Australia has taken many backwards steps on human rights in the past year, says Amnesty International.

Marriage equality was the dominant theme of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

The Iranian woman facing the death penalty for adultery could be executed in the next 24 hours.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has thumbed his nose at prosecutors and made his first visit to a member state of the ICC.

The first European ban on the wearing of the Islamic burqa in public is poised to come into force in Belgium.

Homophobia is on rise in Uganda as the government seeks an Anti-Homosexuality Bill and the minister for ethics and integrity insists that it will be every citizen's duty under new laws to denounce anyone they suspect of being gay.

A Sri Lankan reporter has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for writing articles critical of the government's military operations.