Photo Credit: World Bank)

The World Bank has warned that South Asian countries, such as India and Sri Lanka, will suffer the worst economic slump it has faced in 40 years because of the coronavirus.

<p>Amnesty International has released footage revealing deplorable conditions in Cambodia's prisons including overcrowding.</p> <p>This comes during the midst of coronavirus where people are encouraged to socially distance to prevent the spread of the disease. Those unable to are viewed at particular risk, leaving Amnesty to describe the Cambodian prisons as a "ticking time bomb" for the spread of this deadly disease.</p>

<p>HRW has issued a statement condemning Myanmar for not doing enough to prevent the on-going repression of Rohingya which may amount to genocide.</p> <p>This follows two presidential directives which Myanmar aimed to respond to the International Court of Justice’s call for greater protection for Rohingya’s community.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Human rights advocates have warned that Yasin Malik, leader of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) will be denied a fair trial.</p> <p>According to Khurram Parvez, head of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances and coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), questions have been raised over the cases brought against Malik. Parvez stated;</p> <blockquote><p>

The families of more than 800 undocumented migrants – that are being held indefinitely in six detention centres across Assam in India – expressed their concerns about the safety of their loved ones, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. 

<p>Afghanistan’s government has confirmed the release of 100 Taliban prisoners following threats from the Taliban that they would walk away from peace negotiations brokered by the United States.</p> <p>Initially, the Afghan government refused to release the prisoners unless the Taliban agreed that the released would not return to the battlefield but the Taliban objected stating that they had not agreed to these preconditions.</p>

<p>1,724 people have been arrested within a span of 24 hours for violating curfew.&nbsp;</p> <p>In total 19,441 individuals have been arrested for violating curfew since the restrictions were implemented on 20 March.</p> <p>The Daily Mirror has reported that the police have taken over 5,000 vehicles into custody as a result of these raids.</p>

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is coming under fire for temporarily suspending US border crossings and releasing detained migrants who are exposed to a greater risk of the coronavirus by Canada’s migration policies.

<p>The UN Security Council held a virtual conference to discuss the peacekeeping mission in Mali where 15,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed, and violence continues to escalate.</p> <p>Al Jazeera reports that in the northern city of Bamba in Mali, 25 soldiers were killed in a single attack this week. Mali has thus far reported 52 positive cases of coronavirus and 5 deaths.</p>

<p>The World Health Organisation, whilst not issuing a blanket policy, has warned against easing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus stating the importance of preventing a fall back again.</p>

<p>Discussions between the Afghan government and the Taliban over a possible prisoner exchange have broken down following the&nbsp;withdraw&nbsp;of Taliban negotiators.</p> <p>Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for Taliban told reporters that this withdrawal was caused by “intentional delays in the release of our prisoners”.</p> <p>As part of these discussions, both the Taliban and Afghanistan were set to release an approximate 6,000 prisoners in total.</p>

Brazil’s lower house of Congress has pushed forwards a “war budget” in response to the COVID 19 pandemic which aims to distinguish spending on the government’s response to the coronavirus from their main budget.