<p>Tensions have escalated in Yemen where warring sides accused each other of attack an oil pipeline in the central province of Marib.</p> <p>The attack follows&nbsp;calls from the United Nations for a global ceasefire in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Neither side has given details of the attack&nbsp;but it is known that the pipeline is operated by the Yemeni government’s Safer oil company.</p>

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has announced the reduction of US aid to Afghanistan’s security forces by $1 billion which would hamper efforts by the Afghan government to combat the Taliban and weaken its negotiating position.

Indian police fired tear gas at approximately 500 workers in the western city of Surat after stating that they could not return home despite losing their jobs.

According to Vidhi Chaudhari;

“The police tried to convince them that it is not possible since buses or trains are not available...However, the workers refused to budge, and started pelting stones at police,”

US coalition troops have withdrawn from a military base in Northern Iraq.

The US withdrawal follows the assassination of senior Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began a number of countries around the world have released thousands of prisoners in order to stem a possible spread of the virus within prisons. According to public health experts, prisons are a ripe place for the spread of COVID-19 due to the close contact between prisoners, overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.

Human Rights Watch has expressed caution with respects to Nigeria’s plans to deploy police and soldiers to enforce social distancing warning that they have been implicated in a number of human rights abuses including “arbitrary arrests, extortion, illegal detention, and use of excessive force”.

Militants are holding Mali’s main opposition leader, Soumaila Cisse, as well as 6 members of his delegation hostage following an attack on their campaign trail.

Following calls for a global ceasefire, Yemen’s warring parties have entered into a truce as coronavirus presents an unprecedented threat to public health however the US has began to withdraw aid.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called upon Australia’s Defence Department to re-examine previously dismissed cases of alleged summary executions and other war crimes in Afghanistan in light of new evidence.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) broadcasted an episode on March 16^th reporting on the possible war crimes of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and showed footage where an Australian soldier, from the Special Air Service (SAS), is shown to kill an unarmed Afghan civilian during a raid on a village in 2012.

<p>Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that migrants, stateless people and refugees are at an “extra risk” of COVID-19 and has called on Malaysia took take actions to ensure healthcare services are readily available for these migrants without the risk of arrest or deportation.</p> <p>Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, warned that this was a matter of public safety stating;</p> <blockquote><p>

<p>In an attack on Afghanistan’s minority Sikh community, which ISIL has claimed credit for, 25 people have been killed.</p> <p>According to Afghanistan’s Interior Minister, Tariq Arian, the Afghanistan security forces have killed all attackers. Earlier this March, attackers affiliated with ISIL killed a further 32 minority Shia Muslims in Kabul.</p>

<p>Turkey have charged 20 Saudi nationals over the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018, The Guardian reports.</p>

Human Rights Watch in a joint report with the right group, “Belady: An Island For Humanity” have issued a report detailing worry horrifying abuses from Egypt’s security forces including but not limited to engaging in arbitrary detention and torture of children as young as 12.

In a statement, Aya Hijazi, co-director of Belady, stated;

UN Secretary-General, Antonia Guterres has called on a global ceasefire in order to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In a statement, he said;